Bereshit

An additional reason why the holy Torah starts with the letter Beis, which the numerical value is two, is to teach that there are two Torahs, there is written and oral.

In the beginning – Bereishis bara… (Genesis 1:1) Bereishis is “yirah boshes” – “fear of shame.” (Tikunei Zohar, Tikun 7, בראשית – ירא בשת.) For instance, a person sits before the king feels great shame, so that he does not think about whether the king loves him or not, in order that he love him back; rather, he thinks about the king’s greatness, so that he becomes ashamed of him. Kesser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 3b (See also Likutim Amarim, p. 2d.)

In the beginning, G‑d (Elo-him) created the heaven and the earth… (Genesis 1:1) It doesn’t say “that Y-H-V-H created, for at first, it arose in his mind to create the world with the attribute of Justice. But when he saw that the world could not exist, He prefaced it with the attribute of compassion and joined it to the attribute of Justice. Thus it is written: “On the day the L-rd (Y-H-V-H) G‑d made the earth and the heaven (Genesis 2:4).” (Rashi, loc. cit.) I received from my Master and grandfather that the name Y-H-V-H is the root of all the forces of Love, and the name Elo-him is the root of all the forces of Justice. Degel Machane Ephraim, Lech Lecha

In the beginning – Bereishis… (Genesis 1:1) When the Moshiach comes, may it be speedily in our days, he will expound upon the letter combinations of each word in the Torah, from beginning to end. (The letters of the Torah, though inscribed in a pattern that tells the story of the creation of the world, and the history and laws of the Jewish people, are not fixed. It is possible to rearrange the letters to gain new insights into the meaning of the text, and G-d’s will for man. Furthermore, the letters of Torah represent the creative energies of G-d that enter the world, and arranging them in different patterns can affect the flow of energy from above. By meditating on the letters, in their different combinations, mystical states of consciousness can be obtained. There are various techniques for letter combination, such as tzerufi osiyos, letter recombination; gematria, using the numerical value of each Hebrew letter, roshei tevos and sofei tevos, words derived from the first and last letters of words in a verse; the division of letters into their component parts. Thus, there is an infinite amount of meaning that can be derived from the Torah.) Then he will combine the entire Torah into one word, (See Zohar 3:36a: “The Torah is all one holy Name of the Holy One.” Also, ibid. 2:90b: “The Torah is really all one Name of G-d. Fortunate is the lot of one who merits it. One who merits the Torah, merits the holy Name.” See also ibid. 3:73a, 3:268b, 2:144a. See, also, Bris Menucha, Introduction, p. 3c: “About this, they said that the entire Torah is all one Name, and all the words are Names that can cause effects.”) so that the letter permutations will be infinite. Then he will expound upon all the combinations. Teshuos Chen, Tazria Bereishis…

In the beginning, G-d created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) All the early commentators (Rishonim – usually a reference to the Torah sages of eleventh to fourteenth century Europe, many of whom were involved in philosophical speculation, such as Maimonides, R. Chasdei Crescas, Ibn Pakuda, etc.) asked a question: Why did G-d not create the world earlier, for to action is always better than inaction. Furthermore, why did G-d’s will change from not wanting [to create] to wanting at that time, and not earlier? G-d is not subject to change, as it is written: “I am G-d, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6).

A man once came to the Baal Shem Tov with a question. He had studied the natural sciences and philosophy, and discovered that according to the laws of nature, the Red Sea was supposed to split at that very moment the Children of Israel arrived there. Why, then, do we believe that the splitting of the sea was such a great thing? This question deeply troubled him, and he traveled to the Baal Shem Tov. When he arrived there, even before presenting his question, the Baal Shem Tov rose and went to the study hall, where he summoned all the townspeople to hear a sermon. “There are fools and heretics in this world who have trouble believing that the splitting of the sea was a miracle,” he said. “These people have eyes, but cannot see. It is written: ‘In the beginning, G‑d created the heavens and the earth.’ G‑d’s Name ‘Elokim’ (Each of G‑d’s Names has a different significance. The Name used in the first chapter of Genesis, describing the creation of the world, is Elokim.) has the numerical value of ‘Nature,’ (Elokim has the same gematria as hatevah (הטבע), 86.) for nature is also created by G‑d. Thus, the Sages said on the verse: ‘And the sea returned to its strength’ (Exodus 14:27), that ‘G‑d made a condition with the sea.’ (Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis 21:6. The words “to its strength” – l’eitano, is interpreted by the Sages as “l’tanao” – “to its stipulation.” That is, G‑d made a stipulation with the sea, when He created it, that it would split at that moment for the Children of Israel.) From the very beginning, G‑d built it into the sea to split before the Children of Israel at that time. This makes the miracle even greater! For from the beginning of creation, G‑d created the natural order for the sake of Israel, as it says: ‘In the beginning’ – for the sake of Israel, who is called ‘the beginning.’ (See Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 1:1. Israel is called “the beginning,” as in the verse: “Israel is the L‑rd’s hallowed portion, the beginning of His produce” (Jeremiah 2:3).) This nature of the sea was created for Israel. Had they not required this miracle, G‑d would not have built it into the sea.” Beis Yaakov, Bereishis and Beshalach

Why this Sabbath is called "Shabbat HaGadol" ("The Great Sabbath") We must still explain why we call this Sabbath "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath. It is based on our interpretation of the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) As is known, the end of this verse does not seem to fit with its beginning, and it is unclear. We explained this matter based on the words of the Sages (Chazal). In Jewish Law, there are two categories: action and thought. An adult, even if he only thought about making something into a vessel, that item is considered a vessel for the purposes of ritual purity and impurity. However, a minor can only act; they do not have the capacity for the kind of thought that creates a vessel in a ritual sense. We know that for the Jewish people, God considers a good intention as an action, as the Sages taught, "For those who fear the Lord and for those who hate His Name, even if a person only thought about performing a commandment..." (Kiddushin 40a) This is not the case with non-Jews. It is fitting to provide a reason for this difference. Does it really matter to me if a non-Jew's thoughts are considered an action? It would be fitting if this were so (and we have already provided various reasons for this). But this concept originates from the time when God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world. The Jewish people were present in God's thoughts. "In the beginning, God created the world" (Genesis 1:1) for the sake of the Jewish people, who are called "the first" (Reshit). At that point, the Jewish people had not yet performed any actions. Nevertheless, their presence in God's thoughts was sufficient. Their existence in thought was equivalent to action. Therefore, Jewish Law states that for the Jewish people, a good thought is considered an action, which is not true for the other nations of the world. The creation of the world described in the Torah began on the evening preceding the first day, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Since the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts before the creation of time, that time – the Sabbath that preceded the creation of time – is called the "time of the afternoon prayer of the Sabbath," the "time of desire." Since God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world on that Sabbath, that Sabbath is called "the day of knowledge," as the verse states, "To know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (Exodus 31:13). This is the meaning of the Sages' statement, "A good gift...and the Sabbath is its name for you. And He informed them, as it is said, 'To know..." (Shabbat 10b). When the Jewish people left Egypt, God wanted to give them the wondrous quality that they possess more than any other nation: that their thoughts about performing commandments are considered equivalent to actually performing them. God commanded them to perform the first commandment, the offering of the Passover sacrifice. He commanded them to take the lamb on the tenth of the month (which is different from the Passover in later generations), which was then a Sabbath, to show them that the thoughts they have about performing the commandments, such as the slaughtering of the Passover lamb, are considered to be the commandment itself (which is not the case for the other nations of the world). The reason for this is the Sabbath, the time when the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts. This understanding allows us to interpret the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) Actions done for the sake of God, blessed be He, are called "great," for "He will surely be gracious to the good, even the desire and the thought that a person has to do the deeds of the commandments for the sake of God." Thus they are called "great," like an adult who can create a vessel merely through thought. Because this concept was revealed to the Jewish people on this Sabbath, it is called "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath, in remembrance of the fact that we have been given the laws and status of an adult, who can create a vessel merely through thought.

“In the beginning” (Gen. 1:1) is translated [by the Jerusalem Targum] as “With Wisdom” meaning “With the Torah” (See Genesis Rabbah 1:1). Therefore this month is connected to the tribe of Asher, whose portion contains olive oil, which cultivates Wisdom.

...Additionally, one may learn [from the text] “In the beginning, God created…” One may interpret from this word “Elohim” (gematrically) is equal to “hatevah” (nature), and “reshit” is “chochmah” (wisdom), just as the Targum Yerushalmi renders “b’reshit” as “b’chochmata.” And from this one can learn that from the hint of the pasuk, that “b’reshit” is “b’chochmah” (with wisdom), God created Elohim—the Holy One, blessed be He created the natural order of the world, and this is a wondrous insight, because the natural order is comprised of the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth. Every aspect of the health of the body depends on the even balance of the elements. If one element overtakes another, God forbid, from this we can extrapolate for a person which pain and weakness of the body they have, God forbid. As is known by natural scientists, all healings are merely the strengthening and amplification of [a person’s] nature, so that there won’t be any weakness of one element compared to another, only that they should all be equally in balance. The Torah is eternality, and what there is in the universe in macrocosm, there is also within humans in microcosm by way of “space, time and spirit,” and therefore a man who possesses knowledge and wisdom can make unto himself a new nature, to change the nature he had originally. By way of example from a parable, if he was born with an angry or a lustful nature, when he is aware of this, he can overturn his nature and master his anger, and his words will be calm, and surely he will not lust after or pursue luxuries, rather he will be satisfied with whatever he has. Everything depends on wisdom, as it is written, “It is the wisdom of man to be slow to anger,” and also “anger rests in the gut of fools,” because the created needs to mirror the Creator, just as the creator of all created the natural order on a foundation of wisdom—so too can humans create for themselves, on a foundation of wisdom, a new nature. From this we understand how from the natural world we can return life force on a foundation of Torah, for we can negate weakness of the soul with it, on account of a weakness of one of the elements…

Deuteronomy 27,8. you will inscribe on these stones ‎all these words of the Torah, very clearly.” A look at ‎‎Rashi’s comment on the expression will reveal that he ‎understands this as a translation of the entire Torah into 70 ‎languages. ‎[According to Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi, foremost super ‎commentary on Rashi, Rashi may have arrived at this ‎interpretation when considering that the letters of the word ‎היטב‎ ‎when converted into what is known as tzeyrufim, ”letter ‎permutation,” ‎ה, הי, היט, היטב‎, add up to a numerical value of 70. ‎Ed.]‎ Still, we must try and understand what prompted Moses to ‎command at this point that the Torah be made available in ‎indelible writing (engraved on stone) in all the known languages ‎of that time. We may find the answer in Rashi’s commentary ‎on the very first verse in the Torah, where he said (based on ‎‎Bereshit Rabbah 1,3) that the reason why the Torah ‎commenced with the statement that G’d had created heaven and ‎earth, was so that when an international Court of Law would ‎declare the Israelites’ conquest and subsequent dispossession of ‎the seven Canaanite nations illegal, we would respond that the ‎Canaanites themselves had claimed territorial rights to an earth ‎that belonged exclusively to G’d who had created it. Surely the ‎owner had the right to re-allocate the earth to tenants of His ‎choosing.‎ The whole idea behind G’d’s commandments to take stones ‎from the Jordan river and (erect them near Mount Gerizim) to ‎inscribe in them the Torah in all the known languages was that if ‎the Israelites, at this time, prepared to take possession of the ‎lands of the Canaanites they would do so with the owner’s ‎permission, nay, at the Owner’s instructions. Moreover, this ‎should remind the nations of the world that the reason they were ‎now being dispossessed was because they had refused to accept ‎this very Torah when they had been given the opportunity to ‎accept it. Seeing that the Israelites were the only nation willing to ‎accept the Torah, most of whose commandments can only be ‎observed in the land which up to then had belonged to the ‎Canaanites, the Canaanites were now forced to abandon it or die ‎in the struggle to hang on to it.‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎

Exodus 14,30. “On that day Hashem ‎delivered Israel from the hands of the ‎Egyptians;” The author feels that the words: “on ‎that day,” require further analysis. Seeing that, -as he ‎has told us repeatedly,- the various universes have ‎been created only for the sake of the Jewish people, as ‎‎Rashi already commented on the opening ‎words of the Torah, ‎בראשית ברא‎, it follows that when, G’d ‎forbid, hard times hit the Jewish people, the “days” ‎themselves must come to the assistance of the Jewish ‎people and point out good deeds of this people to G’d, ‎as, if we were G’d forbid to disappear, so would these ‎‎“days,” i.e. all of the world’s history would disappear ‎with the Jewish people. The expression ‎ביום ההוא‎, “on ‎that day” in our verse, therefore refers to the “day” on ‎which the collective soul of the universe praised the ‎Jewish people to forestall its defeat at the hands of the ‎Egyptians.‎

Exodus 38,21. “These are the accounts of the Tabernacle of ‎the Testimony that were rendered according to the ‎commandment of Moses, etc.;” we have already written ‎previously that the construction of the Tabernacle required holy ‎spirit and the knowledge of how G’d used the aleph bet, i.e. ‎the letters of the Torah and their respective combinations that ‎G’d used when He created heaven and earth. (based on ‎‎Yevamot 47). The subject has been elaborated on further in ‎‎Bereshit Rabbah section 12,14 which quotes the school of ‎Shammai saying that the idea to create the universe crystallized ‎in G’d’s mind at night whereas the execution occurred by day, ‎and that the letter ‎ה‎ written in smaller script in Genesis 2,4 in ‎the word ‎בהבראם‎ is an allusion to the attribute ‎א-ד-נ-י‎, one of G’d’s ‎names, whereas afterwards in the same verse when the Torah ‎writes ‎ביום עשות ה' אלוקים ארץ ושמים‎, “on the day that ‎‎ made earth and heaven,” the apparent repetition is ‎an allusion to the fact that G’d is unique and the exclusive ‎Creator. [Our author must have had a different version of ‎the Bereshit rabbah, as the second comment concerning the ‎attribute ‎א-ד-נ-י‎ is not found in my updated version of that ‎‎Midrash. Ed.]‎ The uniqueness of both Moses and Betzalel paralleled the ‎description of unique attributes possessed by the Creator. ‎Initially, the instructions given by Moses to Betzalel were similar ‎to G’d’s formulating the thought of creating a universe, whereas ‎the execution paralleled the words ‎ביום עשות ה' אלוקים‎, G’d in His ‎capacity as Hashem carrying out His plan to create the ‎universe. The numerical value of the first letters of the opening ‎words in our portion, ‎אלה פקודי המשכן‎ i.e. ‎א'פ'ה'‏‎ have a combined ‎value of 86, equivalent to the letters in the name of G’d when it is ‎spelled ‎א-ל-ה-י-ם‎, i.e. His attribute of ‎א-ד-נ-י‎, the word signifying ‎the attribute of Justice. The respective last letters in the same ‎sequence of words are ‎ה'י'נ‎ equaling 65, or the numerical value of ‎the attribute ‎א-ד-נ-י‎. When we examine the respective first and ‎final letters in the second half of the introductory verse of our ‎portion, i.e. ‎משכן העדות‎, we find that the letters ‎מ'ה‎ correspond to ‎the holy name of G’d consisting of 45 letters, whereas the final ‎letters in these words, i.e. ‎ת'נ‎ or 450 i.e. ten times the value of the ‎opening letters. This suggests that whereas Betzalel was indeed ‎granted great insights, it was Moses, ‎אשר פקד על פי משה‎ who had ‎the highest level of understanding how to manipulate all the ‎letters in the names of G’d‏.

Exodus 8,5.Moses said to Pharaoh: ‎‎‘you may brag concerning me, ‘for when shall I ‎pray on your behalf, etc;?” ‎ויאמר למחר, ויאמר כדבריך ‏למען תדע כי אין כה' אלוקינו‎ “He said: ‘for tomorrow!” ‎He replied: ‘just as you have said, so that you ‎will know that there is no-one comparable to the ‎Lord our G’d.’” It is worth noting that after the fourth ‎plague, (the third not having been announced ‎beforehand) in announcing the forthcoming plague, ‎‎(Exodus 8,18) G’d uses the expression: ‎והפלאתי‎ when ‎announcing beforehand that the wild beasts will not ‎invade the land of Goshen, the home of most of the ‎Children of Israel. At that point, Moses adds to his ‎warning: “in order that you will know that there is no-‎one comparable to Me on the whole Earth.” A similar ‎statement appears before the onset of the plague of ‎hail, (9,14) and prior to Moses leaving the boundaries ‎of the land of Egypt in order to pray to G’d to bring the ‎plague of hail to a conclusion. (Exodus 9,29) Moses ‎adds that his objective is to demonstrate to Pharaoh ‎that the globe is G’d’s property, ‎‏ למען תדע כי לה' הארץ‎. We ‎need to examine why G’d chose to use different ‎reasons for the onset or removal of the various ‎plagues we quoted.‎ With G’d’s help we hope to clarify the reasons ‎behind these various nuances that appear so ‎significant that the Torah bothers to list them ‎individually.‎ The Zohar, in commenting on the verse: ‎אני ‏ראשון ואני אחרון ומבלעדי אין אלוקים‎, “I am the first and I am ‎the last and apart from Me there is no Divine ‎power,”(Isaiah 44,6) sees in that verse a synopsis of the ‎functions of certain vowels (all three are dots but ‎placed on top, in the middle, or beneath the ‎consonants) If the dot is on top of the letter, as in the ‎חולם‎, it refers to the ability of the Tzaddikim to ‎cause decrees by the attribute of Justice to be ‎converted to decrees dominated by the attribute of ‎Mercy, the reason being that the concept of the Jewish ‎nation had preceded the concept of creating a physical ‎universe in G’d’s mind. The same dot appearing in the ‎middle of the letter, known as ‎שורוק‎, alludes to G’d’s ‎intervention in the affairs of man in a covert manner, ‎as He did during the period of Mordechai and Esther. ‎Finally, the dot appearing beneath the letter, known as ‎חיריק‎, alludes to the period of the wars preceding the ‎arrival of the messiah when G’d will become manifest ‎by His literally “turning the world upside down”, ‎pouring out the wicked, who at that time will finally ‎recognize His might in all its glory. The author derives ‎all of this from the concise comments of the ‎‎Zohar on the verse we quoted from Isaiah ‎‎44,6. ‎

The first thing G’d embarked on when creating the material universe was to create heaven and ‎earth.” It is an axiom, general principle, that G’d created the entire universe, and having done so, ‎never withdraws from the universe for even a single moment, [unlike sculptors or painters who, ‎once they have completed a sculpture or painting, move on to something else, having “finished” ‎with their previous “creation.” Ed.] This axiom is true both of what He created in the heavens and ‎what He created in the material, three-dimensional part of the universe. We pay tribute to this in ‎our daily prayers when we say ‎יוצר אור ובורא חושך‎, “He creates and fashions (present tense) light, ‎and He creates darkness.” When speaking of any accomplishments of G’d’s creatures however, we ‎speak of them in the past tense, i.e.‎יצר כסא‎, “he shaped a chair,” or ‎עשה מזרון‎, “he made a ‎mattress.” G’d’s creative activity is never completed, as the Torah testified in Genesis 2,3 ‎אשר ברא ‏אלוקים לעשות‎, “which the Lord has created in order to complete it.” This means that G’d is part of ‎every creature He ever created, and once man realizes that he is nothing without G’d Who has ‎created him and Who provides him with all the strength and creative stimuli that he possesses, he ‎will be able to relate to Hashem as an ongoing creative Force in His universe. This is ‎reflected every morning when we get up [after having used the washroom] and we refer to G’d ‎with the words ‎אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה‎, “Who has fashioned man with ‎חכמה‎,” the word ‎חכמה‎ ‎meaning the opposite of ‎אין‎, “nothing.” It is appropriate therefore that in that prayer we refer to ‎the creation of man in the past tense, as opposed to the line we quoted earlier, seeing that we ‎refer to something or somebody who already exists, i.e. ‎יש‎. This explains why the Ari z’al , ‎Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, said that when we refer to G’d as ‎ה' מלך‎, usually translated as “Hashem ‎‎is King,” the reference is to the ‎אין‎, “nothing,” i.e. G’d at any given moment ‎gives us life, -by not withdrawing it from us.- The implied meaning of the expression is that man is ‎‎“nothing” unless he continues to exist as part of G’d’s creative activity. The so-called ‎אין‎, “nothing,” ‎in terms of metaphysical beings, rules supreme in the regions beyond those that are part of the ‎physical universe, the one that we conveniently refer to as “nature.” This so-called ‎אין‎, is not really ‎a “nothing,” in terms of the universe, its “nothingness” is such only vis a vis the ‎physical part of the universe; in the celestial regions this “‎אין‎” rules supreme. [as opposed to the ‎חכמה‎ in our part of the universe. Ed. Although ‎יש‎ and ‎אין‎ are popularly perceived as absolute ‎opposites, not having anything in common, this perception is built on a fallacy; the linkage between ‎יש‎ and ‎אין‎ are the mitzvot, Torah commandments, performed by the Jewish people. The ‎commandments are performed in the section of the universe known as ‎יש‎, as a result of which ‎close contact is maintained between the aforementioned two domains of the universe. Ezekiel 1:14 refers to the “mitzvot” in their capacity as providing the link between the terrestrial ‎and the celestial part of the universe with the words ‎והחיות רצוא ושוב‎, “and the chayot ran ‎to and fro”. According to the Zohar II 288, the mitzvot and the Torah respectively, ‎are viewed as related to one another like the “hidden” is related to the “revealed,” both being part ‎of the same whole. Torah and mitzvot provide the link between these two domains, so that ‎each domain is not completely divorced from the other. This concept is contained in the letters of ‎the word ‎מצוה‎ when we divide it up into ‎מצ‎ and ‎וה‎. The letters ‎מצ‎ when we read the alphabet ‎backwards, starting with the letter ‎ת‎ are equivalent to the letters ‎יה‎, symbolising the totally ‎abstract Divinity, whereas the letters ‎וה‎ symbolize the hidden parts of the universe, ‎יש‎. The first ‎half of the word ‎מצוה‎ being read with the two letters used in reverse order of the aleph ‎‎bet, alludes to the “hidden” part of the universe, the domain exclusive to Divine, abstract ‎forces. Let us explain something about what precisely is “hidden” and what is “revealed,” when it ‎comes to the ‎מצוה‎, “Torah commandment.” When we perform a ‎מצוה‎, we cause G’d to become ‎pleased with having created man, the choicest of His creatures. When we comply with requests ‎made to us by a fellow human being, we can immediately gauge whether he is pleased by our ‎actions or not, either by his face indicating this, or by words of approval, something that is not the ‎case when we comply with G’d’s requests from us. Since He is invisible, and does not speak to us ‎as He did to Moses, “mouth to mouth”, we have no way of knowing if our efforts to please Him ‎have been successful. When we try to perform deeds that are for our (immediate) personal ‎benefit, we are able to determine if our efforts have succeeded. This then is the “hidden” element ‎present whenever we perform any of G’d’s commandments, ‎מצות‎. This is what the Torah had in ‎mind when it wrote (Deuteronomy 29,28) ‎הנסתרות לה' אלוקינו‎, “the hidden aspects of ‎‎mitzvah performance are reserved for the Lord our G’d;” on the other hand, ‎והנגלות לנו ‏ולבנינו עד עולם‎, “the benefits which the performance of the Torah confers upon us will be ‎revealed forever.” This is also the meaning of the words ‎בראשית ברא אלוקים‎, (addressed to us) “at ‎the beginning of G’d’s creative activity G’d created the ‎יש‎, a physical domain of the universe.” ‎Through His creating ‎יש‎, i.e. ‎ראשית‎, a beginning, the creation of heaven and earth came into being, ‎for prior to that there was only the ‎אין‎, the abstract universe. This is the meaning of Targum ‎‎Yerushalmi who renders this verse as‎ 'בראשית בחוכמא ברא ה‎', “at the beginning G’d created ‎by means of using intelligence found in the domain of the abstract regions.” ‎חכמה‎, as we pointed ‎out earlier, is a quality inherent in the terrestrial domain.‎

This was portrayed in the passage at the beginning of Tikkuney Hazohar (based on ‎‎Zohar chadash 59, column 3) where the prophet Elijah ‎appeared to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai and his son Eleazar in the cave where they were in hiding ‎from the Romans and Elijah planted a carob tree and provided a well of spring water from ‎which the two men ate and drank during the 12 years they spent in hiding. Elijah would visit them ‎twice daily and teach them, enabling them to escape prosecution by the Romans. Among the ‎lessons Elijah taught them was the fact that in order to make use of G’d’s input into the physical ‎parts of the universe, G’d had to “clothe Himself,” i.e. conceal His essence, by restricting the ‎holiness He radiated, or this would have been too overwhelming for the recipients thereof. Ari ‎zal, sums this up as: “all parts of the universe require that G’d’s essence reduces its ‎natural radiations, as all creatures in varying degrees are unable to withstand the brilliance of the ‎emanations from G’d’s essence unless they had first been screened to some extent.” According to ‎the Ari zal, any part of any universe, by definition contains a degree of substance, as ‎opposed to G’d, Who is entirely abstract, spiritual. According to this view even the purest and ‎holiest thought entertained by a living creature contains an element of physicality, since only G’d ‎can be pure spirit.‎ It follows that before G’d could undertake the creation of a physical universe He had to surround ‎His essence with “garments” shielding His creatures from this overwhelming spiritual radiance ‎emanating from Him. In order to achieve this, G’d “clothed” Himself in garments radiating light. If I ‎understand this correctly, the closer G’d came to the eventual physical world, the more subdued ‎was the brilliance exuded from His “garments,” which He changed from stage to stage so as to ‎enable the creatures in each world to tolerate it without coming to harm through being blinded.‎ All of these “worlds” (regions inhabited by spiritual beings of varying degrees of holiness) are ‎extremely bright, Isaiah 58,11 referring to them as ‎והשביע בצחצחות נפשך‎ “He will satiate your soul ‎with brightness.”‎

This point is made even more clearly in Genesis 13,14 where ‎we read: ‎וה' אמר אל אברם אחרי הפרד לוט מעמו שא נא עיניך וראה מן ‏המקום אשר אתה שם צפונה ונגבה וקדמה וימה‎, "and the Lord had said to ‎Avram after Lot had separated from him ‘raise your eyes and look ‎northward, southward, eastward and westward;’” this was a ‎promise first and foremost that he would see in his lifetime three ‎of the patriarchs of the Jewish people, i.e. himself, Yitzchok, and ‎Yaakov. The first three directions mentioned here symbolize the ‎attributes ‎חסד‎ ‎‏, גבורה, ‏and ‎תפארת‎, referring to Avraham, Yitzchok ‎and Yaakov in that order. When telling Avraham that he ‎would see ‎את כל הארץ‎, “the whole of the land” (future Eretz ‎Yisrael), this refers to David, whose attribute is ‎מלכות‎, Royalty, ‎David representing this symbol on earth, the Jewish people. David ‎is directly linked to the patriarch Avraham, was shown “the ‎whole land,” so that he would be aware that the glory of the ‎Kingdom of David would be directly traceable to him. This is the ‎reason why north and south, east and west are listed here in this ‎order. According to Ari za’l, ‎ימה‎, “west,” refers to the ‎emanation ‎יסוד‎, the emanation directly above the emanation ‎מלכות‎, the one symbolized by the kingdom of ‎David. [Malchut, as the “lowest” of the emanations, is ‎the one closest to the physical universe. Rabbi Elie Munk (Ascent ‎to Harmony) has described the emanation Malchut as ‎‎“History” (of man), thus seeing it as the bridge between the ‎actual physical universe and the celestial domains, since when ‎something becomes “history,” it has either receded or ascended ‎‎(depending on whether the persons making history made ‎constructive or destructive contributions) to a domain beyond ‎the physical but robbing it of the “substance” common to ‎phenomena in the earthly domain of the universe. ‎Ed.] According to the Zohar, tzaddik and tzedek, ‎the righteous person and the performance of righteous deeds, are ‎indivisible, i.e. the emanations ‎מלכות‎ and ‎יסוד‎ always go hand in ‎hand. We find this concept first alluded to in the Torah when ‎‎Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, (Jerusalem) in Genesis 14,18 ‎congratulates Avram on his victory, blesses him in the name of ‎the Lord, and presents him with bread and wine. The word ‎לחם‎, ‎commonly understood as “bread,” is used to describe ‎חכמה‎, ‎‎“wisdom,” whereas the word ‎יין‎, commonly understood as “wine” ‎means ‎בינה‎, “insight,” in this context. Malki Tzedek presented ‎these items as symbols of the two highest emanations man can ‎usually attain, both of which Avraham employed in his service of ‎the Lord. [As on previous occasions, the author sees in such ‎apparently irrelevant details as a King bringing bread and wine ‎from hundreds of kilometers from Jerusalem. According to Genesis ‎‎14,15, Avraham had pursued the armies of Kedorleomer all the ‎way to Damascus) an allusion to something far more profound. ‎Ed.] The Zohar I,199 traces the fact that a tzaddik ‎serves the Lord with ‎חכמה‎ and ‎בינה‎ to Job 28,28 ‎יראת ה' היא חכמה ‏וסור מרע בינה‎, “Reverence for the Lord is wisdom, to shun evil is ‎understanding, insight.” The two blessings that Malki Tzedek, ‎who was viewed as G’d’s High Priest in those days, most likely ‎Shem, Noach’s oldest son, bestowed on Avram, represent the two ‎emanations that Avram had been able to use in his service of the ‎Lord, and are reflected in Targum Yonathan’s translation of the ‎Torah, in the first verses of the Torah in which they appear. [In ‎our verses, instead of commending Avraham to G’d, as we would ‎translate the words ‎ברוך אברם ל..‏‎, Yonathan ben Uzziel translates: ‎ברוך אברם מ...‏‎, “Avram has been blessed by the supreme G’d, etc.” ‎Ed.] Targum Yerushalmi translates already the first words of the ‎Torah, i.e. ‎בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ‎, as “in the ‎beginning G’d used the emanation of ‎חכמה‎ to create heaven and ‎earth.” ‎

Leviticus 23,15. “you shall count for yourselves from ‎the day following the festival, (Passover) etc.;” we need to ‎understand first of all why the festival of Passover is referred to as ‎‎Hashabbat in our verse. This has been explained by our ‎sages, (Tanna de bey Eliyahu 14) where the author interprets ‎the word ‎בראשית‎ as meaning ‎בשביל ישראל‎, “for the sake of Israel.” ‎Granted that this is true, it did however, not come to the ‎attention of the world until G’d redeemed Israel from Egypt when ‎His love for His people manifested itself. As a result, Passover ‎became similar to the Sabbath. The Sabbath is unique as on the ‎Sabbath G’d abstained from His creative activity, whereas, ‎according to the Zohar, on Passover He abstained from ‎entertaining thoughts. When G’d “rested” on the original Sabbath ‎His work during the preceding six days was revealed for the first ‎time. Similarly, His love for the Jewish people was revealed for the ‎first time on the occasion of the redemption from Egypt, i.e. the ‎day of the Exodus. On the first day of Passover it finally became ‎clear why G’d had bothered to create the universe altogether. In ‎other words, Passover may be looked upon as the logical ‎conclusion of what had been set in motion the moment G’d had ‎first thought of the people of Israel as a project for the future. ‎This is also the meaning of a statement of the sages in Shabbat ‎‎118 that if the Israelites were to observe two Sabbath days, i.e. ‎the terrestrial Sabbath as well as the celestial Sabbath, they would ‎be redeemed immediately. The scholar to whom this statement is ‎attributed quoted Isaiah 56,4 in support, where G’d promises ‎redemption to the eunuchs who keep His Sabbaths, following up ‎in verse 7 with: “and I will bring them to the Mountain of My ‎holiness etc,. etc.” The “two” Sabbaths of which the Talmud ‎speaks are not to be understood quantitatively, i.e. 2 separate ‎Sabbath days, but refer to the ‎שבת תחתון‎ and the ‎שבט עליון‎, ‎observance of the Sabbath with our body, i.e. ‎תחתון‎, and at the ‎same time observing it with our hearts and minds, i.e. ‎שבת עליון‎, ‎the Sabbath in our upper regions, our heads. The more the ‎Israelites engage in serving the Lord, the clearer it will become ‎that G’d only created the universe on account of the Israelites. ‎There is an allusion to this in the letters of the words ‎מן פסח‎ ‎when we reverse the order of the aleph bet, i.e. that the ‎letter ‎א=ת, ב-ש, ג=ר‎ etc. [Magen Avraham on the laws ‎of the New Moon chapter 428, subsection 3 deals with this in ‎greater detail, i.e. that certain festivals must occur on the ‎weekdays corresponding to other festivals preceding them during ‎the same year. Ed.] ...

Numbers 23,9. “as I see them from the mountain tops, ‎etc.;” according to Rashi,, Bileam, viewing Israel’s ‎origin, understands that the creation of hills and mountains, etc., ‎was all due to G’d wanting a people such as Israel. If He had not ‎foreseen this in the future He would not have bothered with ‎creating our part of the universe. This reminds us of Tanna de ‎bey Eliyahu 14 where the opening line in the Torah reading ‎בראשית ברא אלוקים‎, is understood to mean that on account of ‎Israel, also known as ‎ראשית‎, G’d began the creation of the ‎universe. Had G’d foreseen only gentile nations in the future He ‎would not have bothered creating hills and mountains.‎

Numbers 21,17. “then Israel sang this song: ‘come up, ‎well sing to it- the well which chieftains dug which the ‎nobles of the people started, etc;’” We need to understand ‎why the song that the people under the leadership of Moses sang ‎after the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea, were words that ‎we could easily understand, whereas this song is shrouded in ‎mystical allusions none of which are easy to decipher.‎ The answer to this question may lie in the fact that at the sea ‎of Reeds, Moses had seen revelations by G’d in what is known as ‎אספקלריא המאירה‎, “a clear vision” (compare Yevamot 49) so ‎that he could announce his prophecies without having to resort ‎to allusions.‎ The song we read here was not composed by Moses, but the ‎Torah wrote: “then Israel sung, etc.” In other words, the people ‎had been divinely inspired, but being only people, not Moses, ‎they had seen prophetic insights only through the prism of ‎אספקלריא שאיננה מאירה‎, a vision which was distorted through ‎reflections. Rashi on 21,20 already asks the question why ‎the name of Moses is not mentioned in this paragraph. He ‎answers that the reason is that on account of this well, or rather ‎its having failed after Miriam’s death having caused him to be ‎punished, it would not have been fitting to associate his name ‎when singing the praises of this well.‎ Let us now proceed to explain the allusions contained in this ‎poetic song extolling the well.‎ Sometimes G’d will perform a miracle for the Israelites in ‎response to their cry to Him for help, and this is the manner in ‎which He responds to their outcry. The splitting of the sea of ‎Reeds at the time was an example of G’d’s responding by means of ‎an impressive miracle. We have read in Exodus 14,10: ‎ויצעקו בני ‏ישראל וגו'‏‎, “the Israelites cried out, etc,” The splitting of the sea ‎was G’d’s response to that outcry.‎ On other occasions G’d performs a miracle for the people ‎without their being in need, i.e. according to their perception. ‎The people had not even been aware at that time that deadly ‎danger was near them. When wondering why G’d had performed a ‎miracle for them, they investigated what danger could have ‎lurked near them without their having been aware of it. This was ‎the case in the paragraph above where the people only belatedly ‎became aware of the Canaanites that G’d had killed.‎ We are entitled to ask what prompted G’d to reveal these ‎details in the Torah which Rashi describes as the Canaanites ‎having been hidden in clefts of rock overhanging the Arnon river ‎that were invisible to people passing underneath along its banks. ‎In the kedushah formula according to the Sefardi ‎nussach which begins with the word: ‎כתר‎, we encounter the ‎line ‎הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כראשית‎, “see I will redeem you in the ‎future just as I have redeemed you in the past.” At first glance ‎this does not seem much of a promise; we had surely hoped that ‎the ultimate redemption will be something far superior to the ‎partial redemptions we have experienced from time to time! In ‎light of that why would the author of this line link the final ‎redemption to previous redemptions? Who has ever heard of the ‎major event being linked to the minor event?‎ Did not our sages (Tannah de bey Eliyahu 14) state that ‎the meaning of the opening word of the Torah, ‎בראשית‎ is ‎בשביל ‏ראשית‎, “on account of the people of Israel who are called ‎ראשית‎, ‎the Lord created heaven and earth?” If all parts of the universe ‎were created on account of the Jewish people, this surely means ‎that there is a constant injection of additional essence of life into ‎the earth itself, on account of the pre-eminence of the Jewish ‎people? It would follow that the earth is therefore obligated to ‎conform to the expressed will of the Jewish people, since its very ‎existence hinges on the well being of the Jewish people. Keeping ‎the universe in a condition that ensures its continued existence, ‎i.e. ‎תקון העולם‎ is the earth’s self interest.‎ It is true that only after the final stage of the universe’s ‎creation had been revealed, i.e. the earth and its inhabitants, had ‎it become clear what had been in the mind of the Creator from ‎the moment He had contemplated creating a universe. At that ‎time all could see that the intervening stages of creation had all ‎been leading up to the creation of the Jewish people as the ‎crowning achievement. This is what the author of the line we ‎quoted from the kedushah had in mind when he wrote: ‎אתכם אחרית כראשית‎, “you in the end as at the beginning.” Only ‎after the final redemption will G’d’s plan for the Jewish people ‎become revealed as having been His plan from the earliest ‎moment of the creative process. ‎ As long as Jewish history on this earth has not yet come to its ‎successful conclusion (history in the sense of development) G’d’s ‎original intentions could not have become manifest to one and ‎all. During the period leading up to this point in Jewish history ‎miracles have to be performed at the request of the Jewish ‎people. Once that period has passed successfully, miracles will be ‎performed by nature on behalf of the Jewish people without their ‎having to ask for them. The day (not literally) prior to the ‎revelation at Mount Sinai, when the design of G’d that the Jewish ‎people are the objective of His creation of the universe had ‎become manifest, this had not yet been common knowledge. This ‎is why we read in Exodus 14,10 when Pharaoh had caught up ‎with the Israelites, that ‎ויצעקו בני ישראל‎, “the Children of Israel ‎cried out,” i.e. asked to be saved by means of a miracle. Now at ‎the time of or after the giving of the Torah when G’d’s original ‎plan that His people would be the Jewish people had become well ‎known, there was no need for them to cry out even if the enemy ‎had lain in ambush. At this time and subsequently, the earth, for ‎reasons of self preservation, would not allow fatal harm to befall ‎Israel as it would suffer the consequences itself. Calling on the ‎source of water to arise, i.e. to become manifest, was therefore a ‎command directed at the earth rather than to G’d. The Israelites reminded the earth of its self-interest in ‎providing the Jewish people with a source of water for their needs ‎in the desert. This is what Rashi had in mind when he ‎commented on the words ‎ענו לה‎, (verse 14-15) that the mountain ‎addressed was part of Eretz Yisrael. The song was in ‎recognition of what the earth had done, (performed miracles) on ‎behalf of the Jewish people without having been asked to do so.‎

The matter is as follows: “For with YaH, God formed the worlds” (Isaiah 26:4). This is “Bereishit [God] created” (Genesis 1:1), since with the Torah, which is called reishit, [God] created worlds (Bereishit Rabbah 1:1).

Bereishit (“In the beginning”)—l’einei kol Yisrael (“before the eyes of all Israel”)

And this is the concept of the aforementioned derekh (road) to the Land of Israel from which the tzaddik draws life while in a state of simplicity. This is because the power of the Land of Israel’s sanctity is in essence produced by the concept of “He informed His people of the power of His acts, to give them the heritage of the nations” (Psalms 111:6). This is as Rashi comments on the verse Bereishit: The reason Scripture begins with “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) is to prevent them from saying, “You are robbers….” Scripture therefore began with “In the beginning,” [to make known] that God created everything, and by His wish He gave it to them, and by His wish…. It follows, that the Land of Israel’s power in essence stems from the Ten Utterances through which the world was created, which are the concept of “the power of His acts.” Through this Israel was able to go and conquer the Land of Israel.

This is because renewal of the world in the Future will be through the attribute of the Land of Israel, which in essence is the concept of “He informed His people of His powerful works…” (Psalms 111:6). This is as Rashi explains the verse “In the beginning God created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1). Rashi explains that this is the reason Scripture begins with “In the beginning”: because “He informed His people of His powerful works, to give them the heritage of the nations.” In order to keep the world’s nations from saying, “You are thieves…,” Scripture therefore began with “In the beginning,” [to make known] that God created it. It follows, that the Land of Israel is in essence the product of “His powerful works”—through knowing that God created the world.

Elohim et— This alludes to lower wisdom and upper wisdom. “Elohim” is the concept of lower wisdom, as is known. “Et” is the concept of upper wisdom, the concept of “et the heavens” (Genesis 1:1). That is, the way to unite and bind lower wisdom with upper wisdom is through…

“You have chosen us from all the nations and exalted us above all languages.” The unique holiness of the Jewish People is founded on God's Covenant, which requires that we overcome the physical lusts that separate us from God, especially immoral sexual desire. The instrument God gave us to conquer our desires is the “Holy Language.” This refers first and foremost to Hebrew, the language through which God brought about the creation, the language of the Torah and the prayerbook. However in a broader sense this term is also applied to our own private prayers and conversations with God in our mother-tongue. To cultivate the art of prayer is to master the Holy Language. The more we do so, the greater our ability to cool the furnace of our physical passions. In consequence of the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we live in a world in which good and evil are mixed up in every sphere, including the language we use in our mundane affairs. (This corresponds to Aramaic, which was the vernacular of the Jews of ancient times, and is the language of the Targum — translation of the Torah.) In our everyday conversations it is all too easy to fall into falsehood, slander, vulgarity, idle talk, obscenity and so on. Only when we refine and sanctify our everyday language can we attain complete mastery of the Holy Language of Torah and prayer. The opening verse of the Torah (Genesis 1:1) contains twenty-eight (Kaph-Chet) Hebrew letters: these are the source of the Ko'aCh — creative power — of the Hebrew letters that animate everything in creation. One who achieves mastery of the Holy Language is able to arouse this creative power, and can reach a level where all his pleasure in eating and drinking, etc. derives not from physical food and drink but from the spiritual letters of the Holy Language they contain. Divine power is channelled to the letters animating the creation through the thirty-two names of God [Elokim] found in the account of creation (Genesis 1). These thirty-two (Lamed-Beit) names are, as it were, the heart (LeV) of creation. When a person is nourished by the letters underlying the physical creation, his heart radiates, shining to his face, which becomes so pure that other people are moved to repent purely by looking at him. The relationship between the Holy Language and the language of everyday life — the Targum — corresponds to that between Shabbat and the days of the week. Our task is to sanctify the days of the week by bringing the Shabbat spirit into them, until the entire creation becomes reunified in its Source. God: Open my lips and my mouth will declare Your praise. Open Your mouth to the dumb, and help me offer my prayer to You in the language of love and entreaty, in words of crystal clarity, in the language used by the ministering angels. Let me find words that can arouse Your true love for me. Let me speak to You in language of perfect holiness — the Holy Language.

[Regarding] the statement in the Holy Zohar, “Come to Pharaoh (Ex. 10:1) – it should have said ‘go to Pharaoh!’” (cf. Zohar Bo, 2:34a), as well as the question posed by the commentators, which I wrote above – the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt was that the Awareness was in exile with wicked Pharaoh in Egypt; and therefore Israel was exiled there to bring the Awareness from there. And the difficulty of the servitude made it whole, as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar: “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer]; and in brick [oo-vil’venim] (Ex. 1:14), that is the heating [libbun] of halakhah; and in all manner of service in the field (Ex. 1:14), that is the external sources; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor [b’farekh] (Ex. 1:14), that is argumentation [pirkha]” (Tikkun 9, Supplement 147a), which is to say that all of this was in exile in Egypt. And through their servitude they took the Awareness, which is the Torah, out of the exile. When they served in mortar they brought [the logical argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for all the other servitudes as we have stated. And therefore when Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him, said, Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me [ – How then shall Pharaoh listen to me] (Ex. 6:12), and Rashi explained, “This is one of ten ‘…and certainly…’ [arguments] in the Torah,” that is to say that when [Moses] said this “…and certainly…” [argument] he brought the “…and certainly…” [argument] in the Torah out of the exile. For the all of the Torah was in the Egyptian exile, since the Awareness was in exile; and the Awareness is the Torah. Now, the Torah begins with [the letter] bet, In the beginning [God] created etc. (Gen. 1:1); but why didn’t the Torah begin with aleph, which is the first of all the letters? Because [if that were the case] the world would not be able to exist for even one hour, and would be nullified from existence because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it alludes to the Champion [aluf] of the World, who is Blessed God in [God’s] Glory and [God’s] Essence, as if it were possible. But because the LORD God is a sun and shield (Psalm 84:12) – which is to say just like one can not look at the sun because of its great brightness, only by way of a shade or a shield can one look at the sun’s light – so too, as if it were possible, with a thousand thousands of thousands of distinctions without end or boundary, would it be impossible to exist because of the letter aleph’s great brightness, since it is the Champion of the World. Only by way of a shade or a shield, which is the letter bet – [only] through it does it become possible to constrain the letter aleph so that it can also be in the Torah. For after the letter bet in bereshit we find several alephs, in the word bereshit and in the words bara elohim, once it was constrained by the letter bet. And that is [the meaning of] Come [בא] to Pharaoh, which is to say through the bet the aleph will be in the Torah. And since now the Torah is in exile, therefore I have hardened his heart and [the heart of his servants] (Ex. 10:1) so that Israel will serve in mortar and in brick (Ex. 1:14) to bring the Torah out of exile. And as is stated in Tikkunei Zohar, “… in mortar [be-homer] (Ex. 1:13-14), that is [the logical argument of] ‘…and certainly…’ [kal ve-homer],” as we said above – through this they brought [the argument of] “…and certainly…” out of the exile, and so on for the other servitudes. And that is [the meaning of] that I may show these signs [otot] of mine among them (Ex. 10:1), that the letters [otiot], which belong to the Torah, must be taken out of exile. And the verse concludes, that you may tell … how I have toyed (Ex. 10:2), which is to say that I made Myself small since the Awareness was in smallness. And now you may know (Ex. 10:2), as was stated above.

This shall be the Torah concerning the one struck with skin blanch [metzora] on the day he becomes clean. He shall be brought to the priest (Lev. 14:2), and our Sages of Blessed Memory interpreted metzora as one who speaks evil [motzi ra], for afflictions come through the sin of evil speech. But the matter is according to what is written, When God began to create etc. (Gen. 1:1), and our Sages of Blessed Memory interpreted: “For the sake of Torah and for the sake of Israel” (cf. Rashi, ad. loc.); so we find that Israel is something very important to Blessed God, since for their sake all of the Worlds and all the Creations were created. And Blessed God takes pleasure from each one of Israel, even from a greatly wicked person: “Your temples [rakatekh] are like a pomegranate (Song of Songs 6:7) – even the empty ones [reykanim] among you are as full of mitzvot as a pomegranate” (Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 57a). And when a person speaks evil about one of Israel, even if he speaks truth, he nullifies the Blessed Creator’s pleasure (if it were possible) and causes Him sadness (if it were possible) as is stated, [And the Lord …] was saddened in to His heart (Gen. 6:6), and inverts the pleasure [oneg] into affliction [nega]; therefore his “wage” is measure for measure, affliction comes upon him. And our Sages of Blessed Memory said: “Evil speech is as great as idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder” (Babylonian Talmud, Arakhin 15b). But we must be precise: what connection does idolatry have to evil speech? But the matter is according to what is written, By the word of ADONAI were the heavens made (Psalm 33:6), that all of the Worlds and all of the Creations were created through speech comprised of the 22 letters of the Torah, which is called Heavenly Sovereignty. For when the Sovereign does not speak, no one knows how to do His Will; and when he speaks His Will is revealed, and that is Heavenly Sovereignty whose Sovereignty is in all jurisdictions. And we find in Sefer Yetzirah that [the letters] are established in the mouth, that Blessed God established the 22 letters: the World of Speech, Heavenly Sovereignty, the Attribute of ADONAI-ness, ADONAI, open my lips (Psalm 51:17), were established in the human mouth.

“In the beginning God created ….” (Bereshit, 1:1) “Created” means strengthening. In the beginning, God strengthened and reinforced the foundations so that they could receive the creation. This is like a king who builds a treasure house. First, he strengthens the foundations and the walls so they can receive his treasures. The heavens and the earth are the foundations of the universe, which correspond in a human being to the mind and the heart. When a person wants to live according to God’s will and become a complete creation, he needs to fortify and strengthen these two foundations. In other words, he must hand over his intellect and thoughts, and his most heartfelt desires to God, crowning God over them, so that he uses them only according to His will. This is as Rabbi Israel, the holy Baal Shem Tov, taught: “A person is entirely where his thoughts are.” This is also the meaning of the verse, “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes follow My ways” (Mishlei, 23:26). That is, if you give Me your thoughts, then you will naturally follow My ways. For when you commit your heart to God, serving Him will become primary in your life, and all worldly concerns secondary. This is like a rich man who has a wise and wonderful son whom he betroths to a woman befitting his honor. When he prepares the wedding banquet and tastes the food, all he thinks of is the joy of his son, while the taste of the food is secondary.

In a beginning created God etc - see the explanation of Rashi "in a beginning - due to Israel that are called beginning, and due to Torah that is called beginning" and the midrash, too, has "due to the mitzvah of first fruits, that are called beginning" (Rashi on Genesis 1:1). And one could say that all those opinions have the same intention, that one opinion says this, the other opinion says that, and they do not dispute.

“These are the records of the Mishkan of testimony” (Shemos 38:21). The Midrash Tanchuma (Pekudei 2) states that the Mishkan is precious and compared to the creation of the Heavens and earth. This is evident in the usage of the word “testimony” in both contexts, as it states, “I bring the Heavens and earth to testify for you,” and the Mishkan is called a Mishkan of testimony. The Mishkan served to repair the entire creation, as the Zohar states, and it hinted at very elevated things, all dependent on Hashem's words. The “testimony” that Bnei Yisrael provide clarifies the truth in this world of falsehood. Testimony is relevant when there is uncertainty, and the Mishkan clarifies Hashem’s presence. The entire creation also serves as a testimony to Bnei Yisrael, revealing Hashem's glory. Rashi (Bereishis 1:1) explains that the Torah begins with Bereishis because “the power of His actions He has given to His nation.” Bnei Yisrael are connected to the source above, the point of renewal. The first mitzvah given to Bnei Yisrael, Rosh Chodesh, is in the source of unity, above nature. This indicates that the entire creation clarifies the strength of Bnei Yisrael, who have the power to reveal Hashem's glory in the physical world. By subjecting their hearts to Hashem, Bnei Yisrael were able to create the Mishkan in this physical world, drawing Hashem's presence into the realm of action. This renewal is evident in all their dwellings, even in a world of separation.

The term "each person and their house" (Bereishis 1:1) symbolizes the extensions and dependencies of a person. Bnei Yisrael, who draw life force to the entire world and their future generations, are called "Beit Yisrael" (House of Yisrael). Even in exile, they could connect to the source of life from the holy forefathers and tribes. This connection was a preparation for exile, ensuring that, despite the absence of servitude while Yaakov’s children lived, their strength was linked to Beit Yisrael, aiding their survival during difficult times.

Rashi (Bereishis 1:1) explains that Hashem originally intended to create the world with the attribute of judgement, but seeing that the world could not endure, He combined it with mercy. This does not imply a retraction, as Hashem's decisions are perfect. Instead, it teaches us that our intention should always be to act with strict adherence to justice, striving to fulfill Hashem's will perfectly. However, since we cannot achieve this on our own, Hashem combines mercy to allow us to complete our actions properly. Our intention must always aim for perfection. It is known that our thoughts connect to the highest source of thoughts, and our actions to the source of all actions. Hashem's original intention to create the world with judgement means our desire should align with this standard. In reality, our actions can only be completed with Hashem's help, as expressed in “The G-d who completes for me.” This completion is through mercy, as strict judgement requires us to do everything ourselves, which is impossible. When our intentions are correct, Hashem assists us, combining judgement with mercy.

Rashi (Bereishis 1:1) explains that Hashem originally intended to create the world with the attribute of judgement, but seeing that the world could not endure, He combined it with mercy. This raises the question: how can it say "created" if it was only His intention? Moreover, can there be a change in Hashem's thoughts? The answer is that Hashem’s intention was to create the world in such a way that our desire should be to fulfill the Torah perfectly, as originally intended. Even though we can't achieve this perfection in action due to the world's imperfections, our desire should be aligned with judgement. Since we can't complete everything perfectly, Hashem combined judgement with mercy, allowing us to fulfill His will. The Zohar (1:5a) explains that just as Hashem created the world through the Torah, the tzadikim sustain the world through their effort in Torah. Hashem created the world dependent on the Torah, as indicated by "the sixth day," implying that creation was conditional on Bnei Yisrael accepting the Torah. This ensures that tzadikim control creation through Torah. This is why the Torah begins with Bereishis, to show that the world’s existence depends on Bnei Yisrael. Hashem combined judgement with mercy so that through the thoughts and efforts of the tzadikim, they awaken Hashem’s mercy, allowing them to sustain the world. During the weekdays, there is always a lack unless one yearns for Shabbos. Despite being busy with various tasks, one should aim to stay focused on serving Hashem, which leads to the special assistance of Shabbos, the extra soul, and the combination with mercy.

Mentioning the names of the Tzaddikim has the power to bring about a change in the Act of Creation, altering Nature. This is alluded to through [a combination of the verses]: “These are the generations of heaven and earth” (Genesis 2:4) and “These are the names of the Children of Israel” (Exodus 1:1).

The Rebbe lived for two more years after returning from Lemberg. During these last years, he constantly spoke of faith. As we understood him, everything he said was meant to bring true faith into every Jewish heart.

For the community of Israel, comprising 600,000 particular souls, is the [source of] life for the world as a whole, which was created for their sake. ( Cf. Rashi, Genesis 1:1.) And each one of them contains and is related to the vitality of one part in 600,000 of the totality of the world, which [part] depends on his vital soul for its elevation to G–d through its own [the soul’s] elevation, by virtue of the individual’s partaking of this world for the needs of his body and vital soul in the service of G–d, viz., eating, drinking, and the like, [his] dwelling and all his utensils.

Concerning this our Sages of blessed memory said, “Originally it arose in [G–d’s] thought to create the world with the attribute of stern judgement; (I.e., with the attribute of tzimtzum, complete concealment of the Divine light. Judgment signifies an act of negation and an imposition of limits. Therefore, in Kabbalah it is a synonym for tzimtzum and gevurah.) He saw, however, that the world could not endure, [so] He combined with it the attribute of mercy,” ( Rashi, Genesis 1:1. See Bereishit Rabbah 12:15; Pesikta Rabbati 40:2.) that is, the revelation of G–dliness through the tzaddikim and the signs and miracles recorded in the Torah. (Miracles are evidence of G–d’s “hand” in nature and demonstrate that He is the Master of all; all cosmic and natural powers are subservient to Him.)

For the first (I.e., highest.) quality and rank of creatures is wisdom, hence it is called “the beginning.” (Cf. Psalms 111:10. Targum Yerushalmi, Genesis 1:1. Zohar I:3b; II:121b.) For indeed, it is the beginning and fountainhead of all the life-force in creatures, for from wisdom are derived understanding and knowledge and from them flow all the emotion attributes of the rational soul, such as love and kindness and mercy and the like. As is seen clearly that the child, having no wisdom, is always angry and unkind. And even his love is for trivial things which are not worthy to be loved, because he has no wisdom to love things which are worthy of love, for [the quality of] love is according to [the level of] wisdom.

(This means that though, in terms of fulfillment, positive commandments are superior and supersede (Yevamot 3b.) prohibitions, this is because by performing a positive command one precipitates an illumination and flow into the higher worlds (Kabbalah and Chasidut explain the difficulty in creating a finite physical universe by an infinite Creator with the concept of tzimtzum, or contraction, concealment. There was a series of concealments of the presence and infinitude of the Creator, resulting ultimately in our physical universe, in the virtually total obscuring of G–d. The noncorporeal intermediate steps between Creator and this material world are called “Worlds,” four in general terms, with innumerable subgradations within each of these Worlds. The highest World is Atzilut, “Emanation,” a state of proximity and relative unity with G–d. Lower Worlds appear to be independent, entities apart from the Creator. In the fourth, Asiyah or “Action,” there is the spiritual plane where physical matter does not yet exist, and the final corporeal World we inhabit. “Higher” and “lower” refer to stages closer or more distant from the Creator, with a deeper or lesser awareness of Him, hence a greater or lesser awareness of their own being. (There is no implication of physical distance, an obviously irrelevant concept.) Through performance of mitzvot, positive commandments, subordinating the physical world and specific objects at hand to a higher, Divine purpose, all stages (or Worlds) experience a clearer apprehension of the Creator, become “closer” to Him, His presence and being becoming more evident. This “illumination” extends also to the individual soul performing the mitzvah. It will be noted shortly that sin has the opposite effect, both for the transgressing soul and “higher.” It is of interest that the beneficial results of good and the deleterious effects of misdeed concern far more than the individual involved. Man’s importance is cosmic. All the “worlds” feel the repercussions of man’s actions. This concept of man as the ultimate in Creation, the determinant of the fate of the universe, is found frequently. See Rashi on Genesis 1:1 for a typical statement. The word “reflected” is used in the text here for, at most, the revelation is at a far remove from His true being, or even from the light emanating from Him. The term hints at the unbridgable chasm between finite and what, for want of a better word, we call the Infinite. Some of the terms discussed here are explained more fully in the Translator’s Explanatory Notes to On Learning Chassidus and in The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement, p. 110, footnotes 3 and 4. Likkutei Amarim, Parts 1 and 2 are, of course, primary sources.) from the reflected Light of the En Sof, blessed is He, (in Zohar ( Tikkunei Zohar 30.) we find the 248 positive commandments equated with the 248 “organs (The revelation of G–d effected by performance of mitzvot varies according to each mitzvah, for example, a mitzvah of thought (Torah study, etc.), speech (Shema reading, etc.), or deed (charity, donning tefillin, etc.). A different organ of the body performs the mitzvah, and a different “organ of the King” is revealed through the performance, perception of a different aspect of the Creator. (The 613 Biblical commandments are divided into 248 positive and 365 negative commandments.)) of the King”) and also to his Divine soul, (See Likkutei Amarim, end of chapter 1, and chapter 2, describing “animal” and Divine souls.) as we declare in the blessings, “Who has hallowed us with His commandments.” (The blessing recited before performing a mitzvah is associated with a positive act rather than with the (passive) restraints exercised in observing a prohibition. Performance brings sanctification with it.) But concerning repentance, though the punishment for rebelling against His rule and not performing the King’s word is commuted, nonetheless, that illumination is withheld…. (The status quo ante, as it were, is maintained. The beneficence ensuing from performance is not granted, but neither is there any charge of neglect.)

Now, with terrestrial man, for example, when one who is so great a sage as to comprehend the wonders of wisdom contracts his intellect and thought to a single letter of his speech, this is an immense contraction (tzimtzum) and a great descent for his wondrous wisdom. Metaphorically speaking, precisely so, and infinitely more so, there was an immensely great and mighty contraction (tzimtzum) (See Addendum, Mystical Concepts in Chassidism.) when during the six days of creation “The heavens were made by the word of the L–rd, and all their hosts by the breath of His mouth” (Psalms 33:6; cf. note 67.) —i.e., by the letter hey of the Name of Havaya, blessed is He, [the “light letter”] as it is written: (Genesis 2:4.) “בהבראם,” (which means): בה’ בראם (“when He created them,” He created them, by the hey). (The word בהבראם (when He created them) is divisible into two parts, forming these two words.—Menachot 29b; Midrashim on Genesis 2:4.) It (The hey, malchut of Atzilut, in which chochmah of Atzilut is vested.) is the source of the nine fiats which issued from the first fiat: (“The universe was created by ten fiats”—(Avot 5:1; cf. Zohar I:256b; Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 10b; Zohar Chadash, beg. of Midrash Hane’elam) the first of which is generally all-inclusive.) Bereishit (The initial word of the Torah, Bereishit, may mean in, or with reishit (the beginning).) —which is also a fiat (Rosh Hashanah 32a; Zohar I:15a; see also Zohar I:16b.) (and identical with) the aspect of chochmah, which is called reishit. ([82]Reishit—the beginning, i.e., the first sefirah—see Sefer Habahir 3; Zohar I:3b, 31b, and 256b; Zohar Chadash, Midrash Hane’elam, 3a; see also Targum Yerushalmi on Genesis 1:1.)

(Moreover, the word “Tov-Good-טוב” has a numerical value of seventeen, (See Likkutei Torah (of the Arizal), Vayeshev; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Bereishit, pg. 294 and pg. 328; Shaarei Orah (of the Mittler Rebbe), pg. 170.) that is, א"ה ו"ה-17, which are the first letters of the words [of the verse], (Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 23:24; See Zohar Hashmatot, 251a; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Kuntreisim p. 225.) “את השמים ואת הארץ – The Heavens and The Earth,” that is, “He unites the heavens and the earth.” (See Zohar Hashmatot, pg. 251a – The first two letters of this name (א''ה) are the first two letters of the name אהי״ה which is Keter, whereas the last two letters of this name (ו''ה) are the last two letters of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, which represent the lower levels of Zeir Anpin and Nukva (Malchut). As the Zohar states on the words, את השמים ואת הארץ – The heavens and the earth, “These words form the acrostic אהו''ה, for with this name the heaven and the earth were created. The heavens were created with the א''ה and the earth and everything therein were created with the ו''ה.” We thus see that this name אהו״ה represents the union of the higher levels (the heavens) with the lower levels (the earth).)

This aspect of Elohi”m-אלהי״ם is the aspect of the “constraint and withdrawal” (Tzimtzum v’Histalkut). This is as stated by our sages, (See Rashi to Genesis 1:1; Maamarei Admor HaZaken, Parshiyot HaTorah Vol. 1 pg. 337; Maamarei Admor HaEmtza'ee, Devarim Vol. 4, p. 1,420.) “At first it arose in thought to create through the quality of judgment,” which is the name Elohim-אלהי״ם etc.

(This accords with the translation of Onkelos (See Onkelos translation to Genesis 1:1) on the word “Bereishit-in the beginning, as being B'Kadmin-בקדמין, which refers to the Primal Desire (Ratzon HaKadoom-רצון הקדום), that is, the “Desire of the Primordial Thought” (Machshavah HaKedooma-מחשבה הקדומה), which is called the aspect of Elohi”m-אלהי״ם in an aspect of constraint and division, according to the statement of our sages that, (Talmud Bavli, Rosh HaShanah 32a) “Bereishit is also a [creative] utterance (Maamar)”; in that it is the aspect of the Hidden Saying (Ma'amar Satoom) of the Hidden Thought (Machshava HaStoomah), until the aspect of the Simple Essential Thought, as discussed before.

This is the meaning of the verse, (Psalms 104:24) “You have actualized (Asita) all of them with wisdom (Chochmah),” for it includes all the utterances of the other specific qualities in the word of the King etc., like the Yerushalmi translation [on the word] Bereishit-בראשית meaning “With wisdom-B'Chuchmeta-בחכמתא,” as known. (Targum Yerushalmi to Genesis 1:1)

This then is the meaning of what is written, (Genesis 1:1) “Bereshit Barah – In the beginning God created etc.”

“Bereshit-בראשית” is translated by Targum Yerushalmi (See Targum Yerushalmi to Genesis 1:1) as “B’Chochmeta - with Wisdom.” Onkelos translates it as “BeKadmin – Primordially.”

In other words, [“he renews”] in “Kadmin – Desire” and “Chochmeta – Wisdom,” [which are the translations] (See Targum Onkelus and Targum Yerushalmi to Genesis 1:1) of “In the beginning He created.”

..."In the beginning G-d created" until "The first day" I see in these verses the following questions to raise The first question is on the verse of "In the beginning G-d created" etc. And that is, if the verse comes to relay the order of the creation... ...The first question is in the verse "in the beginning God created" etc. It is that if the text was coming to tell the order of the creation and what came before, why would it say that the First created heaven and earth. For in them you will find that which physically exists above and below. If all this was created in the beginning, what was it that was created afterward? And the commentators ... this in the saying that the text did not come to tell us the order of creation ... You should say: in the beginning of God's creation of Heaven and Earth, the Land was Void and Nothing. This is the way of Rashi and Ibn Ezra. Ralbag is close to them if not that he makes ... with the saying "let there be light." The text speaks according to its thought "In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth and the Earth was Void and Nothingness ... God said let there be light." This explanation does not appear entirely correct with me because it would it would obligate that the text ... On the first intention creation to Heaven and Earth that is the essence ... and its faith.

Our Sages said, "That a letter Beth was added...etc." The commentators longed to for their sake to an explanation HaRav's words in a various ways, And after the study it seems that his words (brought) up with an opinion (from) Rashi and became a few. Here is HaRav (whom) introduce to the Torah conflicting opinions Midrash of the study beginning with Beth assume a blessing in the creation of heaven and...etc. And in a book explain clear an opposite of that wrote showed letters reason, these (was) his words hakof reverse a truth and curse forever...etc.

There is a midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 1), that the reason why [the Torah] opened with a "bet" and not with an "aleph", is because the "bet" has a connotation of blessing ("B"racha), and "aleph" has a connotation of cursing ("A"rirah). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I will open with a "bet", with a connotation of blessing, and if it would only be that it should be able to be fulfilled! Alternatively: [The reason the Torah opens with a "bet", which equals two in gematria] is because of the two worlds that were created, this world and the world to come. Alternatively: [The reason the Torah opens with a "bet", which equals two in gematria] is because of the two Torahs, the written Torah, and the oral Torah, to teach you that the world was created in the merit of the Torah and its learners. Bereishit: The [same Hebrew] letters as "Bet Resh" [="first house"], meaning the first Temple, as it says (Jeremiah 17:12) "An honorable throne, exalted from the beginning, the place of our Temple." Alternatively: The [same Hebrew] letters as "A' B'Tishrei" [="1st of Tishrei"], which was when the world was created. Alternatively: The [same Hebrew] letters as "Yirei Shabbat" [="Awe of the Sabbath"], to tell you that the world was created in the merit of Shabbat. Alternatively: The [same Hebrew] letters as "Brit Aish" [="Covenant, Fire"], that in the merit of "covenant", which is circumcision, and in the merit of fire, which is the Torah, we will be saved from the judgement of Gehinnom. Alternatively: The [same Hebrew] letters as "Briat Yesh" [="Creation of something/310"], for the creation of 310 worlds for every righteous individual.

"Bereishit Bara": In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "On Rosh Hashanah the world was created."

Bereishit: In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "With the Torah He created", because the world was created because of the Torah which is called "Reshit". Alternatively: In numerical value, [the letters also equal] "6 Orders [of the Mishnah]". Alternatively: The numerical value is "Israel is chosen among the nations", and also in numerical value "613 He created", that He created the world for the sake of Israel keeping the 613 commandments. "Bereishit", He created firmament, land, heavens, sea, abyss. Alternatively: First Elohim saw that Israel would accept His Torah.

בראשית. The reason why G-d commenced the Torah with the letter ב, the second letter in the alphabet, instead of with letter א the first letter in the alphabet, is to draw our attention to the fact that the letter ב is surrounded from three sides, i.e. from east, west, and south, whereas the fourth side is left open, a warning that evil winds may blow from the north unimpeded by a barrier. We have a tradition dating back to Jeremiah, that disaster threatening the Jewish people has a habit of commencing from the North (Jeremiah1.14) . [This editor always found this puzzling as the meaning of the word צפון, “north,” is “hidden,” i.e. not easy of access, and here the letter ב being open in a northerly directions would appear to invite disaster. Ed.] We also find that the name of G-d when spelled אדני appears in the Torah 134 times, corresponding to the combination of the first and last letter of each of the letters in the words for “east,” i.e. 48 מזרח, “south,” דרום, i.e. 44, and “west,” i.e. מערב, i.e. 42. The “north” is not hinted at, and is left open until there is a need, i.e. to counter it with a different name of the Lord. The number 134 is equivalent to the numerical value of the word (Aramaic) קלד, “to lock up, insert a key.” When disaster faces the Jewish people, G-d’s people, the Creator will be called upon to seal the fourth side of this first letter in the Torah by using His “name” as the key. The answer to the question, why He had left it open in the first place, seeing He sealed all the other directions to prevent attacks upon His people, is in order to present a challenge to the blasphemers when the time of the redemption comes to close this side if they are able to. If you will count each letter of the alphabet and add it up according to their values as numbers, i.e. 2= ב+ 1=א plus ג = 3, you will get a total of 1500, i.e. 500 for each of the three other directions, corresponding to the number 500, the years of travel on foot travel on foot required to cross the surface of the globe in each direction. (based on Shir hashirim rabbah 6.14)

בראשית; Rashi comments on this word as follows: “Rabbi Yitzchok said that there was not really any need to commence the Torah before the beginning of chapter 12 in Exodus, when G-d addressed the Jewish nation with legislation about the forthcoming Passover. He only did so in order to tell mankind that He owns the earth and therefore can allocate parts of it to those, whom He chooses, i.e. that the Israelites did not rob the Canaanites of their land, which had never been rightfully theirs. Rashi therefore considers the laws about Passover as the first commandment given to the Jewish people. If we were to counter that the seven universal laws that apply to all of mankind apply to us also, and these had been given many years before there was an Avraham, even, the answer is that what Rashi meant was the Passover legislation was the first commandment given to the Jewish people when all of them were present during that address. (Exodus 12,3) To the question that the mere idea of the Canaanites arguing that the Israelites had stolen their land, seeing that what belongs to the slave automatically belongs to his master, and Canaan (Noach’s grandson) had been demoted to being a slave by his grandfather ever since he had been cursed, so how could they have ever owned it? (compare Genesis 9,26) Canaan’s descendants had been slaves of Shem, the great-grandfather of Avraham ever since! Rashi himself pointed this out already on Genesis 12,6. The Canaanites, as alluded to in that verse, had robbed the descendants of Shem of their heritage! We would have to answer that the Canaanites i.e. the tribes making up that kingdom, also contained kings (King of Chatzor) and others who were not descended from the original Canaan. (Compare Joshua, beginning chapter 11) The latter might even have been descended from Shem, so that the Israelites would have had a legal claim on the land they occupied as they were rightful owners. An alternate way of explaining why the Torah commenced with the word (and the story that follows) of בראשית is this. It is to inform us of the sequence in which this material universe came into existence and how once created it was allocated to the creatures inhabiting it, as Rashi explained, i.e. to prove that the Canaanites had no legal claim to dispute the Jews’ viewing it as their inheritance, ancestral heritage, by claiming that rightfully Eylam had a legal claim to it. [Eylam was Shem’s firstborn son, (Genesis 10,21, whereas Avraham was a descendant of Shem’s youngest son Arpachshad, basing themselves on what is written in Genesis 11,13 where this son is listed last, not first as in 10,21. Ed.] Yet another reason for the Torah commencing with the words: בראשית ברא אלוקים, “at the beginning G-d created, etc.;” is to state categorically that the universe in which we live did not exist eternally, or is the result of “the big bang,” but was created by a Creator. When Rashi states that G-d allocated the land of Israel to the Israelites מרצונו, “as an expression of His goodwill,” this is an implied warning that such an allocation was not absolute and irreversible for all future time, otherwise how could He take it back by exiling its people and reallocate it to someone else? Rashi also makes the point that the word ראשית, whenever it occurs in the Bible is invariably linked to the word following it. The author, supporting Rashi, cites an example from Leviticus 2,12: קרבן ראשית תקריבו אותם, “you are to present them as an initial offering.” [Rabbi Chavell, in his annotations, already pointed out that the author’s statement is not quite accurate, pointing to Deuteronomy 33,21, וירא ראשית לו. Ed.]

בראשית ברא, “first of all, before any creatures were created, G-d created heaven and earth;” Our author compares this to Jeremiah writing in Jeremiah 26,1: בראשית ממלכות יהויקים בן יאשיהו, “at the beginning of the rule of Yehoyakim, son of Yoshiyahu, etc.” The author mentions that Onkelos also translates these two words as: “at the beginning He created.”'אלוקים וגו, if there is a person [Jewish believer, of course] who is baffled by the plural ending in the word for G-d in the Holy Tongue, (i.e. אלוקים, אלוקינו, אלוקי) thinking that this is utterly inappropriate in a Book teaching monotheism such as the Torah, such a person should reflect for a moment and consider that references to Divinity and addressed to the individual are generally phrased as the Divinity mentioned being in the plural mode. [as is the custom for earthly kings, who speak of themselves in the plural mode, something known as pluralis majestatis. It would border on blasphemy if the Torah would accord G-d alesser title than the one arrogated to themselves by earthly rulers. Ed.]. Examples quoted by the author are: Exodus 3,16אלוקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב, or Genesis 42,7: דבר האיש אדוני הארץ or Exodus 22,14: אם בעליו עמו; there are many more examples of this. Do not answer me by saying that the vocalization of the word אדני when written with the kametz is sacred, whereas when not it is profane. Are you going to argue the same for the roots: בנאי ,זכאי ,שדי (fool) אשמאי and others, [that when using the vowel kametz they are transformed into sacred words? Ed.] The truth is that that the Divine name for G-d is also used in the plural mode, and no one as a result disputes that He is unique and solitary! The deeper meaning of the word elohim is “majesty, authority.” When G-d proclaimed at the beginning of the Decalogue: אנכי “I” (singular) ה' אלוקיך, “am the Lord your G-d(s)” (plural), i.e. the meaning is that whereas every other ruler or king rules over a certain narrowly defined domain, “I am the One Who rules over everything, the entire universe.” [Surely this justifies the use of the plural mode! Ed.] Not only that, earthly rulers or kings, being mortal, have to worry about who will succeed them, and in the event that a king does not have a biological heir, or has otherwise become weak and unable to carry out his functions for the benefit of his subjects, he must be replaced. None of these problems, will ever face the G-d Who introduces Himself to His people at Mount Sinai at the beginning of the Decalogue. Furthermore, from the subject’s point of view, if a subject feels oppressed by a particular king whose domain he inhabits, he has the option (unless he is in jail) to move to the domain of a different earthly king. Not so with G-d’s, the Creator’s, subjects. There is no place in the universe to which they can flee to escape His rule. On the other hand, the subjects of G-d enjoy the advantage that they never have to worry that the successor of a benign king such as He, will be autocratic and make the lives of his subjects miserable.

את השמים, “the heavens;” in an ancient version of Midrash Tanchuma Bereshit, 8, Rabbi Yishmael is quoted as having asked Rabbi Akiva: (who was preoccupied with counting every apparently unnecessary word את and גם in the Torah) ‘what is the significance of the two words את in this verse,’ i.e. what do these words contribute to our understanding of the line: “G-d had created the heavens and the earth?” Rabbi Akiva replied that if the Torah had merely written: בראשית ברא אלוקים שמים והארץ, people would have thought that the terms שמים and ארץ refer to two separate divinities each of whom had created part of the universe Phrasing it as it did, the Torah ensured that we could not have made such an error and that elohim had created both the heavenly and the earthly regions of the universe. [In other words, the word את before the words השמים and הארץ makes it clear that what follows are creatures, products of G-d’s creative activity. Ed.] השמים, the prefix ה is to tell us that “the” heavens, (and “the” earth,) are phenomena with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. The fact that the plural mode is used does not mean that there are many small units which combine to make a heaven or an earth, but the plural ending is similar to the plural ending in the words: ,מים, חיים, פנים מלקחים, מעיים, רחיים, water, life, face, tongs, entrails, millstones, and many more like it. Basically, the term שמים describes something above us, whereas the term ארץ describes something below us.1,2.

השמים, the prefix ה is to tell us that “the” heavens, (and “the” earth,) are phenomena with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. The fact that the plural mode is used does not mean that there are many small units which combine to make a heaven or an earth, but the plural ending is similar to the plural ending in the words: ,מים, חיים, פנים מלקחים, מעיים, רחיים, water, life, face, tongs, entrails, millstones, and many more like it. Basically, the term שמים describes something above us, whereas the term ארץ describes something below us.1,2. ויכולו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם; “heaven and earth, and all their components had been completed.” (2,1) The Bible also writes: (Nechemyah 9,6) ,אתה עשית את השמים שמי השמי, וכל צבאם, הארץ וכל אשר עליה, הים ואת כל אשר בהם, “You have completed heaven in all its details, as well as the upper heaven and all their host, the earth and everything on it, the ocean and everything in them.” We also read in Exodus 20,11 (part of the Decalogue): כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ, את הים ואת כל אשר בם, “for during a sequence of six days, the Lord completed the creation of heaven and earth, as well as the ocean and all their respective inhabitants;There is no reason for you, the reader, to be amazed at the feminine mode, i.e. היתה, “she had been,” used by the Torah when describing phenomena which are masculine; we find more such examples in the Bible, one being in Judges 18,7: ויראו את העם אשר בקרבה יושבת לבטח, “they observed the people dwelling in it carefree, etc.” [We would have expected יושב instead of יושבת seeing that the subject עם is masculine. Ed.] In Samuel 1,4,17 even the Holy Ark, which is always considered masculine, is referred to in the feminine mode, when the prophet wrote: וארון האלוקים נלקחה, “and the Ark of G-d was captured;” in Numbers 11,15, Moses is quoted as saying to G-d: ואם ככה את עושה לי “and if You, feminine mode for G-d, are doing (masculine mode) thus to me,” etc.”Incidentally, the prefix ו before the word: הארץ, appears to be unnecessary, as it does on numerous occasions, a glaring example being Exodus 13,7 ולא נחם אלוקים “(and) G-d did not guide them, etc.”

בראשית, the reason why the Torah did not commence with the letter א but with the letter ב, is that the universe, i.e. earth, resembles that letter, i.e. it is enclosed from three sides as in the letter ב only the left side being open, i.e. the north side. [I presume that what the author means is that when we read the Torah, and the reader in the synagogue is facing east, as is customary in the synagogues in the northern hemisphere, the open side of that letter is on his left, i.e. north. Ed.] According to tradition, the letter א complained to G–d that it had not been allowed for the Torah to commence with it. What did G–d do? He recompensed that letter by commencing the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai with the letter א, where we read: (Exodus 20,2) אנכי ה' אלוקיך וגו', “I am the lord your G–d, etc.” The word בראשית consists of 6 letters, symbolising the six days of creation; The first verse of the Torah has seven words, symbolising the numbers of days in a week. It contains 28 letters, symbolising the 28 days of the month. [Perhaps the fact that the first letter is in a much bigger font compensates for the slight inaccuracy of the author stating the month has 28 days and not 29. Ed.] We also find the letter א six times in that verse, symbolising the six thousand years this earth [after the creation of man, Ed.] is supposed to exist in the format as we know it. The meaning of the word aleph in Hebrew is “one thousand.” The second verse in the Torah, commencing with the word: והארץ, immediately after the word ארץ, “earth” at the end of the preceding verse, symbolises that the period known as the period of Moshiach, is to last 2000 years. (Talmud, Sanhedrin folio 97) [the last two millennia preceding the arrival of the messianic age. Ed.] In Exodus 13,9 the Torah writes: למען תהיה תורת ה' בפיך, “in order that the Torah of Hashem be in your mouth;” in that verse the letter א occurs twice to serve as a hint that two thousand of the 6000 years that the earth will function as we know it, will already be years in which G–d’s Torah will be studied by many people. [Seeing that the Jewish people began its existence with the birth of the first Jew who was a Jew at birth, Yitzchok, which occurred 400 years before the Exodus, and it is the Jewish people’s task to study and spread the Torah, and Yitzchok’s birth coincided almost exactly with the beginning of the third millennium, this may be why the author of this commentary chose that verse and the two letters א in it, as another example of the letter א being utilised as a symbol of Torah study.

בראשית, Rashi understands the letter ב at the beginning of this word to mean: “on account of, due to, because of the merit of;” the word ראשית, he understands as a reference to the Torah, which elsewhere has been called ראשית. We also find that the Sabbath, the holy covenant, and the circumcision have been referred to by that name. The same is true of the word: אש, “fire,” which near the end of the Torah (Deuteronomy 33,2) has been referred to as the אשדת, “fire converted into religious law.” Rashi further quotes an interpretation by Rabbi Yitzchok, also found in an ancient version of Tanchuma, according to which, if the Torah were only a record of G–d’s laws, it need not have commenced before the 12th chapter of Exodus, where we encounter for the first time a law addressed to the entire people of Israel, i.e. the sanctification of the new moon, and the fact that we count the months of the year according to the moon’s orbit. On the face of it that statement is difficult as such laws as circumcision for Jewish males, as well as the prohibition to eat the gid hanashe, the thigh vein of mammals, has been recorded alread prior to this. We must assume that the Tanchuma referred to legislation given to the people when they had become a nation, something that began with chapter 12 in Exodus. Rabbi Yitzchok basing himself on Tanchuma, argues that everything in the Torah recorded prior to chapter 12 in Exodus has as its purpose to defend the Jewish people against any claim that they had robbed the Canaanites of their land when they crossed the river Jordan.

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"For if they will say..." Now, you may argue that the verse is still problematic; for how does the issue of the giving of the land connected to Torah's mitzvot? This is clear, since most of the Torah's mitzvot are performed in conjunction with (the Jewish people's sovereignty or dwelling in) the land. Donations, tithes and construction of a temple must be done in the land. When Jewish people do not have the land they cannot fulfill these mitzvot at all. ...

Elohim. According to Rashi this Name signifies lordship and greatness; according to the Rambam, judgment; according to the Ibn Ezra, kingship; according to the Seforno, eternality. It is in the plural, says the Seforno, to indicate that He is the ultimate eternal form from which all others derive. According to the Tur (Orach Chayim) and the Beis Yosef it signifies strength and domination. To the Ralbag it indicates that all things emanate from and are governed by Him. The Vilna Gaon agrees that it indicates governance, which is why it can be applied to lesser governing beings as well.

In the beginning Elohim [God] created: Elohim means judge. Indeed, just like the statutes of the Torah are called judgement [or laws]. Similarly, the properties of nature that the Holy One, blessed be He, ingrained in His world are called judgement [or laws]. As is explained in [Tractate] Shabbat 155, "'The righteous One knows the judgement of the poor ones' (Proverbs 29:7); the Holy One, blessed be He, knows that that the dog's food [supply] is sparse, etc.;" and the matter is not in the category of punishment, but rather this is [its] nature, and that is called judgement. And behold [regarding] the name, God/Judge, even though its simple understanding is the One who runs His world in judgement, nonetheless, here, its understanding is the One who creates His world with judgement. And this is its understanding in the Sifri, at the beginning of Parshat Ve'etchanan concerning the prayer of Moshe, "Lord, God/Judge, in judgement have you created the world." And there, we explained with His help, may He be blessed, why the Sages, of blessed memory, explained the intention of Moshe in this way. And also see, what I have written further, Genesis 9:16, and in the Book of Exodus 6:2.

The heavens and the earth: The clear simple explanation is that which was written by Ramban on verse 8, that [the Torah] is not speaking in this verse about the firmament that would on the second day be called, heavens; and about the dry land that would be called land on the third day. It [follows] from this that the firmament is not intrinsically and inevitably heavens, and so [too] dry land is not inevitably earth; rather [it is only that] the Holy One, blessed be He, called the firmament, heavens, and the dry land, earth; which is not the case in this verse - [instead, here] it is implied that, in essence and to begin with, their qualities are evident; which is that their names are heavens and earth, [even] without being given [these names.] Just like the name, dry land, is not [dependent on its] being given a name, but rather it is self-evident that dry dirt and soil is called dry land, based on its characteristics [and so will be explained about man, later.] And the explanation is that in the beginning of the creation, [it was] His will, may He be blessed, that all the workings of the world should be [by way of] emanator and recipient. An example is the sun and the seven planets that emanate to us. Nonetheless, they receive from what is higher than them. And about what is higher than them, we say in the prayer text, "who takes out the sun from its place and the moon from its dwelling place." And it is known that the movement of the sun and the moon is not in this fashion, but the intent is [regarding] the causes of motion of the sun and the moon. And they are called according to their action, as per the explanation of Rambam, of blessed memory, on the Tractate Avodah Zarah - the form of the sun is the 'constellation' of the sun. And behold, all of the emanators [together] are referred to by the name, heavens [shamayim,] because of the letters [that form the combinations], shem, yim: the meaning of shem [name] is the latent potential to emanate; and yim is an even number [to indicate] the plural [form] as with yadayim [hands] and raglayim [feet]; and eretz [earth] indicates the recipient, the nature of which is to run [ratz] to receive the emanation. [And see what I have written in the book of Deuteronomy in Parshat Ha'azinu Hashamayim and in Parshat Berakha on the verse (Deuteronomy 33:28), "even His heavens drop down dew."] And the verse did not explain anything about the highest emanators, since they cannot be fathomed, except by those of great intelligence. And whoever's mind is sharp will find a hint about it all, as it is with everything. And the earth begins from the higher waters, in the midst of which, afterwards God made the firmament. And the potential of the water above the firmament, and its form, was made different than the lower waters, as will be explained.

IN THE BEGINNING. Our wise men (The Hebrew grammarians. See Ibn Janah, Sefer ha-Rikmah, 6:2.) taught that the letter bet (of bereshit, in the beginning) is superfluous. (The letter bet placed before the word reshit has no translatable meaning. According to Weiser it is there for emphasis. Our verse should thus be rendered: First God created heaven and earth.) They compare it to the bet in the word ba-rishonah (at the first) (Genesis 13:4). We know the bet in ba-rishonah to be superfluous for we find they shall set forth first (rishonah) (Numbers 2:9). (According to this opinion rishonah and ba-rishonah mean the same. Hence the bet of ba-rishonah is superfluous.) However, if this were so the bet (of bereshit) would be vocalized with a long kamatz. (As is the bet of ba-rishonah. The fact that the bet of bereshit is vocalized with a sheva proves that both cases are not exactly the same.) Other scholars maintain that the word bereshit is always in the construct and its meaning in our verse is: “In the beginning of the evening, or of the night, or of the darkness.” (The word or phrase that bereshit is connected to is missing and must be supplied by the reader. According to Cherez, I.E. is trying to explain why the superfluous bet of bereshit is vocalized with a sheva while that of ba-rishonah is vocalized with a kamatz. The reason is that bereshit is in the construct and therefore is vocalized with a sheva.) However, they have overlooked And he chose a first part (reshit) for himself (Deuteronomy 33:21). (Where the word reshit is in the absolute.) Others say that the bet of bereshit is a preposition. (The Hebrew texts printed in our editions are most probably incorrect. We have followed Vat. Ebr. 38, which has kli ta’am rather than bli ta’am. For alternate interpretations see Filwarg, Weiser and Cherez.) They explain that Scripture intends to preclude the thought that heaven and earth were preexisting. Hence it states, In the beginning. (The bet is there for emphasis. The meaning of the verse is: In the beginning, i.e., before anything was created, God created heaven and earth.) I believe that bereshit is in the construct, as in In the beginning of (bereshit) the reign of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 26:1). (I.E. agrees that bereshit is in the construct. He disagrees with the earlier quoted opinion only in maintaining that it is not always in the construct.) Don’t ask, how can a word in the construct be connected to a verb in the perfect. (A noun is usually in the construct when connected to another noun, hence I.E.’s comment.) This presents no problem, for we find that very case in the verse When the Lord spoke at first with Hosea (Hosea 1:2), (Techillat (at first) is in the construct with dibber (spoke).) and in the verse the city where David encamped (Isaiah 29:1). (Kiryat (the city) is in the construct with chanah (encamped).) The meaning of bereshit will be explained in our comments on the next verse. (That is, the explanation of what bereshit in the construct is to be connected to.)

CREATED. Most Biblical commentators explain that the word bara (created) indicates creation ex nihilo. But if the Lord make (yivra) a new thing (beri’ah) (Num. 16:30) is similar. However, they have overlooked And God created (va-yivra) the great sea monsters (God obviously did not create the sea monsters ex nihilo, for the verse concludes, and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed, which shows that the sea monsters were created out of the water. Also, it is absurd to assume that on the fifth day of creation God would create sea monsters ex nihilo.) (Gen. 1:21) and the three times the word created is used in one verse, viz., And God created (va-yivra) man in His own image, in the image of God created (bara) He him; male and female created (bara) He them (Gen. 1:27). They also failed to consider I form the light, and create darkness (Is. 45:7) wherein darkness, which is the opposite of light, an existing entity, is described by the prophet as being created. (Darkness is the absence of light. Thus Isaiah uses the term created in the opposite sense of creation ex nihilo. In Isaiah it means the creation of nothing out of something (Krinsky). Hence bara does not necessarily imply creation ex nihilo.) The following is the precise explanation of the word bara. Bara has two meanings, one of which has been noted above. (That is, to create or make.) The second (That is, to eat.) is found in the verse neither did he eat (bara) bread with them (II Samuel 12:17). However, in the latter case, an alef has been substituted for a heh. (Most of our manuscripts of the Bible have barah with a heh. However, Ibn Ezra’s manuscript must have had bara with an alef. See also Jacob ben Haim’s edition of the Hebrew Bible, 1524, which has the same reading as Ibn Ezra. There is some difficulty in understanding this comment as the printed text is corrupt. We have followed Vat. Ebr. 38 as suggested by Weiser. For a different rendering see Filwarg.) The reason is that bara (in I Sam. 12:17) is similar to le-havrot (to urge to eat) in And all the people came to cause David to eat (le-havrot) bread (II Sam. 3:35). The verb le-havrot appears in the hifil (and its root ends with heh), for if it ended with an alef, Scripture would have read le-havri, as in to make yourselves fat (le-havri’achem) with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel (I Sam. 2:29). We also find bara conjugated in the pi’el, as in and cut down (u-vereta) for thyself (trees) (Joshua 17:15). This is not like the similar word beru in choose (beru) you a man for you (I Sam. 17:8) but rather like bare (hack, dispatch) in and dispatch them (u-vare) with their swords (Ibn Janah, The Book of Roots, root bet, resh, alef, explains bara in Josh. 17:15 to mean chose, as in I Sam. 17:8. Ibn Ezra disagrees. The point of I.E’s comment is that bara spelled bet, resh, alef primarily means to cut. It is encountered with this meaning in both the kal and pi’el. Bara also means to eat. However, in the latter case its root is bet, resh, heh, although it is found spelled bet, resh, alef in I Sam. 17:8. In the latter instance, however, we treat it as if there were an interchange between the heh and alef.) (Ezekiel 23:47). The meaning of bara is to cut or to set a boundary. The intelligent person will understand what I am alluding to. (I. Husik, A History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy, p. 190, notes, “The Hebrew word bara, ordinarily translated “created,” which implies to most people the idea of creatio ex nihilo, Ibn Ezra renders, in accordance with its etymology, to limit, to define, by drawing or incising a line or boundary. Having said this, Ibn Ezra, in his wonted mysterious manner, stops short, refusing to say more, and preferring to mystify the reader by adding the tantalizing phrase, ‘The intelligent will understand.’ He means apparently to indicate that an eternal matter was endowed with form.” Nahman Krochmal, More Nevuche Ha-zeman (quoted by Krinsky), suggests that Ibn Ezra’s belief is similar to that of the Kabbalists; i.e., the world was created out of an emanation from God. See also C. Sirot, Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Hebrew), p. 112. Ibn Ezra was a neo-Platonist. According to neo-Platonism the world came about by emanation from God. Ibn Ezra is apparently saying that at the creation spoken of in the first chapter of Genesis, God gave final form to what had previously emanated from Him.)

GOD. Elohim (God) is a plural. We know this because we come across the singular form Elo’ah. (Ps. 114:7. Elo’ah being the singular of Elohim.) Elohim is employed stylistically. Every language has honorific terminology. In the non-Hebrew tongues when an inferior addresses a superior he employs the plural. In Arabic it is customary for a dignitary such as a king to speak in the plural. In Hebrew, too, it is considered a sign of dignity to employ the plural when speaking of a superior. Such is the case with the words adonim (lords) and be’alim (owners). Thus Scripture says, a cruel lord (adonim) (Is. 19:4), (Adonim is a plural, yet its meaning in this verse is singular (lord). The singular of adonim is adon.) and and the owner thereof (be’alav) shall accept it (Exodus 22:10). (Be’alav literally means, its owners.) The terms alav (upon him), elav (to him), and adav (unto him) are similar. (All of these words have plural endings, yet are used to indicate singulars.) It is for this reason that Scipture reads bara Elohim and not bare’u Elohim. (Since Elohim is to be understood as singular, the verb following it (bara) is in the singular. If Elohim were plural, the verb following it would also be plural (bare’u).) We know from the study of logic that speech is called safah (Safah is the Hebrew word for lip. The point is that more than the lips are involved in speech, but speech is so called because it is seen to come from the lips.) because it is seen to come from the lips. Similarly man’s highest soul is called heart (lev) even though the soul itself is incorporeal while the heart is corporeal. It is referred to in this manner because the heart is its first resting place. Similarly God is called Elohim because His actions are executed via angels who do His will and who are referred to as Elohim. (Man’s soul is often referred to in Scripture as lev because the soul acts via the heart. Similarly God is called Elohim because He acts via the angels. Husik, p. 191, points out that according to I.E., “God cannot come in contact with the material and changeable (hence)…it follows that (the terrestrial world)…was not made directly by him, but by angels; hence the word Elohim is used in the first chapter of Genesis, which means primarily the angels, and secondarily God as acting through the angels.”) I will explain part of the secret of God’s name when I comment on for My name is in him (Ex. 23:21). Pay no heed to the opinion of Rabbi Saadiah Gaon who holds that man is superior to the angels. I have already explained to you in The Book of Foundation that all of his proofs are wrong. We know that the prophets are the most exalted human beings. Nevertheless, the prophet Joshua fell upon his face and prostrated himself before God’s angel and said to him, What saith my lord unto his servant (Josh. 5:14). (Joshua’s bowing before God’s angels proves that angels are superior to prophets.) The same is true of the prophets Zechariah and Daniel. (Both address the angels as superiors. See Zechariah 1:9 and Dan. 10:17.) Why should I elaborate when this point is so elementary?The meaning of Lord of Hosts (Elohe ha-tzeva’ot) is the same as God of gods (Elohe ha-Elohim) (Deut. 10:17). (We thus see that Elohim means the same as tzeva’ot (hosts or angels).) The definition of elohim (lord) is angels. (Reading malakh (angel) rather than melekh (king) (Weiser).) People engaged in the dispensation of God’s justice are also called elohim. (According to Rabbinic interpretation Elohim at times signifies a judge. See Mekhilta on Ex. 21:6.) Elohim is an adjective, not a proper noun. (Hence it can be declined and be in the construct. A proper noun cannot. I.E. seems to limit the term noun to proper nouns. Apparently common nouns were treated like adjectives.) It is not found conjugated in the perfect or imperfect. (Hebrew adjectives have verbal forms. However, Elohim is never found in the verbal form. Nevertheless, Ibn Ezra insists that it is an adjective.) One should not assume that angels are composed of fire and air because Scripture states, Who makest winds Thy messengers, The flaming fire Thy ministers (Psalms 104:4). (Which implies that God makes his angels out of wind.) This is not the literal meaning of this verse. David (in Psalm 104) speaks first of creation. He starts with light and says, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment (Ps. 104:2). He then goes on to say, Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain, heaven referring to the firmament upon which is water, fire, snow and wind. David next says that the wind serves as God’s agent; i.e., it goes wherever God sends it. He speaks in a similar vein of fire as one of God’s ministers. (Psalm 104. It is not to be taken as implying that the angels are made out of fire. It rather means that fire is God’s agent. Cf. Ibn Ezra on Ps. 104:4.) David then says, Who didst establish the earth upon its foundations (Ps. 104:5), which refers to dry land. Similarly it is written, Stormy wind, fulfilling His word (Ps. 148:8). (Which shows that the wind is God’s agent. Krinsky suggests that this quote is misplaced and should follow, “it (the winds) goes wherever God sends it.”)

Et indicates the very thing. It signifies the direct object, as in the heaven (et ha-shamayim). (Gen. 1:1. The word et is a most difficult word to translate because it has many different meanings, depending on the context.) However, sometimes it is omitted, as in that God created man (Deut. 4:32). It is also found placed before the subject, as in and when there came a lion, or (ve-et) a bear (I Sam. 17:34). However, the latter usage is very rare. Furthermore, et is used in place of with or from. (Cf. Ex. 2:21; 9:29.)

THE HEAVEN. The definite article (ha) is placed before heaven (shamayim) to indicate that Scripture speaks of the heaven visible to man. (That is, the firmament. According to I.E. there is a heaven above the firmament which is invisible to man. This heaven is eternal. It contains the spheres in which the planets and constellations are embodied. Above this heaven is the abode of the angels. Cf. Husik, p. 190.) Heaven (shamayim) is always written in the plural. (The word shamayim (heaven) is a plural.) It is possible that its dominion in Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish its dominion over the earth? (In this verse its dominion is in the singular. Since shamayim is a plural, we would expect “their dominion” rather than “its dominion.”) (Job 38:33) refers to the dominion exercised by each one of the heavenly spheres. (See note 40 above. See also Ibn Ezra’s Introduction, page XVII, second paragraph.) The meaning of shamayim (heaven) is high and above, as it is in Arabic, a language akin in form to Hebrew. There is also a heaven of heavens. (Cf. Ps. 148:4. Scripture in our chapter speaks of the visible heaven. However, in Psalm 148 it speaks of the “heaven of heavens.” The heaven of heavens is the spheres (Krinsky). See note 40.) The word for heaven (shamayim) is never written in the singular. (Even if the reference is to one of the heavens.) It is like the words millstone (rechayim) and noon (tzohorayim). Those who are well-versed in geometry will understand these secrets. (They will understand the reference to the heaven of heavens.) Saadiah Gaon says that the earth may be compared to a point and the heaven to a thread circling it. Since Scripture tells us that heaven and earth were created, we deduce from this that all their contents, such as fire and water, were also created. (Scripture does not explicitly mention the creation of fire and water, two of the four elements. However, according to Saadiah the creation of these two elements is implied. There was no need for Scripture to mention their creation as their creation is self evident. For how could the fire and water, which filled the void between heaven and earth, be in existence before the creation of their container? Cf. I.E.’s alternate commentary on this verse in Weiser, p. 145.) Others say that the earth includes water and the heaven air. (Hence Scripture does state that these two elements were created.) However, in my opinion the heaven and earth spoken of in our verse refer only to the firmament and the dry land. (Gen. 1:1 does not tell us that God created heaven and earth on the first day; neither does it deal with the creation of matter. I.E. will explain the meaning of this verse later on in his comments.) For only one thing was created on each day. Thus light was created on the first day, the firmament on the second, plants on the third, luminaries on the fourth, and living creatures on the fifth and the sixth. This interpretation is borne out by the psalm quoted above (Psalm 104). It is impossible to maintain that the line circling the dot was created before the dot, or the dot before the circle. Hence our sages say that heaven and earth were created simultaneously. (Hagigah 12a.) They offer as proof of their viewpoint, Yea, My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand hath spread out the heavens; When I call unto them, They stand up together (Is. 48:13). (They stand up together implies that they were created simultaneously.) However, this proof is questionable. The plain meaning of this verse is not so, for how could God address that which was not yet created? (How can the Bible say, “When I call unto them,” if they were not yet in being?) How could He call to that which was in a chaotic state? The explanation of this verse is as follows: I, God, created heaven and earth. When I call them, they stand before Me as servants ready to do My will. The meaning of this verse is similar to that of Thy word standeth fast in heaven (Ps. 119:89). After stating this the Psalmist makes mention of the earth (Ps. 119:90). He then goes on to say that heaven and earth stand ready to execute any commands that God will direct to them (Ps. 119:91).

Others “In the beginning God created.”

In the beginning, created: has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'On Rosh Hashanah was created (the world).' Bereishit (In the beginning) is the acronym of berishona raah Elohim sheyikablu yisrael Torah (first God saw that Israel would accept the Torah). The last letters of Bereishit bara Elohim (In the beginning, God created) form the acronym, emmet (truth), [which] teaches that God created the world with truth, as it is stated (Psalms 119:160), "The beginning of Your word is truth;" and so [too], there are many verses, which the last letters of of its words form the acronym, emmet.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth: The reason that the Torah started with the letter 'bet' is that King Shlomo, in all of the book of Kohelet, compares the Torah to the Sun, which only moves in three directions like the shape of the 'bet,' that is only open on its north side [according to ancient maps that would place north on the left of the page and east on top]; and because it was given through Moshe, whose face is like the sun; and maybe the reason is that the evil inclination that opposes the Torah comes from the North and it 'breaks the fence' of the Torah, as it is stated (Joel 2:20), "And the northern one will I distance from you." And also because gold, which comes form the North, opposes the Torah; and they generally flee from one another, as it is stated (Psalms 119:71), "It is good that I have become poor, so that I can learn your statute;" And this is not the place to speak more about this. And it is possible to also explain it, in the way that it is stated (Proverbs 9:1), "Wise women have built their house;" hence, the wisdom of the Torah began with 'bet' [which sounds like bayit, the Hebrew word for house], since it is the mistress of the larger 'house.'

In the beginning, created God...: It would have been fitting to begin the Torah with the name of God; so much so that the Sages of blessed memory needed to change [the word order in their Greek translation] for King Ptolemy and write, "God created the beginning." And about this, the commentators have given a reason that is praiseworthy: Since the existence of God, may He be praised, is impossible to fathom except though His attributes, His acts and the work of His hands, that He created; they are the ones that testify, speak and give faithful testimony about His blessed existence; therefore [the Torah] mentioned first, "In the beginning, created" and afterward is God made known. But there is a difficulty about this, since it should have been written, "Created God the beginning," since it is logical that anything that the name of God could precede, it should precede; since behold [the knowledge of] the existence of God is not dependent upon the knowledge of the earlier things in the creation, about which the word bereshit [in the beginning] relates to, according to most commentators.

And also [difficult] is that the writer of the Akeida [commentary - R. Yitschak Arama] based this explanation on the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 1:12), "'And Your humility enlarges me' (Psalms 18:36); A king of flesh and blood mentions his name first and afterwards his acts, but the Holy One, blessed be He, mentioned His name after He mentioned His acts;" and what His humility is in this needs to be understood; and that which it says "made me great," in what way did He enlarge us and make us great? And what appears most likely to me, is to say that Rashi wanted to fix all of this when he said that "this text says nothing if not 'interpret me' - [the term reshit, literally, the start or head of is used here] because of the Torah and Israel which are [both] called reshit;" which means to say that it is impossible to know about God's existence, may He be blessed, except through the Torah and Israel. That's why they are called reshit, since they are both an introduction through which one comes to the knowledge of God's existence, may He be blessed [and so precede the name of God in the first sentence of the Torah.] Since the Torah publicizes faith in His creation and Divinity, may He be blessed. And Israel also knew to publicize the existence of God, may He be blessed, from the angle of the transmission that they received, one person from another, back to Adam who saw the world destroyed and built, and is a faithful witness to the creation of the world, which is a sign [indication] of its Creator; and this transmission was spread by the offspring of Avraham, Yitschak and Yisrael.

And there is also a third way [to know about the existence of God], but not every one is capable of it, and that is to come to know about the existence of God, may He be blessed, through investigation and knowledge of all that is to be found in all of the three worlds and this is their order: At first, the researcher must understand the essence of things in the lowest world, since it is the easiest research [that exists]. And after knowing their essence, he should [seek to] also understand the essence of the creatures of the middle world. And from there, he should go up, [as] with a ladder going up the different levels, to know the essence of the highest world. And from there, he should go up to know and fathom that there is God who is found to ride upon all of them [and] who arranged them in this fashion, like the vision that Ya'akov saw (Genesis 28:12); in the four rungs of the ladder which was "positioned on the ground" - which [represents] comprehension of the lower world - "and its tip reached the skies" - this [represents] the middle world - "and the angels were going up and down on it;" - this [represents] the top world. "And behold the Lord stood upon it," (Genesis 28:13) since then [Ya'akov] grasped completely the existence of God, may He be blessed.

However, not many will have the wisdom needed for this approach of investigation, to come to the secret of God, as a result of man's passage through this dimmed valley of the material world; hence it is enough for man to grasp His existence, may He be blessed, from the angle of the transmission as mentioned and from the angle of the Torah as mentioned. And about this the Sages, of blessed memory, have said (Chullin 91b) that the lower ones mention His name, may He be blessed, after two words, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:4), "Hear Yisrael, the Lord," but the upper ones don't mention the Name until after three words, as it is stated (Isaiah 6:3), "Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord." Because the intellectual power of the upper ones is pure and clean and it is easy for them to handle the essence of the investigation of these three worlds; therefore they are not allowed to mention the Name except after three holinesses, which means that they first cognate the essence of all those that exist below and understand the place of each and, through this, sanctify Him, may He be blessed, below. And from there they go up to understand the essence of all those that exist in the middle world and they sanctify Him, may He be blessed, to reign also upon them. And from there they go up to also understand their own essence, and from there they go up to grasp His name, may He be blessed; hence they do not mention the Name until they sanctify Him first in all three worlds. But the lower ones' intellects are not so pure, and not every person is able to handle this investigation since it is great; hence it is enough for them to come to recognize the existence of God, may He be blessed after the two words, "Hear Israel;" since "Hear" is to listen to the words of this Torah which publicize His divinity, may He be blessed; "Israel" is the transmission that spread in Israel from Adam to Abraham, who announced and publicized His divinity, may He be blessed, as Rashi explained on the verse (Genesis 24:7), "Lord God of the heavens that took me from the house of my father;" and from [Avraham], His divinity, may He be blessed, was publicized in all of the offspring of Israel and Yehuda, as it is stated (Psalms 76:2), "God is known in Yehuda, in Israel His name is great." Thus it is stated, "In the beginning, created" and afterwards, "God," to hint to the three [ways of knowing God's existence]: since reshit [beginning of] indicates Israel and the Torah, that are [both] called reshit; and through the creation [hence the word "created"], God was made known [directly through the mode of investigation]. And this is the way of modesty, by which He - in a hint - had the name of Israel precede His name, may He be blessed, [since "reshit" precedes "created"] and that is truthfully glorious splendor and greatness [that He gave] to Israel; hence it is stated "And Your humility enlarges me." And some say that this humility is what He was involved with at first, for the needs of His world, and [only] afterwards did He publicize His name, may He be blessed.

Rabbi Yitschak said, "It was not necessary to begin the Torah, etc. but rather so that the nations should not say, 'you are thieves, etc.'" (Rashi on Genesis 1:1): And it is difficult; and what about it, if they will say, "you are thieves," and because of this, the order of the Torah should be changed? The answer to this is that this matter brings heresy to the world, since they will say, "there is no law and no Judge" [in the world] and 'whoever is strongest prevails;' since if the world had a Ruler, who sets up its matters - it comings and goings - why did He not protest against you when you took by force - by way of theft - the lands of the seven [Canaanite] nations? Since it is for this reason that the judgment of the generation of the flood was not sealed except on account of theft, as it is stated (Proverbs 28:24), "One who steals from his father and mother and says 'it is not a transgression' is the companion of a destructive person;" since the reason this sin is greater than others is not because of the sin itself, but rather because of the evil that comes out of it; as the sinner who steals does not place guilt upon himself and says, "there is no transgression, since there is no God that judges in the world;" and therefore he is the companion of a destructive person, which means to say, [he is a companion] of the generation of the flood, as it is stated about them (Genesis 6:12), "since all flesh destroyed its way," since they also denied a principle of faith and said (Job 21:15), "What is the Omnipotent, that we should serve Him, etc." And this is what [brought] them to practice extortion and theft in the world. And because the prevention of theft is fundamental to all of faith, therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, made it come early and warned about it in the first commandment of (Exodus 12:2), "This month will be for you;" as over there, it is stated (Exodus 12:21), "And bring close and acquire for yourselves sheep," [meaning] from yours, and [not from] stolen ones; so explained the Ba'al HaTurim. And so too, Yitschak, when he commanded two kid goats to be brought to him, to make from them a Pesach sacrifice, he said (Genesis 27:3), "And hunt for me venison;" Rashi explained, from what is unowned and not from what is stolen, but since Esav's heart was not like that, it appeared to him that he could rather "hunt venison to bring," even form what is stolen; hence the Holy One, blessed be He, caused that he should not bring it, but rather that Ya'akov [should do so], as he was careful about theft. So too, the ox that Adam sacrificed, the Sages, of blessed memory, say that it had one horn on its forehead; to show that Adam [too] was one 'horn' in the world - meaning to say that he was by himself in the world - and did not steal from any creature; therefore, his sacrifice was accepted. And all this is in order to push away theft and robbery which brings heresy and apostasy.

And that which Rav Yitschak said, "It was not necessary to begin, etc," the explanation [of this] is not that the whole story from "In the beginning" to "This month shall be for you" should not have been written in the Torah at all; as behold there is a great need for the story of the creation of the world, since it publicizes the existence of God, may He be blessed; and the story of the generation of the flood publicizes His providence, may He be blessed, for reward and punishment. Besides that, there are several commandments written in [this early section of the Torah: the prohibition of eating] the limb of a living animal to Noach, and circumcision to Avraham, and [the prohibition of eating] the sciatic nerve through Ya'akov. Rather, he means to say that since the essence of the Torah is that it was given for its commandments, if so, the Torah should have started with the first commandment [to the Jewish people]; and [as for] this story from "In the beginning" to "This month shall be for you," it would be enough for it to placed at the end of the Torah. About this, he comes to answer and say, if it was written like that, it would have been 'a law refutable from its beginning,' and it would have strengthened the hand of the transgressors to rebel against the Torah. And when they would read "This month shall be for you," all the more so would they rebel [even] more, and they will say, "Moshe certainly invented this commandment, since how can God command about theft, in saying "And bring close and acquire for yourselves sheep," [meaning] specifically from yours; since, behold, you are thieves, since you took the lands of the seven nations and God did not protest against you. Since maybe [such a reader] would not read the Torah, from beginning to end [and read about the creation, so as to understand that the Jews did not steal the land that they settled]. Therefore, it was necessary to have the story of the creation of the world precede [the first commandment of establishing the new month], to show that it is not through theft that they took [the land], but rather through justice and right. This is what the verse states (Psalms 111:6-7), "The power of His deeds did He tell His people, to give them the inheritance of nations. The work of His hands are true and right, faithful are all of His precepts;" since the crux of this telling that "He told the power of His deeds to His people," the whole thing was in order to show that the work of His hands are true and right; that the Torah, and the tablets that are the work of God, and the righteous ones that were created with [God's] two hands; that all [of this] was in truth and right, which prevents theft. "And faithful are all of His precepts;" [meaning] the precepts that God decreed upon the lands of the seven nations; since it was His will, may He be blessed, to give it to [the seven Canaanite nations] and it was His will, may He be blessed, to take it from them and God, the King, decreed to appoint new appointees upon it."

And according to its simple understanding, it was necessary to begin the Torah from "In the beginning," to publicize belief in creation [ex nihilo], since it is the foundation of the entire Torah; since were we to assume that the world was pre-existent, there would be no room to accept a Torah that is predicated upon the foundation of free choice; therefore, it is required to place the foundation [meaning, the creation story] first.

(א) וכן אמר הח' ז"ל (ס' צחות אות בי"ת) "ויש בית נוסף" כמו "יען וביען" (ויקרא כ"ו מ"ג) "בראשונה" (למטה י"ג ד') "הנו ראשונה", (פי' שבי"ת בראשונה נוספת וכאלו נכתב ראשונה):

With the help of the Creator of light, I will elucidate the explanation of the Torah, to unite His awesome name; Who made me from the beginning and advised and called upon me first, to work pleasantly first; I will begin to explain the Book of 'In the Beginning' (Genesis):

And it is true that the Creator could have included the ordering [of the various creations] in the first proclamation, but for many reason did He [not] do this; and the Rabbis, of blessed memory, revealed one of them, when they stated (Avot 5), "and is it not that He could have created [everything] in one proclamation, but He wanted to take payment [from sinners for a world created with ten statements rather than only one] etc. and to give payment to the righteous etc."

And let it not be difficult in your eyes, that they, of blessed memory, stated (Ibid.), "In ten proclamations was the world created" [and used the] word 'created;' since at the end of the day, anytime that [something] is missing refinement, it as if [it is not created]. For example, if the earth [did not emerge], there would be no place for the creations; and likewise with the other creations that were mixed up, like the light and the darkness. If so, all that is not refined is as if it is not created; for this reason [the various refinements reflected by the nine other proclamations] are also referred to as creation.

And let it not be difficult in your eyes, [as to] why the Torah wrote the main [narrative] of creation in this way, and did not explicitly write [that] God created the water and the dirt, and the fire and the wind, so that [by not doing the latter] 'the empty man would not be made wise.'

Know [that the answer is] that the Torah makes known and informs [us of] every hidden thing, and God wanted to make known 'the strength of his actions to his people' and make known to us the order of the creation and its manner, and that He - the Power, the Mighty, who is girded in strength - created everything that is and everything that exists, in one statement; and He wanted to make known to his close ones 'the strength of his deeds,' and did not prevent Himself from this good because of erring fools.

And there is also another reason which obligates the thing to be according to the discussed order, and it is that if the verse had [gone according] to the order desired by the silly ones, and that is that it would state that He created land and He created water, etc., it would have sounded as if He created them each, on its own; and according to the truth, it is not like that. And didn't you know that God has no desire for 'the speaker of lies and it cannot be established in front of His eyes.' And how could the 'beginning of His words,' God forbid, begin with words that are not correct? For this [reason], He spoke truth[fully about] the manner of the creation; as 'straight are the paths of God and the righteous will walk upon them' to thank and magnify the Creator, may He be blessed, and they will say to God, 'how awesome are your deeds.'

And He was exact to state 'In the beginning' and not to state 'At first' [in order to] 'tell the strength of His deeds to His people;' and that is, that according to what we wrote above - that He created everything with one statement - through that, we can deduce that One who can speak several statements all in one statement, also in one statement does not need to have one letter precede another. And from this, [we see] that when God said the word shamayim, He did not say the shin before the mem and not the first mem before the second mem; and also the letters of every single word, He did not have the beginning of the word precede its end; and also with each and every letter, He did not have its beginning [sound] precede its end.

And after God made known all of this to us, [we understand that] these are the things that God made known to us with the word, 'In the beginning,' the meaning [of which] is [that] everything is the beginning, since there was no later part of the creation, but [rather] everything was the beginning; and understand [this].

And the reason that the Master chose to create [the world] in this way [is that] - besides the reason that we stated, that He wanted to make known part of His, may He be blessed, great deeds - you will also find that when He, may He be blessed, speaks with strengths, which is the aspect that relates to the name Elohim, it is [appropriate] for the words to be spoken in this way (all together). And you will find that they, of blessed memory hinted to this (Makkot 24a) in their pleasant words, and this is what they said, "'I am' (the first commandment) and 'There shall not be' (the second commandment) were heard from the Strength;" [with this] they intended to say, in their sweet language, that the words that were heard in this aspect [of strength] - which is Elohim, which relates to strength - will speak like these words, many words together. And not specifically 'I am' and 'There shall not be,' but rather all of the Ten Commandments, [were spoken this way] as they have have stated in their words in another place (Mekhilta, Yitro); and behold, the creation from the creation story was created with the name Elohim for many reasons, and as a result He spoke in His way, may He be blessed, (according to this attribute) great and awesome words as we have written.

And in the way of midrashic (homiletic) interpretation, the word, 'In the beginning' is explained in the way of what the verse states (Psalms 33:6), "By the word of God, were the heavens made and by the breath of His mouth, all the hosts." And you should know that, may the name of our God be elevated, He did not create the angels until the second day in order that those in error should not err [and think] that they helped Him in the creation of the world. And as to the [Sages'] words (Bereishit Rabbah 1:3), of blessed memory, we need to elucidate how is it possible to say that the angels were created later; is it not that according to what the verse stated, "and by the breath of His mouth, all the hosts," that hosts of the sky were created from the breath that came from the mouth of the Highest, (as if it were possible [to say this]); if so, perforce, according to our [very] senses, the angels were created before the heavens and the earth; since the breath came out before the word [of God], and since the heavens and the earth were created from the word, behold the breath - from which the angels were created - already preceded it. And for this reason, the verse states, "In the beginning, created etc.;" the explanation [of which] is that God had the later - which is the speech - precede the breath; [which is] the opposite of what is known to us about the nature of speech. And he created the heavens first and reversed the order and made speech first to breath; for the reason stated in their words, of blessed memory (Ibid.), and that is that [people] should not say that the angels helped and stretched out the heavens with Him, etc. And the verse informs us that the Master, blessed be He, does not take His lessons from the creations, as the creations are not able to reverse the order implanted within them from the time of the creation; which is not the case with the Creator, blessed be He, [who] can speak in the manner that He wants. And for this reason, you will find that the verse was precise in stating, "By the word of God, were the heavens made," which has the creation of the heavens - which were created from the word - precede, and afterwards, it stated "and by the breath of His mouth, all its hosts."

And from here, the structure of the explanation of the word, "In the beginning" is as follows: given that there are two things [involved] in speech, breath and speech itself, and from each of them did God create a new creation and I [would] not know which one of the two was first, whether the breath or the speech; for this [reason], it states that first was the act of the heavens and the earth; and from the derivation of the matter, you know that the speech was first to the breath that came from the mouth of the Highest.

The heavens have open and I saw the vision of God, Creator of the ends of the earth, and I reflected upon that which I have been allowed to reflect upon in the unfolding of holy words; and my remark is from the East of (before) the Torah. His saying, "In the beginning of," [bears a] structure which is relational, as you would say 'the beginning of a thing, but here what ['the beginning of'] refers to is missing (beginning of what?). And who is like our God, who knows the thing (word), is the origin of the thing (word) not from Him?

We must still understand the difference between the two verses; in this verse, it only says the name Elohim (God) and in another verse, it says (Genesis 2:4), "on the day the Lord, God, made the heavens and the earth," [thereby] mentioning two names. And [we] also [need to understand why] here 'heavens' precedes 'earth' and there, 'earth' precedes 'heavens.'

And it appears that these two questions answer each other. And this is according to the way that they, of blessed memory, explained (Sotah 31a) about two verses that are written about the reward of the righteous: one verse states (Exodus 20:6), "and does kindness to thousands" and another verse states (Deuteronomy 7:9), "to His loved ones and to those who keep His commandments, for a thousand generations." And they, of blessed memory, said that that which one verse stated "to thousands" is referring to "His loved ones" only, and does not also refer to "those who keep His commandments" - who are those that do it out of fear - because it is mentioned that they will be a thousand generations in another verse. Also the verse that states, "to His loved ones and to those who keep His commandments, for a thousand generations;" refers only to "those that keep His commandments" - which is adjacent to it - [when] it states, "for a thousand generations," and not to the word, "His loved ones," which precedes ["those who keep His commandments"]; since behold, their reward is with them in another verse, which is the one [that states] "for thousands." ...

We will also explain these two verses in this way: "In the beginning, Elohim (God) created the heavens;" this name of Elohim - the meaning of which is this attribute of [strict] justice - without the combination of the name of mercy (the Lord), this is only going on what is connected to the heavens, and does not refer to its stating [in the same verse], "the earth;" since He created the earth with the combination of the name of mercy; and [the Torah relied on a different verse [to convey this information]; and that was its stating, "on the day the Lord, God made... the earth;" since the world of people is not able to exist with exact justice, without the combination of mercy, given that they are physical, as is known; and its stating "and the heavens" does not go together with the earth, in this aspect of combination; and the way of its functions, are they not [already] written in the section on creation? And through this are both precise observations resolved, 'like a precious chain.' And as to the matter of knowing which came first, behold we have written above that all of the creation was created together, in His, may He be blessed, strength. ...

And let it not be difficult to you, what type of justice does God mete out to the 'children of power,' who dwell in the skies [the supernal angels], that justify using the name Elohim for them; do you not find that they, of blessed memory, stated (Chagigah 15a) in the story of Metatron, that they judged him in front of Elisha and struck him with sixty bolts of fire, and also Eliyahu, etc. (Bava Metzia 85b) and how many judgments are there of the ministers above! And even thought they do not have an [evil] impulse, nonetheless, mistakes are found among them; since sometimes they do not understand the truth and err. And go and learn from the story of the angel, Metatron and Eliyahu, since they erred; and so it happens that they err and God punishes them, even on unwitting sin, which He does not prosecute for the dwellers of the earth, and with this is confirmed what we wrote [above] and this is true.

And even if we have found that the Rabbis, of blessed memory, (Bereishit Rabbah 1) noticed these two [differences] in the verses and answered that the reason that in one verse the heavens is first and in one the earth is first is that it intends to [tell us] that both came out as one [together], and the reason that in one place it states Elohim (God) and in another place it combines it with the name of mercy (the Lord), [about this] they stated (Bereishit Rabbah 12:15) that in the beginning, it went up in His thought to create [the world] with the name Elohim and [when] He saw that the world would not be able to exist [that way], He combined, etc;

[nonetheless,] you should know that permission is given to explain the meaning of the verses by the ways of investigation and logic, even if the first [scholars of the Mishnaic period] came before us and made a different sense of it, since there are 'seventy faces to the Torah.' And we are not warned not to deviate from the words of the first ones, except with explanations that would result in a change in the law. And for this [reason], you will find that the Amoraim (scholars of the Talmudic period who came later) do not have the power to disagree with Tannaim (scholars of the Mishnaic period) concerning the 'statutes of God,' but concerning the sense and meaning of the verses, we have found that they explain [it] in a different way in several places.

[Yet] I looked again at [a] reasoned investigation of the verses [and found] that our words would also allow for the words of those that came before us, peace be upon them. But first, let us reason to [understand] how it is justified to [attribute to] the Master, may He be blessed, a beginning and end to His thought - that at first, He thought [to create the world] with justice and [then] went back to combine [it with mercy] - since the Master, may He be blessed, 'is not prevented from plotting' because of [too] little time; and in less than the wink of an eye, He knows everything, and plans correctly at first glance, as if it were possible [to say this about Him], may He be blessed and may His name be blessed. ...

Hence, know that the intent of [what is meant by] the combination of mercy bears two [possibilities]: the first is that sometimes God is merciful to whom He wants to be merciful to, without bringing him to justice, since this is the attribute of mercy - to excuse and to forgive - and the name, Elohim also [can be explained in this way, that it is applied] to someone whom He does not want to excuse, He brings to justice, and according to this, there will be a person who is not brought to justice; and the second way is that God never yields to any person in the world, and the whole world is judged - there is no escape, and you should know that they, of blessed memory, said (Bava Kamma 50a) and these are their words, "whoever says that the Holy One, blessed be He, is a yielder, [that person's] intestines will be yielded," but [rather] the earth will stand in judgment and no man will escape from justice.

And behold according to this, we have chosen the second way, and from here, [we see] that the way of the creation, according to their words, may their memory be a blessing, is as follows: at first, He created with the attribute of Elohim - which relates to justice - and this was the plan, that all should stand in justice, except that He saw that the world cannot [survive with] such justice, so He combined the trait of mercy with it, the explanation [of which] is not that He went back on his original thought, God forbid, but [rather] that He made judgment [operate] in a merciful fashion, as you would say 'that He not pay back a person all at once, and that He not give the person his punishment right away and immediately, without giving it time.' And a person never gets what he doesn't deserve in justice, and that is what they, of blessed memory, said (Yerushalmi, Shekalim 5:1), "He is patient, but collects what is His."

It comes out that you say that He did not go back from His [original] thought, since we didn't find that it was the first thought of God not to administer justice in this way, [meaning] that it be meted out with mercy. And, according to this, it is necessary for the verse to be stated in this order; since had the verse stated, "In the beginning, the Lord, God, created," there would have been reason to say that there is justice, and also that there is not justice [when there is] mercy, since God did not decide to institute justice only. But since He stated God (Elohim) by itself, behold, [it shows] that He decided that there is nothing that exists without justice. And even if the verse afterwards states, "the Lord, God," it will truthfully be explained as we have explained it; that justice will exist regardless but that it will be exacted mercifully. And the verse relied upon us, that we would be forced to understand it in this manner, [so] that it become something known and held in our hands that the knowledge of God is not something that reverses itself, as if it were possible.

He said it at the beginning of the order of the creation of the heavens; and the Rabbis, of blessed memory, explained that the word [shamayim (heavens)] is composed of two things esh (fire) and mayim (water); and from this, God forbid, it gives a hand to the sinners to say that [given that] this is the beginning of the creation, but [yet], God forbid, the Creator did not create the fire and water, since the verse itself informs us that the beginning of the creation was the heavens, and if the waters were created [and not pre-existing], it should have started with their creation. And the Sages, of blessed memory, (Chagigah) preempted these two observations and explained that the structure of the verse is as follows: In the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth, the earth was chaos, etc. - not that the heavens and earth was the beginning of the creations. But the words [of the Sages], of blessed memory's, were not enough to remove the [possibility of] error; since according to their words, why did scripture not inform us later of the creation of water and fire, and dirt and wind. And even though the verse (9) states, "and the waters gathered, etc. and the dry land appeared," it is not understood [from this] that it was created; and more justified is the understanding that it was pre-existing, but that [God] decreed upon it to be revealed when the water gathered.

And after we have explained the intention of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, there is a basis for our words even in their words: since this attribute of combination that God set up for the dwellers of the earth, to be slow of anger and to collect [His due] a little at a time; He did not administer [His justice] like this except with us but not with the higher ones, that dwell in the heavens; but [rather, with them,] He pays back the guilt of the guilty right away and immediately. Also regret and confession and repentance, as well as the claim of error is not effective for them. And go and learn form the story that is brought down in the Talmud (Chagigah 15a) about the four that went into the orchard, in which an angel who was sitting with permission of the King, may His name be exalted, may He be blessed, was punished for not getting up in front of [Rabbi] Elisha in order that [the latter] not make a mistake in his thinking. And this is [only] an error for the angel, and he was also not warned about it; and the Judge would not judge His people Israel like this, as is known from the statutes of His Torah, let it be exalted.

There is another hint in having the heavens precede the earth: to show that the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the way of flesh and blood. The way of flesh and blood is [to] build the house first and then the attic on top of it, but the Holy One, blessed be He, had the attic precede and afterwards [built] the house, to show that the heavens are suspended and standing by His word, may He be blessed.

And by way of hint, the Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded (Bereishit Rabbah 1:4) [that by the] word bereishit (In the beginning), He, may He be blessed, intended to say, [that He created the world] for the sake of the Torah, which is called reishit; and the explanation of the [letter] bet (which is the first letter in bereishit) is that it is a bet [that indicates] causation. And from this [is implied that] anyone who merits [to know the] Torah, merits the whole world and anyone who does not merit [to know the] Torah should not benefit from this world - even for him to set foot on it - unless he provides assistance to those who toil in [the study of] Torah. And they also said (Vayikra Rabbah 36:4) [that He created the world] for the sake of Israel, which is called reishit, as it is written [about Israel] (Jeremiah 2:3), "reishit tevuato" ("the first of His produce"). And this statement does not contradict the first, since the very reason that Israel is called, first is from the angle that they accepted the Torah; and through this were they separated from the [other] nations for fame and praise. And they also said (Bereishit Rabbah 1:4), [that He created the world] for the sake of Avraham and (Vayikra Rabbah 36:4) for the sake of Ya'akov; and it all follows the first reason [for creating the world], 'because Avraham listened to my voice, etc.' They also said (Shabbat 36b) [that He created the world] for the sake of [the] awe [of God], which is called reishit, as it is written (Psalms 111:10), "reishit chocmah, yirat, etc." ("the beginning of wisdom is the awe of God, etc."); since it too is a fundamental principle of the Torah, since if there is no wisdom, there is no awe, and if there is no awe of God, there is no Torah, for [awe of God] is a beautiful storehouse for the Torah.

Bereishit is also explained by way of [the Bible's] stating (Proverbs 8:30), "and I was a nursling (amon) with Him," and the Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded (Bereishit Rabbah 1:1); "Don't read it as amon (nursling), but as uman (artist);" and this is exactly what the verse is hinting at in the beginning of God's word: informing [us about] the creation of the world, it informed [us about] that with which He created it and stated that He created it with the Torah, since it is the artist. (This does not contradict the first explanation, since the Torah prepares the world to walk on straight paths.) And according to this, the level of its 'owners' is magnified, since they merit everything; and for this, it is correct that they should be called 'builders;' and this is what they, of blessed memory, said (Shabbat 114a), that Torah scholars are called builders, since what is in their mouths and in their hearts is the builder. And this is [the sense] of what it stated (Jeremiah 33:25), "and were it not for my covenant etc, the law of the heavens and the earth I would not have set."

The [letter] bet of bereishit [can] also be explained by way of [that which] they, of blessed memory, said (Tikunei HaZohar 5b), that there are two types of awe of God: the first is fear of punishment; and the second is awe [before] His loftiness and this is a more inner and loftier awe than the first [one]. And this is what the letter bet that is first (bet reishit) hints: since God established two types of awe for the survival of the world, and he hinted to the manner of them both; the first one was hinted by the word, Elohim, since it is the fear of judgment when He rises to [establish] justice; and the second one was hinted by its stating, "the heavens and the earth" - and that is by way of its stating (Psalms 8:4), "When I look at your heavens, etc," and they, of blessed memory, said [about this] (Zohar 1:1) that the awe of [His] loftiness enters the heart of an intelligent person when he meditatively glances at the work of the heavens and the earth, [and then proclaims,] 'how great are Your deeds, Lord,' [and] his soul becomes enthused and he is inawed by His greatness, may His name be blessed.

[Alternatively,] the two types of awe are hinted to [in the following way: one, in its stating "the heavens" here, is hinting to the awe of [His] loftiness, by way of its stating "When I look at your heavens, etc;" and the second awe, by stating "and the earth," which is the fear of punishment; and it is negatively attributed to the earth, since it is not from the angle of [His] loftiness, but rather from the angle of [man's] fear from the children of the world, by way of its stating (Job 20:27), "and the earth will rise against him."

Bereishit also hints, by way of [the Bible's] stating (Isaiah 33:6), "the awe of the Lord is His treasure;" the intention [of which] is that one who has the awe of God, [for him] it is a treasure for the hope of hearts, which is the clinging of His light, may He be blessed, to the soul of man, by way of its stating (Deuteronomy 4:4), "And you who cling, etc." And anyone who has the fear of Heaven is an abode for [His] Presence, as it states it (Psalms 78:60), "a tent which dwelt with Man." And it is hinted by the word, Bereishit, in the following way: the explanation of bet [which can also be read as bayit (house)] is that a house of repose for God is awe - which is hinted to by the word reishit - "God created" and set up His work.

Bereishit is also explained by way of the [Sages], may they be blessed, saying (Vayikra Rabbah 35:6), "And the book and the sword came down entwined, etc." and this is what it is saying, "Bereishit created Elohim," the meaning [of which] is that with the reishit - which is the Torah - He created Elohim, the meaning [of which] is [strict] justice, which hints to the sword.

It is also explained by way of that which the verse states (I Kings 18:39), "The Lord is God;" and the intention [of this] is that even if the name Elohim relates to [strict] justice, nonetheless it is [indicative of] mercy. And all of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, intend, for the good, together to do good and to do kindness; but from the angle of the acts of the backward ones, judgment came out to chastise whoever is fitting to be chastised. And besides this, the attribute of the name, Elohim, is also to do good. And this is what it is saying, "In the beginning, created Elohim," since the name Elohim, did good and created the world to have grace and mercy and to do good to those that dwell in the heavens and the earth and there is no greater mercy than this. And this is what the verse states (Genesis 27:28), "And Elohim will give to you;" behold, that also the name Elohim does good to the good by way of a free gift; but evildoers cause Elohim to give them chastisement. And in the anticipated future, so will it be, [that] the Lord (the name associated with mercy) shall be one and His name shall be one.

The word, Bereishit, is also explained by way of the [Sages], may they be blessed, saying (Zohar, Introduction 2) that at the time of the creation of the world, the letters entered in front of the Creator; [the letter], tav entered and said in front of Him, "Master of the World, is it Your will to create the world [by beginning the Torah] with me, etc." and to all of [the letters], God answered that He did not want [to create the world/begin the Torah] with them, for the reason stated in their words for each and every one; until [the letter] bet entered and He accepted it and created the world with it, as it is written, Bereishit [which begins with bet; the letter] alef [which had not yet entered] was silent. [And] the Holy one, blessed be He, said to it, "Alef, why are you quiet, etc?" He said to it, "You will be the head of all the letters." Up to here [are the words of the Zohar]. Behold from the words of God [here], it appears that alef has [more of] a virtue than the letter bet. And from here [it follows] that had the letters gone up in front of Him properly, alef would have merited to have the world created with it. And lest [one ask], why didn't the alef go first, and [instead] He left it until the end, know that they, of blessed memory, said (Tikunei HaZohar, Introduction) that when the letters are in the proper order - in the following way: alef bet gimmel etc. - they are hinting to the attribute of mercy; and when they are backwards - in the following way: tav shin reish etc. - they are indicating the attribute of justice. And this is a sign for you [to remember this]: the month of Tishrei - [which] has the letters in backwards order, tav shin reish - is the great time of judgment, except that God, from the angle of His great mercy combined [with these letters] one letter from [His] name of mercy - and that is the yod - to bring mercy into the judgment (Zohar, Introduction 16a). And after this has been made known to us, we will explain [Bereishit] as bet reishit (bet is first); [that] you should know the reason that bet precedes alef is that the creation was with the attribute of Elohim (justice), and since it is thus, the letters went up in backwards order as is [the] rule, and for this reason bet precedes alef and acquired its place.

There is what to be exact about, in that the verse wrote, "et hashamayim ve'et haarets" ("the heavens and the earth," which are both preceded by the Hebrew preposition, et which can either proceed a direct object or mean 'with,' and so, is often seen as indicating additional meaning); and what did the verse come to add with the two times it says et?

In its stating Bereishit, it also wants [to teach], by way of the [Sages], may they be blessed, saying (Zohar Chadash, Bereishit 2) that a thousand hidden worlds did God create; and they, of blessed memory, called them (Edra Zuta, Ha'azinu 288a) 'worlds of embarrassment;' and they are hinted to in the verse (Song of Songs 8:12), "there is a thousand to you, Shlomo." And from here, the verse began with bet, since alef had already acquired its place, since with it were created a thousand (elef which is spelled that same way as alef) worlds, according to its name, alef. And He started with bet to create this world, given that [its numerical value] is also the sum of the creation which is two, heavens and earth. And also for this reason, it did not state, "At first," since you would understand that this is the [absolute] beginning, and that is not the case; since He already created the 'beautiful worlds,' but regarding this detail of the heavens and the earth, it is stating its beginning.

The word, In the beginning (Bereishit), also hints, by way of the [Sages], may they be blessed, saying (Zohar 1:155a) that God created four worlds and they ascribed to them the names, Emanation, Creation, Formation and Action; and they are hinted to in the verse (Isaiah 43:7), "All that is called by My name and I have created for My honor, I have formed him and made him." And this is what is hinted here when it states, "In the beginning," [which] is the world of honor which is Emanation and it is called 'the beginning of all;' "created" [which] is the world of Creation; "Elohim" [which] hints to the world of Formation, since there are judgments there; "the heavens and the earth" [which] is the world of Action, since that is the heavens and the earth, as it is stated in their pleasant words.

It is also hinted, by way of [that which] they, of blessed memory, said (Pesachim 54a) that the Garden of Eden and Gehinnom (purgatory) were created before the world was created, since they are the reward and punishment for the Torah and the commandments, and this is hinted to in its saying bet (which has a numerical value of two) reishit (which is indicative of awe), since God created two things that were designated for awe, which were reward and punishment, [meaning] the Garden of Eden and Gehinnom: (Chagigah 15a) [If] one merits and fears from God, he takes his portion and the portion of his fellow in the Garden of Eden; [if] he does not merit [to do this], he takes his portion and the portion of his fellow in Gehinnom. And perhaps it is hinted that both of them were created together and that both of them are called reishit; since if one preceded the other, reishit would only refer to one [of them; instead], you have learned that they were created together in one statement.

It is also hinted that - since there are two worlds, this world and the next world, and man can acquire 'the good and life' by his involvement in Torah and good deeds - here the verse informs us that the reward for the [observance of] the Torah and the commandments will not be given to the righteous ones in this world, until [God] has [already] prepared a goodly storehouse, which is the essential [reward] to the spiritual side [of man]; and afterwards, if there is a surplus, he [is rewarded] in this world; since God will choose to first prepare for man a payment that is eternal. And this is what is hinted when it states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens;" which [signifies] the world of souls, and afterward "and the earth," which [signifies] the lowly world, if some of the good [coming to] him remains. Hence, you have learned that [reward] is not given to the righteous ones in this world until after they have merited their portion of light 'in the light of life.'

It is also hinted, according to what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, argued (Rosh Hashanah 10b): one says that the world was created in Tishrei and one says that the world was created in Nissan. And it appears to me that 'these and those are the words of the living God,' since you should know that they, of blessed memory, said (Bereishit Rabbah 1:4) that in the beginning God thought to create the world, and afterwards, God took His thought and put into action. And according to this, we can say that He thought [to create it] in Nissan and put it into action in Tishrei or the opposite, and the word, 'create,' refers to both of [these things]; whether what came into His thought, may He be blessed, is called a creation, whether when it went into action; and with this, the words of [both] of our Rabbis can exist together. And this is what is hinted by the bet (which has a numerical value of two) in the word Bereishit (In the beginning); since there were two beginnings, one in thought and one in action; only that we don't know if He thought in Nissan and acted in Tishrei or the opposite.

It also wanted [to teach], by way of the [Sages], may their memory be blessed, saying (Berakhot 6b), "Whoever has awe of the Heavens, his words will be heard;" and the reason [for this] is that the one who fears God will speak from the depths of his soul, and since that is the case, the soul of the listener will recognize [that] and accept the rebuking chastisement; but if the words came from the body, there is no resonance for the soul to listen to them, as the rabbis, of blessed memory, have hinted about what the verse stated (Deuteronomy 6:6), "And these words shall be etc. upon your heart" [and] then "and you shall review them with your children," which are the students. And this is what it said, "Bereishit," which is awe - as they, of blessed memory, have said - "God created the heavens," the explanation [of which] is that one should have awe of the Heavens, [and] then they will listen to his voice and 'he will teach knowledge to people' and that is what it states, "and the earth."

It also wanted [to teach] that, since there since God commanded many [observances] of awe in the world - awe of father and mother, as it is written (Leviticus 19:3), "A man, his mother and his father shall fear;" also from the king and the sages, also to fear people, that they should not be suspicious of him - one might say that the commandment of awe is the same in all the places that it is found, and it will come out from this that he will sometimes discount, God forbid, the commandments of God because of the honor of the king or the honor of his father or something like that; therefore, it hints here that the words of God are first, such that he puts the awe of "the Heavens" before anything [else] and afterwards "the earth," which are the individuals whom he is obligated to fear. And this is what the verse states (Numbers 32:22), "and you shall be clear before God" first; and afterwards, "and from Israel." And from here, [we see] that there is no place to observe any commandment of awe unless one does not transgress any commandment of the commandments of God.

It is also hinted that, through the Torah, God created two levels for man: either he be on the level of the heavens; and that is by way of it stating (Psalms 82:6), "I have said, 'you are powers'" (meaning, like angels); or if he does not keep [the Torah], his level sinks down to the earth. And this is [what it means] when it states, "Bereishit," the explanation [of which] is that through reishit [meaning, the Torah], "God created" these bet (two) preparations, "the heavens, etc."

The whole section also hints to the creation of man - who is the main goal of the creation - in the following way: In the beginning, when God created man, He created him from the source of spirituality, which is hinted by the word, heavens, and from the source of physicality, which is hinted by the word, earth. And you will find that our Rabbis, of blessed memory, hinted [to this by explaining] (Sanhedrin 91b), what the verse stated (Psalms 50:4), "He called to the heavens above" to be the spirit [and] "and upon the earth" to be the body, which is built from the earth. And His will in this, may He be blessed, is that through the actions of man, he will have the power to transform matter, which is the body, until it is considered to be form.

And behold, you will find (Shabbat 152b) that the righteous ones do not return to the dust, given that they purify their matter, until it becomes spiritual; as was written by Rabbi Y. Aramah, of blessed memory, and these are his words, "and it is the power of the perfect ones to change matter into form." And this is why they, of blessed memory, said (Berakhot 18a) that the righteous ones are called living even in their death, since the material side has become spiritual, which relates to life; and that the evil ones are called dead even in their lifetimes, from the angle that even the spirituality in them becomes material and [like] earth, which relates to the lifeless objects which are [therefore] dead.

In fact, the intention of the verse is as follows; but first, 'I will rise with the sun' upon that which is placed in front of us from the greatness of the Creator - how great are his works! - since the Master, may He be blessed, can speak a word without it being understood by the creations. As they, of blessed memory, said (Mekhilta, Yitro) to explain the verse (Exodus 20:1), "And God spoke all of these words etc.," and this is what they said, "words that the mouth cannot speak;" and it [is a reference to] Him saying all of the ten commandments in one word, and [that] one word did not precede the other. ...

And it hints to these two characteristics when it states "the heavens and the earth," in the following way: if they merit [it], behold, they raise up the material part of themselves which is hinted by "the earth" and they connect it and it becomes one entity with the "heavens." And if they do not merit [it], they transform the part of spirituality within them to the trait of "earth" and the form becomes matter. And this is what it is stating, "and the earth."

And its stating, "and the earth was chaos and void" here is hinting to what occurred in the times that the physical side overpowers which is the 'earth' and [the person] is emptied out of spirituality; as it is translated [by Onkelos into Aramaic], "desolate and empty;" "and darkness," which is the evil impulse that is called in their holy words (Zohar, Bereishit 63), [that which] darkens the face of the creatures; "was upon the depths" and it called the body, the depths, being that it is like [a pit] that constantly swallows [things up], and from the angle of the evil impulse [connected to it] that is darkness; "and the spirit of God" given into it "was hovering upon the waters," because the spirit 'did not find a place to rest the sole of its foot,' since the impulse drove it away and lifted it up from its resting place, and the darkness, which is the evil impulse, dwelt there and the [human] soul remains "hovering over the waters," that are the 'waters of iniquity,' which are the powers of impurity.

And in the Holy One's seeing, blessed be He, [that it was] like this, "And God said, 'let there be light;'" [meaning that He] sends man help against his impulse; and this is [that] when he reaches his fourteenth year, a holy and pure soul, from His holy chamber of Divine holy spirits, appears upon him. Or [light] hints to the Torah, since it is the pleasant light, and is called light, as it is written (Proverbs 6:23), "and the Torah is a light;" and the intention [of the two explanations] is one, since the aspect of the holy souls is the aspect of the light of the Torah, and a man of soul (ba'al nefesh) is a man of Torah. And that is what it states, "And God said, 'let there be light;'" which is the soul - the light of which is great, being that it is hewed from beneath His throne of glory, may He be blessed, [and] is 'a portion of God from above' - God sends it to shine on man, that he not wallow in the mud of the evil impulse; or also according to what we have said - that it is the Torah that shines on the soul of man; and then, "and there was light, and God saw the light" that He gave within man, "that it was good;" that through it, man will walk on the 'good and straight' path.

And you should not think that given that the soul is within man, or through involvement in Torah, with this he is still from the machinations of the impulse that brings him to sin and he [can] turn and walk [away from it]; because were it so, there would be no [room for] reward and punishment here. To this, it says that darkness is still in the world, but through [the light], man is helped to wage war with it, and to separate it from him, that it not fell him through its plots; and he will recognize that the aspect of doing evil is evil; and this is what it says, "and God separated between the light," which is the soul "and between the darkness," which is the evil impulse; and [about] this, the verse states (Ecclesiastes 10:2), "The heart of a wise man is to his right," which is the place of light, the place of the soul, "and the heart of a fool is to his left," which is the place of the evil impulse; "And He called light, day, and darkness, He called night;" and for this David prayed (Psalms 91:5), that He should save him from the fear of the 'nights.'

And its stating, "and there was, etc. one day" is because it is impossible to recognize the light of the soul except from the darkness of the evil impulse; since were it not so, [people] would not be different than the ministering angels, and there would not be [the possibility] of reward and punishment here; and for that reason, it states, "one day."

And it also intends to say "one day," by way of the [Sages], of blessed memory, saying (Avodah Zarah 35b) on the verse (Song of Songs 1:3), "therefore the maidens (alamot) have loved you," [that it is referring] to death (al mavet), the explanation [of which] is that even the 'bad' angel is forced to answer 'amen.' And for this reason, it states, "and it was evening and it was morning, one day," the explanation [of which] is that the attribute of evening and the attribute of morning, all of them, are in agreement for the good of the righteous one.

Or it is hinting that, through the help of the soul, the evening time - when 'his sun sets' to return to the upper world - is like the time of morning - the time when it came to the world; that the soul returns as brilliantly as the day it came, and this is by way of the [Sages], of blessed memory, saying (Shabbat 152b) [on the verse] (Ecclesiastes 13:7), "And the spirit returns to God who gave it;" and these are their words, "give it to Him like He gave it to you;" and in this the day of its coming and the day of its leaving will be equally like one.

The verse also intended to inform [us] that at the beginning of the creation, God set up His acts to be equal, [meaning] the heavens and the earth. And even though the heavens are the higher ones, nonetheless, the earth was in the category of purity. And go and learn [about] its virtue and merit; since man was created from it, 'dirt from the earth' and his form is like an 'angel of God;' and you will [also] find that God chose to dwell on earth with the creations, and He prepared a house [there] for his residence - as if it were possible [to say this] - and it is an obvious thing that the abode of God is perfect and 'holy is said about it.' And you will find that before man sinned, God was found among the lower [creatures] in the same way as he was found among the higher [creatures], and this is what it states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" in one category, in cleanliness and purity, and this is [like] the statement of the prophet (Isaiah 61:1), "So said the Lord, 'the heavens are my chair and the earth is my footstool,'" and they, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 14a) that it is an ottoman. Behold, you have learned that is in the category of being fit for the abode of God; except that through the acts of the lower beings, "and the earth was chaos and void" and [it] became thick and its light became darkened from the angle of the acts of the evildoers. "And God said, 'let there be light'" which is the Torah, then the earth went back to how it was at the beginning, to brighten its light, and God resided on earth with His people and His inheritance, and that is what it states, "and there was light."

The verse can also be explained in this way; as it is well know that we have found that the Holy One, blessed be He, has chosen to dwell in the mist and [yet] prefers to live among us. And we have also found about Him (Taanit 5a) that He - as if it were possible - swore that he would not enter the 'heavenly Jerusalem' until He enters the earthly Jerusalem; behold this means that he prefers the earthly to the heavenly. Also, when we discern the reason for the creation of the entire world, we would know that the lower ones, which are His people and His inheritance, are the essence [of creation].

And according to this, the verse intended to give the order of creation in the format of 'not only [x which is of less importance] but also [y which is of more importance]' ('lo zo, af zo') in the way of preference [in the following way]: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and" he also created another creation that was more beloved to Him and more elevated and that is "the earth;" since - just the opposite - the heavens are dependent upon it, and all of this is by means of the Children of Israel, His holy people; since the existence of all the worlds - even the upper worlds - is dependent upon them, as is known to the experts of the chambers of true wisdom.

And with this, we will come to the explanation: and it is that the Master, may His name be exalted, created everything - all that He created in the world; places and all that exists, and the skies and the earth - in one word. And this is what it states, "Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et haarets" ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth"), and is exact to use the word et twice; to include all that is found in the world. And since the creations are numerous, as beyond the ten things that are recognizable and visible to everyone's eye - as were counted by the Sages, of blessed memory (Chagigah 12a), and this is what they said, "and ten things were created on the first day: heavens and earth, light, darkness, chaos and void, etc. water, wind" - besides these things, there are other creations that are hidden and absorbed by the powers of the foundational elements; some of them are recognized by way of dissection, some of the them by way of composition, some of them through the changing of time, some of them through the power of hyle, and [they] are too many to count. For this reason, the Creator grouped them into two large and enormous parts: in the havens and in the earth. And these are the two inclusions that were included in His saying "et hashamayim ve'et haarets," and in one proclamation did He, may He be exalted, create everything. And you will find that they, of blessed memory, said (Rosh Hashanah 32a), "[The word] 'In the beginning' [counts as a] proclamation [of creation], since with it were completed the ten proclamations with which the world was created (as there are only nine obvious proclamations of creation and this would be the tenth one)." Everything was created in the first of all [the proclamations] but it was not yet arranged, and all of the creations were there but they lacked order; and the Holy One, blessed be He, ordered them, each thing in its day: on the first day, He set up and separated the light from the darkness and the darkness acquired its place and the light acquired its place; and on the second day, etc.

And in this way, its stating "and the earth was chaos and void" becomes explained: Here it is hinting about the times of the Jewish exiles, which is the reason for the prevention of His, may He be blessed, dwelling on earth. One (the first) exile is the exile of Egypt; they remained in it for four hundred and thirty years, like the numerical count [(gematria) of] chaos (tohu) - which is four hundred and eleven - and void (vebohu) - which is nineteen - behold four hundred and thirty. And the meaning of "and void" also hints to the exile after it, and that is the Babylonian exile: The Babylonian exile is called 'void' because the translation of void [according to Onkelos] is 'empty' and it is written in Jeremiah 51:34 about the Babylonian exile, "he has eaten me, he has crushed me, Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylonia, he has placed me like an empty vessel." And its stating, "and darkness was upon the depths" hints to the bitter exile that we are in, stuck in the depths, that has had no end for us for one thousand seven hundred and seventy one years. And [as if] the length of the exile [were] not enough, but also [do we suffer its] darkness, which hints to two things: the first is the subjugation of the nations [over the Jews] and the heavy yolk of taxes, to the point that darkness darkens their form, this one subjugates, and that one crushes - happy is the one who has not seen [this], and especially in our [home,] Morocco; and the second is concerning the evil impulse which has darkened the world - and as a result of our sins, there has been an increase in those that breach [the standards] of His people, Israel, and have permitted to themselves bad language and false oaths and evil gossip and theft and prevent themselves from repenting to return [from their ways]. And a person should not say, in seeing such a downfall for Israel for the entire time, that - God forbid, hope is lost for the 'children;' that is not so, but rather "And God said, 'let there be light,'" that is the light of the amazing future redemption. ...

And its stating, "and there was light," is by way of their saying in the Tikunei Hazohar 21, [that it means] "there was a secret," since the numerical value of light is [the equivalent] of secret. The intention [of this] is that God, may His name be elevated, decreed that this light of the king messiah not be revealed in the world and that it be a hidden secret with Him, as they say (there), "to My heart, I revealed, from the heart to the mouth, He did not reveal." And its stating, "And God saw the light that it was good," refers back to the light, in of itself, "that it was good" - 'happy is the eye that saw it' - and also refers back to what it hinted, that he will make it in [the form of] a hidden secret, [and also about that it is saying, "that it was good;" since so should it be - as they, of blessed memory, have said (Yoma 9) - for several reasons. And [about] its stating, "the spirit of God, etc.," they have said in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 2:4), "this is the spirit of the messiah." "Hovering upon the face of the waters," there is no [other meaning to] waters besides Torah, by way of their saying, in the Zohar, Hashamatot 1:13, that Israel will not be redeemed except through the merit of the Torah, that is compared to water.

And behold, it is known that, because of our many sins, many sparks of light have been submerged in the husks and also much mixed multitude has infiltrated into holiness, as they have said in the holy book of Tikunei Hazohar 6, "mixed bad in good and good in bad." And for this [reason], He needs - as if it were possible - to separate the good from the bad and the light form the darkness that have gotten mixed up. And behold it is known that the life force of the husk is only from its feeding from holiness and without that, it has no life. And so, when God separates the light, which is the holiness, and the evil remains separated and has no source of life from which to feed, it is automatically annulled. And this is what it is stating (Zechariah 13:2), "and the spirit of impurity will I remove from the earth;" since it is similar to the cutting of a tree from the place of its sustenance, and its root from which it nurses, that it [then] dries up and no longer prospers; and nothing will remain besides the good light. And this is what [it meant when] it stated, "And God called the light, day;" the explanation of "and he called" (vayikra)" is [that it] is an expression of glory (yakar) and greatness, as the virtue of holiness is only recognizable with the felling of the husk, that is called darkness. And the verse informs [us] that on that day, that is known in front of Him above, God will call to the light in glory and greatness; and that will be on the day that is known to God, that on it God will be one.

And its stating, "and the darkness, he called night;" is an expression of an incident which is not pure; and for this reason, the verse does not rely on the word, "and he called" that it stated at the beginning [of the verse, and repeated it again specifically for darkness] - since there is no more glory and honor to darkness, but rather its incidence will only be in the night. And this is the secret of its stating (Deuteronomy 23:11), "an incident of the night." But when the night will pass, which is the time of the exile, as the verse states (Isaiah 21:11), "The burden of Dumah etc.; watchman, what will be of the night;" since the exile is similar to the night. And then at the dawn, there will no longer be darkness nor night, but [rather], "and there was evening and there was morning, one day;" since the aspect of evil is removed and is not; 'and the night will shine like the day,' 'and the light of the moon will be light the light of the sun.' And this is [why] it states, "one day;" and it is that the verse hints to its stating (Zechariah 14:9), "on that day the Lord will be one and His name will be one."

And the trustworthy 'witness' to our explanation is that which the verse states (Genesis 2:3), "since upon it God rested from all of the work that He had created to make;" as this verse lacks understanding; and according to what we have explained, it comes 'like a precious chain,' as "since upon it He rested from all of the work that He had created" [refers to what He did] on the day of creation; "to make," [means] to refine, on the six days; like it states (Exodus 31:17), "since on six days, the Lord made, etc.," the explanation [of "made"] is refined; since the [actual] creation was created in one proclamation on the first day, except that everything was lacking refinement. To what is this thing similar? To someone who wants to build a palace and first prepares stones and wood and dirt and all of the building materials and afterwards builds the home; so [too] the Creator, may He be blessed, created all of the needs of the world with one proclamation, and He prepared it, and everything was laying piled up in a mixture; and afterwards, He started to organize each thing in its place and did His, may He be exalted, work.

And you will find that when He wanted to create the heavens, He said (verse 6), "let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters," [meaning] He set its place; but it was already created in the first proclamation. And so [too] with the earth (verse 9) "and the dry land appeared."

And [regarding] the fire, the refinement of which, God didn't mention at all, you should know that God did not reveal its source - like the revealing of the heavens and the earth and the water - because its source is strong; and from it, there [would be] destruction to the world if it had been found like the water and the earth; and the world would not be able to exist. For this [reason], the Holy One, blessed be He, left it in its place - where it was created by the first proclamation - absorbed in the flints; until man needed it and took out from them an amount [of fire] sufficient for him, as they, of blessed memory, said (Bereishit Rabbah 11), "therefore we make the blessing of 'who has created the lights of the fire' at the end of Shabbat." And by this, God also revealed the nature of the [primordial] mixture - that the sources and elements were mixed up at the time of their creation, before God set each one up, according to its station. For if [the concealment of fire in other objects] did not exist, man's mind would not be able to fathom the knowledge of how different substances could be mixed up; and all the more so, dirt and fire.

It is possible to hint that the word bereishit is [made up of] the letters, "beareshet yod (by expression of ten)," which hints to (Avot 5:1), "with ten proclamations was the world created." And see what is written in Petach Einayim on the Mishna, "In ten proclamations," with God's help. And I heard from an old God-fearing man that the words, Bereishit bara including the numerical equivalent of two [for these two words] is the numerical equivalent (gematria) of "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Up to here are his words, may His memory be a blessing for life in the world to come. And he gave me pleasure, since in the beginning of the Torah, there is found a hint to His unity, may He be blessed, and [also] all of the kavannot (mystical meditations) that are in the secret of the unification are hinted in these words, as it is stated in the Zohar and in the writings of Ari, of blessed and righteous memory - all of them are hinted in the beginning of our holy Torah. And after much time, I briefly chanced upon the book, Tsvi Kodesh, and I see at the end of page 2, that he wrote this gematria, and added that it is for this reason that our holy Rabbi (Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi) started the [corpus of the] Mishna with the commandment of reading the Shema, see there.

"In the beginning (resishit)" in the Targum Yerushalmi is, "With wisdom did God create." And [its author's] words are simple according to the holy Zohar, since resishit is [the same] as wisdom (hokhmah), as it is written (Psalms 111:10), "The beginning (resishit) of wisdom is the fear of God." And it is written (Proverbs 3:19), "with wisdom did He establish the earth," [meaning] that wisdom established the daughter (the earth/malkhut). And this is the [meaning of the] combination [of letters in the word,] bereishit, [which can also spell] beit rosh (house head) - beit hints to malkhut and rosh to wisdom (hokhmah); since the wisdom that is in 'abba' established the daughter. And it is possible to hint that [since] the end of the Torah (Dueteronomy 34:12) is "before the eyes of all of Israel;" it comes out that from its end, [the letter,] lamed and the [letter,] bet of bereshit,, there is [a numerical equivalent of 32. And reishit hokhmah (see comment above) hints to the 32 paths of wisdom. Alternatively, it is possible [to find a hint] in what was written by the Sages, of blessed memory, and which was cited by Zera Berakh, section 3 on this order, that King David, peace be upon him, held that wisdom is in the head and that is why he started Psalms with [the letter,] alef, and King Shlomo disagreed with him, [holding] that wisdom is in the heart, and hence he started the Book of Proverbs with a [letter,] mem to hint that wisdom is in the heart [which is in the middle of the body], just like mem is in the middle of the letters. And this is what King David, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 23:15), "My son, if your heart is wise:" that if the main understanding is like you, that wisdom is in the heart and this is what is meant by "your heart is wise" - even though it is against my rationale - "my heart will rejoice;" since when a son is victorious over his father [in argumentation], [a father] rejoices, as He said [with apparent joy] (Baba Metzia 59b), "my children (which is also an acrostic for the Children of Israel) have defeated me, they have defeated me." This is the essence of the words of the rabbi [in] Zera Barech, section 3, see there at length. [Based on the above], it is possible to hint that King David, peace be upon him, started Psalms with [the word,] ashrei which is the [same] letters [as] roshi (my head), as (according to him,) wisdom is in the head. If so, it is [further broken down as] rosh yod, as [the letter,] yod is a hint to thought, as Rashi says in Parshat Beshalach - yod is because, of thought - and it is the wisdom of the yod of the explicit name [of God]. And according to the rationale of Shlomo that wisdom is in the heart, it is for this reason that the Torah began with a [the letter,] bet and ended with the [letter,] lamed, which are [the letters of] heart (lev). And that which is left over from the letters of bereshit [after the bet is removed] hints to wisdom and that is [what is meant] by lev reshit ('the heart is first') - that wisdom is in the heart. Alternatively, bereshit is a combination of [the letters of] ashrei bat (happy is the daughter) - which hints to the soul - as man is made up from the heavens and the earth and from all of the worlds; and by way of the Torah and its commandments, he binds the worlds and brings bounty to all of them. And with this is answered the inquiry of the early scholars (Rishonim) - that [since] the soul before its coming to this world eats from the bread of its Father and enjoys from the holy things of the heavens, so why was it created in the body and [brought] to this world, which is very dangerous [for it] - and go and see that with four [people] do we find that they died from the counsel of the snake [and not from their sins], only four, and [about this] it is written (Ecclesiastes 7:20), "there is no righteous person on the earth who does good and does not sin." And our master, of blessed memory, answered this inquiry by saying, "one who eats from his own (which he has earned), etc." And the Maggid praised this answer, as he said in the book, Maggid Mesharim, see there; and the commentators used this greatly, as is known. However, according to what has been said [above], it is fine; since with the coming of the soul to this world, the worlds connect - since the life force, spirit and soul (neren) attach [themselves] to the four [physical] elements and, through this, connect all of the worlds and bring bounty to all of them. And as my master, my elder, the rabbi explained - I brought his words in my little book, Rosh David, Parshat Mishpatim, see there - and it is clear, that [the order of things] is not sufficient except with the creation of man in this world. And behold, the holy elder expounded [the verse] (Exodus 21:7), "And if a man sells his daughter," to be about the soul. And this is hinted [to by] ashrei bat (happy is the daughter); meaning to say, the creation of man should not [seem] difficult as mentioned, since the 'daughter' is happy - happy is the soul that comes to this world. Since God has created man so that, through him, He connects the heavens and the earth and bounty comes to them all, and [so] He binds all of the worlds. And be exact and very much find the truth [to this]. Alternatively, it is hinting - and first we will introduce [this] by what was written by the [author of] Zera Berakh, section 3 on this order of the day, page 2, side 4; that our Rabbis, of blessed memory, nicknamed a Torah scholar, 'daughter.' As they said that Torah [study] protects and saves from sin and from the evil impulse and [yet] they [also] said that the greater a person is than another, so too is his evil impulse greater than the other, and [so] a Torah scholar is in greater danger of sinning. And the commentaries explain that if a Torah scholar constantly sits in the 'tent' of Torah and does not go out, but rather reads and studies, such a Torah scholar is protected from sin; however if he properly fulfills the [concept] of 'Torah and the way of the world' (Torah eem derekh erets) and is involved in buying and selling, then the evil impulse bothers him and he is more in danger of sinning. And that is why a Torah scholar is compared to a daughter who always sits indoors, see there at length. And for this reason, the Torah opened [with] bereshit, which is a combination of [the letters of] ashrei bat (happy is the daughter), meaning to say, that the Torah requires the Torah scholar to be like a daughter - who should not go to and fro - and by this he will be saved from sin. And this is the hint: happy is the daughter - happy is the one who makes himself like a daughter; that he should be inside sitting in the tent. And with this, it becomes clear to me that which is written in Yoma 71, "'To you O men do I call' (Proverbs 8:4); Rabbi Berachia says, 'These are the Torah scholars that sit quietly like women and act strongly like men.'" And ostensibly, there needs to be a reason why he compares the Torah scholars to women. And Rashi there explains that it is [because] their strength is enfeebled like women. However, according to what has been said [above], it is possible that [the reason] he compares them to women is because they are like women, about whom it is written (Psalms 45:14), "All glorious is the king's daughter inside," and [in this fashion] are involved in Torah, [and, if not,] they [must] overcome their impulse like men, whom the evil impulse cannot [vanquish]. And be exact and find the truth [to this].

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אלוקים, the plain meaning of the word is that it describes divinity. It describes the One who possesses all the divine powers. This is the reason it is expressed in the plural, i.e. not merely אל or אלוה, but the One Who comprises all the divine powers within His essence. An example of such use of the word is found in Joshua 24,19. אלוקים קדשים הוא It means that in His capacity as אלוקים He comprises all aspects of holiness, sanctity. We find a parallel use of words describing terrestrial authority in Isaiah 19,4 where such rulers are described in the plural as אדנים קשה, "a harsh master" (although the adjective applied to "them" is in the singular). The reason the noun is in the plural is because such rulers manifest their authority in so many different ways. If such use of the plural is appropriate for describing terrestrial rulers, how much more so is it appropriate for describing G'd whose authority is manifested in innumerably more ways than the authority of even the most powerful human king on earth. Their entire authority is, after all, only derived from G'd. G'd, by definition, is One, indivisible, but His powers are many. We find many other examples of nouns in the singular being described as if they had been written in the plural. To name some: ליל שמורים הוא (Exodus 12,42) "it is a night of vigil," (the word for "vigil" is in the plural). Or, (Leviticus 23,28) יום כפורים הוא “it is a Day of Atonement." Another reason why the Torah refers to G'd as אלוקים in the plural is the great deal of intelligence, wisdom, and insight He employed when He created the universe. [I believe the author treats each attribute as something separate, hence He justifies the plurality of attributes by referring to the One who employed all these attributes in the plural. Ed.] This is what Solomon had in mind when he wrote in Proverbs 3,19 "ה' בחכמה יסד ארץ כונן שמים בתבונה." The Lord founded earth by employing wisdom, He established the heavens by employing understanding." G'd is described as employing different attributes when creating the universe. From an homiletical point of view the name אלוקים describes G'd in His capacity as judge. This is what the Torah meant when it wrote אלוקים לא תקלל (Exodus 22,27) "you must not curse a judge." Onkelos translates the word in that verse as ,דיינא judge. We have an unequivocal verse in Psalms 75,8 proving that the word means judge, i.e. כי אלוקים שופט זה ישפיל וזה ירים “For G'd is a judge; He raises up one man while bringing down another." The term אלוקים for G'd is appropriate at this point as He employed the attribute of Justice when creating the universe. From a mystical point of view, i.e. קבלה the word is composed of two separate words אל הם. The first word is a name for G'd in the possessive form, the second word הם describing all the other attributes G'd employed when creating the universe. We find something along those lines in Numbers 31,16 הן הנה “they are the very ones." As to the letter י which so far is unaccounted for (by this kabbalistic approach), we find such a letter י in Kohelet 12,1 וזכור את בוראיך" “and remember your Creator," where the letter י appears to be extraneous at first glance. [After all we have only one Creator, and what did Solomon mean? Ed.] The author contents himself with the enigmatic words: "the intelligent student will understand what I mean." [I believe the message is that the letter has been slipped in to hint at the ten emanations which are part of basic kabbalistic teachings, explaining how totally abstract matter could have been converted into tangible matter. Ed.]

את השמים ואת הארץ "heaven and earth." Whenever the word את appears it adds something to the meaning of the plain text. At the most basic level, the two words here are meant to convey that two additional matters or raw materials were involved in the creation of heaven and earth. According to the plain meaning of the text, we understand the two words as references to the two different raw-materials (elements) G'd employed when creating heaven and earth, seeing the two are obviously not made of the same material. This is the meaning of "the earth was tohu vavohu", i.e. that after the initial act of creation earth was still in a chaotic state. The specific meaning of the two words is that the material, was covered with a form, This is what is meant by Isaiah 66,2 The first three words in that verse refer to existing material, whereas the last words "My hands have fashioned," refer to G'd supplying this material with a distinctive form, צורה. According to this verse in Isaiah, G'd first created the raw material, ,ברא but subsequently His activities consisted only of refining such raw material by acts of יצירה respectively. ,בריאה creation of matter, consisted of merely creating the smallest physical particle, a ,נקודה “a point," something barely perceptible. This little particle formed the beginning of the entire solar system. Looked at from an homiletical point of view, the extra words את in the phrase "heaven and earth," include the sun, moon, stars in the case of the word שמים and the entire range of vegetation in the case of the word ארץ.

בראשית, According to the plain meaning of the text, i.e. what is known as the פשט the meaning of the word בראשית is: "at the beginning." If, nonetheless, the Torah did not write the word בראשונה “at the beginning,” an unmistakable expression, this is because the expression בראשיתincludes so many more and exalted meanings than does the word .בראשונה According to the view of Rashi, grammatically speaking the word בראשית is a possessive form, as it is every time it appears in the Torah. It signals that on the first day G'd created only the light. The meaning of the full verse then is: "at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth there was Tohu Vavohu, chaos. G'd said: 'let there be light.'" Everything else developed from that point on including the creation of heaven and earth. The word בראשית here is comparable to the verse in Hoseah, 1,1. תחלת דבר ה' בהושע ויאמר ה' אל הושע, וגו'" “When G'd began to speak to Hoseah, G'd said to Hoseah, etc." Rashi's opinion was that if the Torah had wanted to tell us that heaven and earth had been created on the first day, the Torah should have written בראשונה. The fact is however, that the word is not a possessive form at all but an independent word and it is equivalent to the Torah having written בראשונה. Proof of this is found in the tone-sign tipcha on the word which separates it from the word which follows it. The paragraph tells us that heaven and earth with all their derivatives were created on the first day, all of them without there having preceded them any physical matter at all. This fact is attested to by the word ברא which describes the creation of "something out of nothing." This, at any rate, is the opinion of Rabbi Nechemyah who is quoted to this effect in Midrash Tanchuma at the beginning of our portion. On the other hand, Rabbi Yehudah, who disagrees with him, claims that the universe was created during six days. He bases himself on the repeated directives of the Torah that something new should emerge and the Torah's reporting that indeed it did, using the words ויהי כן to inform us that G'd's instructions had been carried out. Rabbi Nechemyah claims that the proof that the whole universe was created already on the first day are the words (1,24) תוצא הארץ “let the earth bring forth." The wording "bring forth" indicates that G'd referred to matters which had already been in existence ready to emerge but had not yet seen the light of day until commanded to do so by G'd. The matter can be compared to a farmer who sows six grains of corn at the same time only to find that they take root at different times instead of all sprouting forth simultaneously. The six days of creation described by the Torah report the sequence in which G'd's creative activity became manifest. This is what the Psalmist had in mind (Psalms 33,9) כי הוא אמר ויהי i.e. “for He had given a directive and then it materialised." David taught us that G'd's directive and its execution as visible fact occurs simultaneously. Afterwards, (the creation of heaven and earth) He gave these various directives introduced by the Torah with the words ויאמר אלוקים and G'd's work became manifest, was converted from being a potential to becoming actual.

בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ. The word Bereshit is not in a genitive possessive mode, i.e. “at the beginning of,” as for instance in Jeremiah 26,1 where we find בראשית ממלכת יהויקים, where it means: “at the beginning of the reign of Yehoyakim,” but is a word in its own right as in Isaiah 46,10 מגיד מראשית אחרית, “foretelling the end from the beginning,” or, as in Deuteronomy 33,21 וירא ראשית לו, “He chose the choicest for himself.” In other words: when G’d began to create the universe, He first created heaven and earth. The word בראשית is necessary as one cannot speak of either ראשית or אחרית except in terms of “time.” At that point “time” did not exist yet as it is a concept indivisibly linked to motion. Motion commenced only when the planets were placed in the sky (on the fourth day). These motions were described in terms of “days.” At the “time” described in our verse there were only “moments,” “hours,” etc., but a recurring cycle of time such as days had not yet come into existence.

ברא, “He created;” the term ברא is used on occasion as applying to something which is not of physical substance such as in Numbers 16,30 when Moses predicts that G’d will “create, יברא” a gaping hole in the ground wherever members of Korach’s clan and supporters stood, into which they would disappear. Clearly, the earth’s crust opening into a fissure is not something tangible, something of substance. The word ברא always means that no “matter” was involved in what G’d is described as “creating.” Job 23,13 makes such a point when referring to G’d: ונפשו אותה ויעש, “whatever He desired, He did.” [He does not have to operate within given parameters]. Similarly, Isaiah 43,7 describes G’d as saying: כל העולם הנקרא בשמי ולכבודי בראתיו, יצרתיו, אף עשיתיו, meaning that “the entire world which is called by My name in My honour, is so called in order that people will say that I have created it, I have formed it, I have completed it.” The message is that G’d created it out of “nothing,” not using existing materials. According to the great sage Maimonides, the word לכבודי, may mean “according to My will.” However, one can also understand the word in its literal sense, i.e. that the world and all that is in it represents G’d’s glory. This would conform to Isaiah 6,3 מלא כל הארץ כבודו, “the entire universe is full of His glory.” Seeing that G’d Himself is invisible, we can only recognise Him and His glory by means of His accomplishments, including His creatures.

אלוקים. A name which means: Judge, Ruler, and Leader. Seeing that it is a noun occurring in a variety of functions, it is in the plural mode. We find the term applied both to outstanding people, judges, and leaders, also as a description given to certain angels and even planets. During the entire report of G’d’s creative activity it is the only term applied to describe Him, seeing that the chapter deals with His creative power and leadership. From this chapter we derive the knowledge that there are judges on earth and that the entire world was created by a single Creator. He created it in His infinite wisdom when He was ready to create it. In the words of our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 5) anyone who denies this basic fact will find refutation of his denial in the very text of the Torah. For instance, people who argue that the plural mode אלוקים proves that more than one force was involved in the creation of the universe, are confounded by the fact that the Torah does not continue with the plural mode בראו, “they created,” but used the singular mode ברא, “He created.” The great scholar Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra felt that seeing that G’d employed angels, i.e. agents, in His creative activities, the word אלוקים is in the plural mode so as to hint at this fact.

את. This word refers to something that had already been created. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah, 1,15) report that when Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva the meaning of this word in this context, (seeing normally it means something additional) he was told that just as Nachum ish gam zu had made a comprehensive list of every time the word אך or רק appears in the Torah to demonstrate that it excludes something that we would otherwise have assumed to be included, so the word את and גם respectively include something that we would not otherwise have presumed to be included based on the plain text. To the people who use this principle to argue that the planets, the sun and the moon assisted G’d in His creation, based on the apparently unnecessary word את before the word שמים, Rabbi Akiva replied that it means that sun and moon were included in the term “heaven, sky,” whereas the words את הארץ were meant to include the vegetation found on earth, as well as Gan Eden. Concerning the strange sounding addition “and Gan Eden,” after vegetation, i.e. trees and flowers have already been named, we must understand this in a manner similar to Joshua 2,1 את הארץ ואת יריחו, “the country and Jericho,” where Jericho had, of course, been included in the expression את הארץ. The reason that “Gan Eden” was singled out was that there vegetation was at its most developed, most appealing, just as the city of Jericho was known as the city of palms, i.e. especially desirable. There is also a mystical element to this expression, i.e. Gan Eden” represents a region separate from the remainder of the earth, an area which had been created in its full splendour already on the first day of creation, just as according to that view all the eventual manifestations in heaven and earth had already been created on the first day though not yet become a functioning part of the universe. Accordingly, different parts of the universe, became functional on the days when the Torah deals with them.

השמים. Most of our sages (Chagigah 12) understand the word as a reference to the stars and planets in the sky, and Rabbi Maimonides in his “Moreh” agrees that the nine planets including sun and moon were indeed created as part of what is described in our verse as שמים. According to Ibn Ezra the word שמים refers to two locations in the sense of “twice שם,” the word “sham” referring to a location (there). (compare Ibn Ezra on this in a book called ספר השם. The author perceives the term as describing the opposite, outer boundaries of the heavens. The word is used figuratively, as if everything is between the two parts of an anvil) Still other scholars hold that the word השמים referred to with the letter ה, suggesting that it is a known phenomenon, i.e. “the heaven,” in this verse, refers to the firmament which was actually only created on the second day, and that the word is used here only figuratively. These scholars (Rash’bam) hold that the Torah did not mention when the planets were created and not when earth (as distinct from the dry land) was created. [I will not repeat what we have already quoted in our translation of Rash’bam. Ed.] Rashi also agrees that the Torah in its report here did not report in chronological order, but that the reference to “heaven” is a reference to the major planets in the sky. As a result, we would translate: “at the beginning of creation of heaven and earth, the earth was chaotic until G’d gave the directive: ‘let there be light.’ There are still other scholars who understand the expression שמים as referring to “fire,” i.e. the very elementary “fire” the “highest” of the 4 basic elements of which the physical universe is composed. On the other hand, the word ארץ, respectively הארץ, is then understood as the lowest of the 4 elements which form the basic raw material of the physical universe. It would have had to predate “nature,” i.e. the orbiting planets, as “orbiting” is possible only if these orbiting planets have something to rest on. According to some of our sages the fire is a result of the friction created by the motion of these planets when rubbing against their respective bases. Alternatively, we could say that G’d created “beneath” the moon [relative to earth which is considered as subject to the direct influence of the moon, such as the tides; Ed.] a single raw material which He “clothed” in 4 different-looking phenomena, so that the basic raw material of the globe would be a single material, appearing as if cast in a mould. All the phenomena in the sky would have been created simultaneously in their natural state. The reason “light” is mentioned separately is because we would not have understood the report of what transpired on the fourth day, i.e. assigning functions to this “light.” Ibn Ezra also writes in this vein, making the point that what Moses wrote down in the Torah related only to the part of the universe which is subject to development and therefore to disintegration. The word שמים refers to the רקיע, the sky, the firmament whose creation is reported as having occurred on the second “day.”

ואת הארץ, According to Maimonides the “earth” mentioned here is a collective term comprising the 4 basic raw materials the globe consists of in various combinations. The word ארץ as distinct from the word שמים, is referred to again in verse 2 as well as in verse 10, seeing that in verse 1 no details had been given of what the word ארץ means, i.e. that it is a phenomenon comprising several basic elements. In other words, whenever ארץ is mentioned after the very first time, it is a reference to some or all of the basic elements it consists of.

IN THE BEGINNING G-D CREATED. Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Torah, which is the book of laws, should have begun with the verse, This month shall be unto you the first of the months, (Exodus 12:2.) which is the first commandment given to Israel. (It is true the book of Genesis contains three commandments (1:28; 17:10; 32:33), but after the Revelation on Sinai these laws became incumbent upon Israel. Hence the verse this month, etc., is “the first commandment given to Israel” as a people.) What then is the reason that it begins with the creation? Should the nations of the world say to Israel, “You are robbers because you took unto yourselves the lands of the seven nations of Canaan,” they [Israel] may reply to them, “The whole world belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He. He gave it to whom He pleased, and according to His Will, He took it [the land] from them and gave it to us.” This is a homiletic exposition (Found in Tanchuma (Buber), Bereshith 11. See also Rashi (Berliner) p. 424.) as quoted by Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] in his commentaries. One may object that it was indeed very necessary to begin the Torah with the chapter of In the beginning G-d created for this is the root of faith, and he who does not believe in this and thinks the world was eternal denies the essential principle of the [Judaic] religion and has no Torah at all. (A person who thinks the world is eternal cannot believe in miracles since, if G-d did not create the world, He cannot possibly change it. Ramban explains in many places (e.g., see further, 17:1; 46:15) that all Divine promises concerning the blessings or imprecations which will follow upon our observance or disregard of the Torah are miraculous in nature of “invisible miracles.” A person who believes that the world is eternal thus has “no Torah at all.” See further my English work, Ramban: His Life and Teachings, Chapter 13.) The answer is that the process of creation is a deep mystery not to be understood from the verses, and it cannot truly be known except through the tradition going back to Moses our teacher who received it from the mouth of the Almighty, and those who know it are obligated to conceal it. (Chagigah 11 b: “The process of Creation may not be expounded before two.”) It is for this reason that Rabbi Yitzchak said that it was not necessary for the Torah to begin with the chapter of In the beginning G-d created and the narration of what was created on the first day, what was done on the second and other days, as well as a prolonged account of the creation of Adam and Eve, their sin and punishment, and the story of the Garden of Eden and the expulsion of Adam from it, because all this cannot be understood completely from the verses. It is all the more unnecessary for the story of the generations of the flood and of the dispersion to be written in the Torah for there is no great need of these narratives, and, for people who believe in the Torah, it would suffice without these verses. They would believe in the general statement mentioned to them in the Ten Commandments: For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day, (Exodus 20:11.) and the knowledge of the process of creation would remain with individuals as a tradition from Moses who received the law on Sinai together with the Oral Torah. Rabbi Yitzchak then gave a reason for it. The Torah began with the chapter of In the beginning G-d created and recounted the whole subject of creation until the making of man, how He [G-d] granted him dominion over the works of His hands, and that He put all things under his feet; (See Psalms 8:7.) and how the Garden of Eden, which is the choicest of places created in this world, was made the place of his abode until his sin caused his expulsion therefrom; and how the people of the generation of the flood were completely expelled from the world on account of their sin, and the only righteous one among them — he [Noah] and his children — were saved; and how the sin of their descendants caused them to be scattered to various places and dispersed to different countries, and how subsequently they seized unto themselves places after their families, in their nations, (Genesis 10:5.) as chance permitted. If so, it is proper that when a people continues to sin it should lose its place and another people should come to inherit its land, for such has been the rule of G-d in the world (The Hebrew word ba’aretz (world) may also refer here to “the land,” especially the Land of Israel. See Ramban further, 26:5.) from the beginning. This is true all the more regarding that which is related in Scripture, namely that Canaan was cursed and sold as a servant forever. (Genesis 9:25.) It would therefore not be proper that he inherit the choicest of places of the civilized world. Rather, the servants of G-d — the seed of His beloved one, Abraham (See Isaiah 41:8.) — should inherit it, even as it is written, And He gave them the lands of the nations, and they took the labor of the peoples in possession; that they might keep His statutes, and observe His laws. (Psalms 105:44-45.) That is to say, He expelled those who rebelled against Him, and settled therein those who served Him so that they know by serving Him they will inherit it, whereas if they sin against Him, the land will vomit them out, just as it vomited out the nation before them. (See Leviticus 18:28.) Elucidating the explanation I have written are the words of the Sages in Bereshith Rabbah, wherein they say as follows: (1:3.) “Rabbi Yehoshua, of the city of Siknin, in the name of Rabbi Levi opened [his discourse on this chapter of Creation with the verse]: He hath declared to His people the power of His works. (Psalms 111:6.) Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal to Israel what was created on the first day and what was created on the second day? It is on account of the seven nations who inhabited the land of Canaan, so that they should not taunt Israel and say to them: ‘Are you not a nation of robbers?’ Israel could then reply to them: ‘And you, is it not booty in your hands? Have not the Caphtorim that came forth from Caphtor destroyed them and dwelt in their stead? (Deuteronomy 2:23.) The world and the fullness thereof belong to the Holy One, blessed be He. When He willed it, He gave it to you, and when He willed it, He took it from you and gave it to us.’ It is this which Scripture says, To give them the heritage of the nations. (Psalms 111:6.) He hath declared to His people the power of His works in order to give them the heritage of the nations. Hence He told them the account of creation.” There is yet another source for the subject I have mentioned: the mysteries in the process of creation. It is what our Rabbis of blessed memory have said: (This Midrash is quoted by Rambam in his Preface to Moreh Nebuchim. See Batei Midrashoth, ed. Wertheimer, I, p. 251.) “He hath declared to His people the power of His works. (Psalms 111:6.) To declare the power of the process of creation to a mortal being is impossible. Therefore, Scripture closed the matter: In the beginning G-d created.” Thus is elucidated what we have said on this subject. (That the details in the process of creation and the settlement of the earth were written for the purpose of justifying Israel’s possession of the land while the essential process of creation itself remains a mystery.)

IN THE BEGINNING G-D CREATED. Rashi wrote: “This verse calls aloud for elucidation, (The difficulties in the verse are: (a) The word bereshith (in the beginning) appears throughout the Bible in a construct form such as: In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 27:1). But here it cannot be in construct form since such a form can be used only in connection with a noun, and the word bara (He created) is a verb. (b) Again, it cannot be said that here bereshith is actually in a construct form and that a missing noun is implied, thus making the sense of the verse, “in the beginning of all, G—d created…,” for if so, the following difficulty presents itself: since Scripture, according to this interpretation, sets out to tell us the order in which things were created, why does it say in Verse 2 And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters when it has not yet told us when water was created? Hence Rashi turns to a Midrashic interpretation in which the word reshith is another name for the Torah and Israel. The word bereshith is thus not in a construct form but stands by itself, and the sense conveyed is: “For the sake of that which is reshith [Torah and Israel] G-d created.”) as our Rabbis have explained it: (Bereshith Rabbah 1:6; Tanchuma (Buber) Bereshith 3.) “For the sake of Torah which is called reshith, as it is said, The Eternal made me as ‘reshith’ (the beginning) of His way, (Proverbs 8:22.) and for the sake of Israel who is called reshith, as it is said, Israel is the Eternal’s hallowed portion, the ‘reshith’ (first-fruits) of His increase.” (Jeremiah 2:3.) This Midrash of our Rabbis is very hidden and secret for there are many things the Rabbis found that are called reshith and concerning which they give Midrashic interpretations, and those wanting in faith count their multitude. For example, they [the Rabbis] have said: (Bereshith Rabbah 1:6.) “For the merit acquired by [fulfilling the commandments associated with] three things has the world been created: for the merit of the Dough-offering, for the merit of Tithes and for the merit of the First-fruits. In the beginning G-d created. Reshith surely signifies the Dough-offering, as it is said, The first of your dough. (Numbers 15:20.) Reshith surely signifies the Tithes, as it is said, The first of thy corn. (Deuteronomy 18:4.) Reshith surely signifies the First-fruits, as it is said, The first-fruits of thy land.” (Exodus 23:19.) The Rabbis have further said: (Bereshith Rabbah 1:6.) “For the merit acquired by Moses [the world has been created], as it is said, And he chose a first part for himself.” (Deuteronomy 33:21. Reference here is to Moses who took the territory of Kings Sihon and Og as he knew that his grave was to be therein. (See Rashi, ibid.) It was thus for the sake of this meritorious person, of whom reshith was said, that the world was created.) Their intent in the above texts is as follows: the word bereshith alludes to the creation of the world by Ten Emanations, and hints in particular to the emanation called Wisdom, in which is the foundation of everything, even as it says, The Eternal hath founded the earth by wisdom. (Proverbs 3:19.) This is the Heave-offering [referred to in the Midrash mentioned above], and it is holy; it has no precise measure, (By law of the Torah, the Heave-offering given to the priest has no fixed measure; the owner may give according to his discretion. “Even one grain frees the whole mound” (Kiddushin 58 b). Similarly, our conception of Divine wisdom is infinitesimal in relation to its true scope.) thus indicating the little understanding created beings have of it. Now just as a man counts ten measures — this alludes to the Ten Emanations — and sets aside one measure of the ten as a Tithe, so do the wise men contemplate the tenth Emanation and speak about it. The Dough-offering, which is the single commandment pertaining to the dough, alludes to this. Now Israel, which is called reshith as mentioned above, is “the congregation of Israel,” which is compared in the Song of Songs to a bride and whom Scripture in turn calls “daughter,” “sister” and “mother.” The Rabbis have already expressed this in a homiletic interpretation of the verse, Upon the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him, (Song of Songs 3:11.) and in other places. Similarly, the verse concerning Moses, And he chose a first part for himself, (Deuteronomy 33:21. Reference here is to Moses who took the territory of Kings Sihon and Og as he knew that his grave was to be therein. (See Rashi, ibid.) It was thus for the sake of this meritorious person, of whom reshith was said, that the world was created.) which they [the Rabbis in the above Midrash] interpret to mean that Moses our teacher contemplated [the Deity] through a lucid speculum, (So clearly stated in Yebamoth 49b.) and he saw that which is called reshith (the first) for himself, and therefore he merited the Torah. Thus all the above Midrashim have one meaning. Now it is impossible to discuss this explanation at length in writing, and even an allusion is dangerous since people might have thoughts concerning it which are untrue. But I have mentioned this [i.e., the above brief explanation] in order to close the mouths of those wanting in faith and of little wisdom, who scoff at the words of our Rabbis.

IN THE BEGINNING. Rashi wrote: “If you wish to explain it [the word bereshith] in accordance with its plain meaning, explain it thus: at the beginning of the creation of the heaven and earth, and the earth was formless and void and there was darkness, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, Let there be light.” If so, the whole text leads into the creation of light.Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained it in an identical way. However, he established that the letter vav in the word veha’aretz (and the earth) does not şerve [as a connecting letter as it normally does and which would mean “and,” but it serves rather as the word “when.”] There are many such examples in Scripture. The meaning then according to Rabbi Abraham would be: at the beginning of the creation of heaven and dry land, there was no habitable place on earth; rather, it was unformed and void and covered with water, and G-d said, Let there be light. According to Abraham ibn Ezra’s opinion, only light (According to Rashi in Verse 6 (also 2:4), the sun, etc., was also created on the first day.) was created on the first day.The difficulty which Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] had which led him to the above interpretation is, as he said: For if Scripture intended to teach the order in which the acts of creation took place, it should have written barishonah [instead of bereshith], since wherever the word reshith occurs in Scripture it is in the construct state. But there is the verse, Declaring the end ‘mereshith’ [from the beginning]. (Isaiah 46:10. Here the word reshith is not in the construct state.) And if one will connect it with the missing word davar [thing — thus making the verse read: “Declaring the end of a thing from the beginning of a thing”—] here too it could be connected to a missing word. (Thus reading: Bereshith kol, (In the beginning of everything [G—d created]).) There is also the verse, And he chose ‘reshith’ (a first part) for himself. (Deuteronomy 33:21. Reference here is to Moses who took the territory of Kings Sihon and Og as he knew that his grave was to be therein. (See Rashi, ibid.) It was thus for the sake of this meritorious person, of whom reshith was said, that the world was created.) [Here again the word reshith is not used in the construct state.] And Rashi raised other objections.Now listen to the correct and clear explanation of the verse in its simplicity. The Holy One, blessed be He, created all things from absolute non-existence. Now we have no expression in the sacred language for bringing forth something from nothing other than the word bara (created). Everything that exists under the sun or above was not made from non-existence at the outset. Instead He brought forth from total and absolute nothing a very thin substance devoid of corporeality but having a power of potency, fit to assume form and to proceed from potentiality into reality. This was the primary matter created by G-d; it is called by the Greeks hyly (matter). After the hyly, He did not create anything, but He formed and made things with it, and from this hyly He brought everything into existence and clothed the forms and put them into a finished condition.Know that the heavens and all that is in them consist of one substance, and the earth and everything that is in it consist of one substance. The Holy One, blessed be He, created these two substances from nothing; (Such is also the theory of Rambam: “All things on earth have one common substance; the heavens and the things in them have one substance different from the first” (Moreh Nebuchim II, 26).) they alone were created, and everything else was constructed from them.This substance, which the Greeks called hyly, is called in the sacred language tohu, the word being derived from the expression of the Sages: (Kiddushin 40b.) “betohei (when the wicked bethinks himself) of his doings in the past.” If a person wants to decide a name for it [this primordial matter], he may bethink himself, change his mind and call it by another name since it has taken on no form to which the name should be attached. The form which this substance finally takes on is called in the sacred language bohu, which is a composite word made up of the two words bo hu (in it there is [substance]). This may be compared to the verse, Thou art not able ‘asohu’ (to perform it), (Exodus 18:18.) in which case the word asohu is missing a vav and an aleph [and is a composite of the two words] aso hu. It is this which Scripture says, And he shall stretch over it the line of ‘tohu’ (confusion) and the stones of ‘bohu.’ (Isaiah 34:11. “The stones,” which are forms in the building (as explained later on by Ramban), thus constitute substance as expressed in the Hebrew bohu.) [The tohu in Hebrew or hyly in Greek] is the line by which the craftsman delineates the plan of his structure and that which he hopes to make. This is derived from the expression, Kavei (Hope) unto G-d. (Psalms 27:14.) The stones are forms in the building. Similarly it is written, They are accounted by Him as nought and ‘tohu,’ (Isaiah 40:17.) as tohu comes after nothingness and there is nothing yet in it.So the Rabbis have also said in Sefer Yetzirah: (2:6. Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation) is one of the earliest Hebrew books of the Cabala tradition. (See introduction to Bereshith, Note 56.) Some of the profoundest mystic commentaries have been written on this book. See my Hebrew work, Kithvei Haramban, Vol. 2, pp. 451-461.) “He created substance from tohu, and made that which was nothing something.”They have furthermore said in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah: (Called also Sefer Habahir (Book of the Bright Light), 2. This book too is a classic in the mystic teachings of the Cabala. It was written in the style and manner of the Midrashim.) “Rabbi Berachyah said: ‘What is the meaning of the verse, And the earth was ‘tohu’ (without form) ‘vavohu’ (and void)? What is the meaning of the word “was?” It had already been tohu. And what is tohu? It is a thing which astonishes people. It was then turned into bohu. And what is bohu? It is a thing which has substance, as it is written, [bohu is a composite of the two words] ‘bo hu’ (in it there is substance).’”

AND ‘ELOKIM’ (G-D) SAID. The word Elokim means “the Master of all forces,” for the root of the word is e-il, meaning force, and the word Elokim is a composite consisting of the words e-il heim, as if the word e-il is in a construct state, and heim, [literally] “they,” alludes to all other forces. Thus Elokim means “the Force of all forces.” A secret will yet be disclosed in connection with this. (See Ramban, Exodus 20:3.) If so, the simple correct explanation of the verse is as follows: In the beginning (Ramban thus indicates his opinion that the word bereshith is not in a construct state. This is contrary to Rashi, as explained above.) G-d created the heavens means He brought forth their matter from nothing; and the earth means that He brought forth its matter from nothing. And the earth, includes all the four elements, (Fire, wind, water, and earth.) [not merely the land] as in the verse, And the heaven and the earth were finished, (Genesis 2:1.) which includes the entire lower sphere, and in Praise the Eternal from the earth, ye sea-monsters, and all deeps, (Psalms 148:7.) and as in many other verses. Now with this creation, which was like a very small point having no substance, everything in the heavens and on the earth was created. The word eth —[eth hashamayim ve’eth ha’aretz] — is like “the essence of a thing.” The Sages have always set it forth as serving to include, (Pesachim 22b.) since it is derived from the expression, The morning ‘atha’ (cometh), and also the night. (Isaiah 21:12.) And so did our Rabbis say: (Bereshith Rabbah 1:19.) “‘Eth hashamayim (the heavens)’ — eth includes the sun, moon, stars and constellations. ‘Ve’eth ha’aretz (and the earth)’ — ve’eth includes the trees, herbs, and the Garden of Eden.” These include all created things which are corporeal. Now after having said that with one command G-d created at first the heavens and the earth and all their hosts, Scripture returns and explains that the earth after this creation was tohu, that is, matter without substance. It became bohu when He clothed it with form. Then it [Scripture] explains that in this form was included the form of the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. The word ha’aretz (the earth) includes these four elements. In this verse, the element of fire is called “darkness” (And darkness was upon the face of the deep. So also explained in the Moreh Nebuchim, II:30: “By Choshech the element fire is meant, nothing else.” Ramban’s reasoning on this point is also found there.) because the elemental fire is dark. Were it red, it would redden the night for us. The element of water with which the dust was kneaded is here called “deep.” (And darkness was upon the face of the deep. So also explained in the Moreh Nebuchim, II:30: “By Choshech the element fire is meant, nothing else.” Ramban’s reasoning on this point is also found there.) This is why the waters of the oceans are called “the deeps,” as it is written, The deeps cover them; (Exodus 15:15.) The deeps were congealed; (Ibid., 8.) The deep was round about me. (Jonah 2:6.) The bottom of the ocean is also referred to as “deep:” And He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up, and He led them through the depths, as a wilderness; (Psalms 106:9.) He led them through the deep as a horse in the wilderness. (Isaiah 63:13.) And the element air is here called “spirit.” (And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters.) Now it is already known that the four elements fill up the whole space with matter. (“This sphere in its totality is composed of the celestial orbs, the four elements and their combinations; there is no vacuum whatever therein, but the whole space is filled up with matter.” (Guide of the Perplexed, Friedlander’s translation, I, 72.)) That which stands still is the sphere of earth. The waters surround the earth, the air encompasses the waters, and the fire envelopes the air. (From the language of Rambam, ibid. It is to be noted that Ramban follows Yehudah al Charizi’s translation of Rambam’s philosophic work and not that of Shmuel ibn Tibbon. See my Hebrew work, The Life of Ramban, pp. 23-24, on the far-reaching significance of this point.) Scripture thus states that the earth took on form, and the fire above enveloped the intermingled waters and dust, and the wind blew and rose in the darkness and hovered over the waters. It appears to me that this [primeval] point, [which G-d created out of absolute nought], which took on form and became bohu, is what the Sages call: (Yoma 54b. This “foundation rock” is the stone on which the Ark of the Covenant rested in the Holy of Holies in King Solomon’s Temple.) “‘The rock of foundation’ from which the world was founded.” The purport of the verses is thus: In the beginning G-d created the heavens from nought, and He created the earth from nought. The earth, when created, was tohu and then it became bohu, and in these there were “darkness” [i.e., fire, as explained above], water, dust and the wind blowing upon the water. Thus everything was created and made. The reason why ruach (wind) is attached to the name of G-d [as it says, and the spirit of God] is that it is the least substantial of all elements (Although fire is thinner than wind, since the element of fire is alluded to in the verse by the word “darkness,” as explained above, it would not be fitting to attach it to the name of G—d. (Bachya).) and is above them, hovering upon the face of the waters only by command of the Holy One, blessed be He. In case you seek information concerning the creation of the incorporeal angels, you will not find it explained in the Torah. The Sages, however, have explained concerning them that they were created on the second day, so that you should not say that they assisted in the creation of the world. (Bereshith Rabbah 3:11.) But if you will merit and understand the secret of the word bereshith and why Scripture does not begin by saying, “G-d created in the beginning,” you will know that, in the way of truth, (A reference to the true wisdom of the Cabala which enables one to grasp the mysteries of the Torah.) Scripture tells about the lower creations and alludes to the higher ones and that the word bereshith refers covertly to the Emanation called Wisdom, which is the head of all beginnings, as I have mentioned. This is why they translated bereshith in the Jerusalem Targum to mean “in wisdom,” and the word is adorned in the Torah with a crown on the letter beth. (The adornment on the top of the letter beth hints at the Kether (Crown) above, from which all emanations issue. It is also referred to as Ein Sof (the Infinite). See my Hebrew commentary, p. 15.)

בראשית ברא אלוקים, let the “intellectuals” realize that all the words of our sages and their interpretations are true and accurate. This is what the Talmud (Shabbat 63) had in mind when it quoted Rav Kahane saying that he had studied the Talmud until the age of 18 and had not yet appreciated that although the laws of the Torah are derived from the text, none of the interpretations are such that they can uproot the plain meaning of the text. They are based on anomalies in the text, not on the text itself wherever the law derived from the Torah appears to conflict with the plain meaning of the text. One example is Genesis 2,4 where the word בהבראם, a most unusual construction, used by the sages to declare that the world was created “for the sake of, or with the help of אברהם,” (Bereshit Rabbah 12,9) seeing that the letters in that word are the same as the ones in the name אברהם, [though in a different sequence. Ed.] I shall list the explanations of earlier commentators of old, in order to demonstrate why I did not follow in their footsteps. Some scholars understand the first verse to mean that “at the beginning G’d created heaven and earth.” This is an erroneous explanation, seeing that water preceded the creation of heaven and earth as we know from verse 2 where “the spirit of G’d” is described as already “hovering over the surface of the water.” Moreover, the Torah did not write בראשונה, which would have been appropriate if it had wanted to tell us that heaven and earth preceded all other phenomena in the universe. The word בראשית is in a construct mode, as in Genesis 10,10 ותהי ראשית ממלכתו בבל “the mainstay of his kingdom was Babylon.” A construct mode like this cannot describe the commencement of something but refers to something already in existence. As to the scholars who understand the word as equivalent to the word תחלה in Hoseah 1,2 i.e. so that it would mean “at the beginning G’d created the heaven,” i.e. before He created heaven and earth there was chaos, darkness on the face of the water, etc., so that it emerges that water had been created first, this too is nonsense. How could the Torah refer to a state of the earth prior to creation of the heaven? The plain meaning of the text is, as occurs many times, that something may be mentioned first in one instance although elsewhere this same phenomenon is mentioned as having occurred at a later stage. In Genesis 9,18 we are told about the three sons of Noach who left the ark after the deluge being Shem, Cham and Yephet, and the Torah adds that Cham was the father of Canaan. Although the information about Canaan is quite out of place at this juncture, the fact that later on the Torah tells us that Noach cursed Canaan, makes it necessary to mention him here, as otherwise we would not have known who this Canaan was whom Noachh cursed in verse 25 of the same chapter. We have a similar situation in Genesis 35,22 where, although Reuven’s conduct with Yaakov’s concubine Bilhah is mentioned, Yaakov’s reaction is not mentioned until shortly before his death when he explains why Reuven had not been viewed by him as suitable to occupy the position normally accorded to a firstborn (Genesis 49,3-4). In 35,22 the Torah already tells us that Yaakov had heard about what Reuven had done. Had the Torah not done so, the reader would have been taken aback at Yaakov’s remonstrating with Reuven at this late stage. There are many such examples. Our entire paragraph here was written by Moses in order for us to understand what is written in the Ten Commandments concerning the reason why the Sabbath is holy, i.e. that it is a symbol reminding us of the fact that G’d created the universe in 6 days and rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 20,10) If anyone were to think that the universe as such had already existed then in the format that we see it now, the Torah corrects such thinking by continuing with

בראשית IN THE BEGINNING — Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel. What is the reason, then, that it commences with the account of the Creation? Because of the thought expressed in the text (Psalms 111:6) “He declared to His people the strength of His works (i.e. He gave an account of the work of Creation), in order that He might give them the heritage of the nations.” For should the peoples of the world say to Israel, “You are robbers, because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan”, Israel may reply to them, “All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased. When He willed He gave it to them, and when He willed He took it from them and gave it to us” (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 187).

בראשית ברא IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED — This verse calls aloud for explanation in the manner that our Rabbis explained it: God created the world for the sake of the Torah which is called (Proverbs 8:22) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) way”, and for the sake of Israel who are called (Jeremiah 2:3) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) increase’’. If, however, you wish to explain it in its plain sense, explain it thus: At the beginning of the Creation of heaven and earth when the earth was without form and void and there was darkness, God said, “Let there be light”. The text does not intend to point out the order of the acts of Creation — to state that these (heaven and earth) were created first; for if it intended to point this out, it should have written 'בראשונה ברא את השמים וגו “At first God created etc.” And for this reason: Because, wherever the word ראשית occurs in Scripture, it is in the construct state. E. g., (Jeremiah 26:1) “In the beginning of (בראשית) the reign of Jehoiakim”; (Genesis 10:10) “The beginning of (ראשית) his kingdom”; (Deuteronomy 18:4) “The first fruit of (ראשית) thy corn.” Similarly here you must translate בראשית ברא אלהים as though it read בראשית ברוא, at the beginning of God’s creating. A similar grammatical construction (of a noun in construct followed by a verb) is: (Hosea 1:2) תחלת דבר ה' בהושע, which is as much as to say, “At the beginning of God’s speaking through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea.” Should you, however, insist that it does actually intend to point out that these (heaven and earth) were created first, and that the meaning is, “At the beginning of everything He created these, admitting therefore that the word בראשית is in the construct state and explaining the omission of a word signifying “everything” by saying that you have texts which are elliptical, omitting a word, as for example (Job 3:10) “Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb” where it does not explicitly explain who it was that closed the womb; and (Isaiah 8:4) “He shall take away the spoil of Samaria” without explaining who shall take it away; and (Amos 6:12) “Doth he plough with oxen," and it does not explicitly state, “Doth a man plough with oxen”; (Isaiah 46:10) “Declaring from the beginning the end,” and it does not explicitly state, “Declaring from the beginning of a thing the end of a thing’ — if it is so (that you assert that this verse intends to point out that heaven and earth were created first), you should be astonished at yourself, because as a matter of fact the waters were created before heaven and earth, for, lo, it is written, (v. 2) “The Spirit of God was hovering on the face of the waters,” and Scripture had not yet disclosed when the creation of the waters took place — consequently you must learn from this that the creation of the waters preceded that of the earth. And a further proof that the heavens and earth were not the first thing created is that the heavens were created from fire (אש) and water (מים), from which it follows that fire and water were in existence before the heavens. Therefore you must admit that the text teaches nothing about the earlier or later sequence of the acts of Creation.

ברא אלהים GOD [AS JUDGE] CREATED — It does not state 'ברא ה “The Lord (the Merciful One) created, because at first God intended to create it (the world) to be placed under the attribute (rule) of strict justice, but He realised that the world could not thus endure and therefore gave precedence to Divine Mercy allying it with Divine Justice. It is to this that what is written in (Genesis 2:4) alludes — “In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven”.

בראשית ברא אלקים Die Lautverwandtschaft mit רעש und רחש, wovon das Eine eine Ortsbewegung und das Andere eine innere Bewegung bedeutet, lehrt, daß wir ראש als den Sitz der Bewegung, als dasjenige Organ zu begreifen haben, von welchem alle äußere und innere Bewegung den Ausgang nimmt. Daher heißt ראשית: der Anfang einer Bewegung, der zeitliche Anfang, nie der räumliche. Der räumliche Anfang heißt wie das Ende קצה; es sind eben die beiden Endpunkte einer Ausdehnung, die, je nachdem man seinen Standpunkt nimmt, Anfang oder Ende sein können. בראשית וגו׳ heißt somit: im Anfang alles Werdens war es Gott, der schuf; oder mit den beiden nachfolgenden Objekten zusammengefasst: uranfänglich schuf Gott den Himmel und die Erde. Jedenfalls spricht בראשית das Faktum aus, daß dem Schaffen Gottes Nichts vorangegangen, daß der Himmel und die Erde nur aus dem Schaffen Gottes hervorgegangen. Es ist damit die Schöpfung aus Nichts, יש מאין konstatiert, eine Wahrheit, die den Grundstein des Bewusstseins bildet, welches die Lehre Gottes uns aufbauen will. Das Gegenteil, die Urewigkeit des Weltstoffes, die den Schöpfer nur als den gestaltenden Bildner zulässt und die ebenso den Grundstein des heidnischen Bewusstseins bis auf den heutigen Tag bildet, ist nicht nur eine metaphysische Lüge, die den kosmogonischen VorStellungen der Menschen die Wahrheit, d. h. die Übereinstimmung mit der Wirklichkeit geraubt: sie ist die noch weit verderblichere, alle Sittlichkeit untergrabende Leugnung aller Freiheit in Gott und im Menschen. War dem Weltbildner der Stoff gegeben, so konnte er aus dem gegebenen Stoff nicht die absolut gute, sondern nur die relativ beste Welt gestalten. Alles physische und sittliche Übel würde unabwendbar in der Mangelhaftigkeit des Stoffes liegen. Gott selbst könnte die Welt weder vom physischen noch vom sittlichen Übel erlösen. Der Mensch könnte eben so wenig Herr seines Leibes werden, wie Gott Herr des Weltstoffes. Die Freiheit wäre aus der Welt geschwunden, eine blinde, trostlose Notwendigkeit würde über die Welt samt ihrem Gott und dem Menschen gebieten. Diese trostlose Nacht des Gottes- Welt- und MenschenBewusstseins verscheucht sofort das erste Wort der Gotteslehre, von dem es in Wahrheit heißt: "בראשית .פתח דבריך יאיר ברא אלקי׳!" hiermit steht und fällt alles Folgende. Alles, Stoff und Form alles Seienden ist aus dem freien, allmächtigen Schöpferwillen hervorgegangen. Frei steht und waltet noch heute der Schöpfer über Stoff und Form aller Wesen, über die Kräfte, die im Stoffe wirken, über die Gesetze, nach welchen sie wirken, und über die Formen, die sie gestalten; denn sein freier, allmächtiger Wille hat ja den Stoff geschaffen, ihm diese Kräfte einverleibt, diesen die Gesetze gesetzt, nach welchen sie die Formen gestalten. Und wie Er frei über seine Welt gebietet, so konnte Er auch dem Menschen, dem Er einen Funken seines freien Wesens eingehaucht, mit diesem Funken die Freiheit über seine kleine Welt, die Freiheit über den Leib und dessen Kräfte verleihen und ihn zum freien Ebenbilde des freien Gottes in die von Seiner Allmacht beherrschte Welt dahin stellen. Die בראשית von Gott erschaffene Welt ist nicht die möglichst beste, sondern die einzig gute; sie entspricht mit allen ihren scheinbaren Übeln dem Weisheitsplane ihres Schöpfers, der sie anders hätte erschaffen können, wenn dieses Andere seinem Willen entsprechender gewesen wäre. Der בראשית von Gott erschaffene Mensch hat mit allen seinen sittlichen Mängeln die Fähigkeit, in höchster sittlicher Vollkommenheit dem ihm von seinem Schöpfer vorgesteckten sittlichen Ideale zu entsprechen; die Möglichkeit seines Fehlens selbst gehört mit zu seiner sittlichen Vollendung, sie ist ja die Grundbedingung seiner sittlichen Freiheit, und beide, Welt und Mensch, werden das höchste Ziel des Guten erreichen, für welches sie beide erschaffen; denn der Gott, der ihnen dieses Ziel gesteckt, hat sie beide für dieses Ziel mit seinem allmächtigen, durch nichts gehinderten, freien Willen geschaffen. Er hätte sie anders geschaffen, wenn dies dem von Ihm frei gesetzten Ziele förderlicher gewesen wäre. Eine Wahrheit, die wir uns immer wieder aufs neue im קדיש in's Bewusstsein rufen, in welchem wir die Überzeugung aussprechen, daß Sein großer Name sicherlich die von Ihm gewünschte "Anerkennung und Heiligung in einer Welt gewinnen werde, די ברא כרעותיה ,die Er ja ganz nach seinem Willen für dieses Ziel geschaffen." In diesem Sinne gewinnen auch die Sätze der Weisen: בזכות ישראל בזכות משה בזכות חלה מעשר ובכורים נברא עולם die alle ,ראשית genannt werden, oder der Satz: ה"ב"ה היה מביט בתורה ובורא העולם ihre tiefe Begründung. Wenn Israel und Moscheh als ganz neue Anfänge einer ganz neuen Phase der Geschichtsentwicklung erscheinen und daher ראשית genannt werden, oder diesen Namen als erste Verwirklichung des mit der Menschenschöpfung vorgesetzten Ideals, gleichsam als Erstlinge der Gottesernte verdienen; wenn חלה מעשר ובכורים nichts als die Ausdrücke sind für die huldigende Zurückgabe der Welt an Gott, deren Spender; wenn vor allem das Gesetz der erste Baustein für den mit der Schöpfung und aus derselben zu erreichenden Gotteszweck ist und darum ראשית genannt wird: so waren alle diese, wenn gleich spät sich entwickelnden Ziele schon mit dem Beginn der Welt gesichert, eben weil diese בראשית geschaffen ist, ganz aus Gottes Händen hervorgegangen, somit von vorn herein für diese höchsten Ziele gebildet worden. Gott, heißt es, schaute in die תורה und schuf danach die Welt. Wir erkennen somit in diesem בראשית den Eckstein unseres Gott- und Welt- und Menschen Bewusstseins und begreifen, wie, als dieses Bewusstsein geschwunden war und wieder neu aufgerichtet werden sollte, das freie, unumschränkte Schalten Gottes mit der Welt, ihren Stoffen, Kräften und Gesetzen, durch Wunder zu konstatieren war, die eben als נסים, hochaufgesteckte Merk- und Leitzeichen, uns zur Wiedergewinnung des Bewusstseins von der durch nichts gehinderten freien Allmacht Gottes führen sollten, ein Bewusstsein, das, wie angedeutet, die Vorbedingung alles sittlichen Menschenbewusstseins, somit die Vorbedingung unseres ganzen Verhaltens zur תורה bildet.

ברא. Die verwandten Wurzeln: פרע, פרא, פרח, ברה, ברח, die sämtlich ein Hinausstreben und Hinaustreten aus einer Innerlichkeit oder einer Gebundenheit bedeuten, ergeben für ברא ebenfalls den Begriff des Hinaussetzens in die Äußerlichkeit; heißt ja auch Chaldäisch ברא ohne weiteres das Draußenseiende, draußen. ברא ist somit das Äußerlichmachen eines bis dahin nur im Innern, im Geiste Vorhandengewesenen. Es ist jenes Schaffen, dem nichts anderes als der Gedanke und der Wille vorangegangen. Es ist das eigentliche יש מאין und wird daher nur von dem Schaffen Gottes gebraucht. Ehe die Welt ward, war sie nur als Gedanke in dem Geiste des Schöpfers — menschlich zu sprechen — vorhanden. Der Schöpfungsakt machte diesen Gedanken äußerlich, gab diesem Gedanken ein äußeres, konkretes Dasein. Die ganze Welt im ganzen und einzelnen ist somit nichts als verwirklichte Gottesgedanken. Eine Anschauung, der wir auch in der Betrachtung der Wurzel היה, dem jüdischen Begriffe des Seins (siehe V. 2) wieder begegnen. — (Von dieser Bedeutung des Äußerlich-, Konkret-, Tastbarwerdens ward dann auch ברא zur Bezeichnung des Feist-, Korpulent-, Gesundseins und davon ,בריה ,ברה ברית zur Bezeichnung des ersten Mahles, des Anbisses, Frühstückes, das den Menschen wieder äußerlich gekräftigt hinstellt, ihn gleichsam wieder fest, konkret macht. Auch das ובראתו, ובראת לך שם (Josua 17, 15, 18) dürften sagen: schaffe dir dort Raum, daß du dich ausdehnen kannst. Oder es hängt mit dem chald. Begriff ברא, das Draußenseiende, das Freie, die Weite zusammen und heißt dann: mache dir den Wald zum freien Raum. וברא אותהן בחרבותם (Ezech. 23, 47) heißt wohl nicht durchbohren, sondern aufschlitzen, so daß die sonst verhüllten Eingeweide frei und offen werden. In sofern kann auch das ברא vom Walde: frei machen, lichten bedeuten, die bis dahin in Waldesdickicht verborgenen Stellen zugänglich machen.)

אלקי. Der Wurzel אלה .begegnen wir in dem Pron. demonstr. plur. אלה, diese. Der demonstrative Pluralgedanke: "diese" fasst aber immer eine gegenüberstehende Vielheit in irgend eine Einheit zusammen. Und so dürfte, während אלה allgemein auf die sichtbare Weltvielheit hinweist, der Gottesname אלוד den Einen bezeichnen, dessen Macht und Wille diese Vielheit in eine Einheit zusammenfasst, durch den eben, durch die Beziehung Aller zu Ihm, dem Einen, diese Vielheit eine Einheit, ein Ganzes, Eine Welt wird. Daher heißt אלוד ganz eigentlich: Welt-Machthaber, -Ordner, -Gesetzgeber, -Richter, מדת הדין. Daher heißen auch die Ordner, Gesetzgeber, Richter einer Menschen Vielheit, einer kleinen Menschen-Welt: אלהים. Dem Heidentume zerfiel auch die Welt überhaupt in viele Erscheinungsgruppen und Kreise, deren jeglicher und jeglichem ein mit besonderen Machtattributen ausgestatteter Machthaber vorstand. Es war dies eine reine Konsequenz des obengedachten Grundirrtums von der Urewigkeit des Weltstoffes mit der Gebundenheit der weltgestaltenden Gottheit, die somit zur Unfreiheit einer Naturkraft herabsank, die keine wahrhaften Gegensätze und grundverschiedene Erscheinungen erzeugen kann. Einer Welt voller Gegensätze und grundverschiedener Erscheinungen mußten somit eben so viele Gottheiten zu Grunde liegen, eben so viele אלהים vorstehen, als es Gruppen und Kreise entgegengesetzter und verschiedener Erscheinungen gibt. Das Judentum nimmt die ganze Machtfülle aller dieser vermeintlichen vielen אלהים und überträgt sie ausschließlich dem Einen Einzigen, indem es Ihn אלדים nennt, und schon diese bloße Vereinigung aller dieser heidnisch gesonderten Machtattribute in dem Einen Einzigen hebt den Einen Einzigen Gott des Judentums über die Vorstellung einer bloßen Naturkraft hoch empor, da nur aus dem freien, allmächtigen, die verschiedensten Gegensätze zu einem Einzigen Weltzwecke einigenden Willen eines Einzigen eine Welt voller gegensätzlicher Erscheinungen hervorgegangen sein kann. — Die Pluralform zur Bezeichnung einer in Einer Persönlichkeit vereinigten Machtfülle ist übrigens in Ausdrücken der Herrschaft und Macht der hebräischen Sprache ohnehin nicht fremd, wie בעלים ,אדנים. Sie bezeichnen überall einen Einzigen, der alle die verschiedenen Machtattribute in sich vereinigt, welche über irgend ein Objekt gebieten, dem somit dieses Objekt in allen Beziehungen, somit ganz untersteht. Von diesem der Wurzel אלה innewohnenden Begriff des Welt-Gebieters, Gesetzgebers, Richters, konnte dieselbe Wurzel dann auch zur Bezeichnung des Eides, אלה, werden, der nach jüdischem Begriffe nicht eine bloße Appellation an die Gottheit, sondern eine wirkliche Unterstellung der ganzen sichtbaren Welt des Schwörenden unter die Machtentscheidung des Weltgebieters ist, (eine Anschauung, die auch in dem Worte השבע ihren Ausdruck findet, siehe Jeschurun V. S. 19) und des Fluches, in welchem sich die den Meineidigen vernichtende Macht des Weltgebieters bekundet. יחדו נאלחו, נתעב ונאלה, אלח, ist wohl nur die verstärkte Form von אלה und heißt im נפעל: dem Fluche verfallen sein. — Bezeichnend ist die Bemerkung unserer Weisen, daß es nicht heiße: ,אלדי׳ ברא בראשית sondern: 'בראשית ב' א. Wie wir hier den Gottesnamen aus אלה erfassen zu können glauben, kann Gott nur nach Erschaffung der Welt אלדי׳ genannt werden, da dieses eben seine Beziehung zu dieser Welt bedeutet. So heißt es: der Gott, den wir jetzt als Gebieter der Welt erblicken, der ist es auch, aus dessen allmächtigem Willen diese Welt erst hervorgegangen.

את. Wurzel אות, wie aus אותי, אותך usw. ersichtlich. אות verwandt mit ,את אוד eine Handhabe, ein Hebel, die Vermittelung einer Wirkung, daher אוד die Feuer- krücke, ein Holz zum Feuerschüren. אודות die Veranlassungen, daher על אורות. Daher vielleicht auch איד, der Vermittler des Regens, der von der Erde aufsteigende Dunst. אות die Vermittlung einer Erkenntnis, ein Zeichen, das nicht der Gegenstand selbst ist, aber auf ihn hinführt. Das ist nun aber auch sofort die Akkusativ-Partikel את, die den Gegenstand in allen denjenigen Momenten, seinen Merkmalen, seinen Wirkungen, seinen Beziehungen usw. vergegenwärtigt, in welchen sich das Wesen desselben äußert, in welchen er zu erkennen ist, die somit gleichsam sein Zeichen, die Vermittlung seiner Erkenntnis sind. Es ist eine tiefe Eigentümlichkeit des jüdischen Sprachgedankens, diese Partikel nur beim Akkusativ, dem Objekte, nicht aber beim Nominativ, dem Subjekte, zu gebrauchen. Im Objekt wird der Gegenstand vom Standpunkt des Subjekts aufgefasst, von dem eine Wirkung auf ihn ausgeht, somit also, wie der Gegenstand in der Anschauung eines Andern erscheint. Nun ist aber das Wesen der Dinge jedem Andern völlig verschleiert, unfassbar. Wir kennen die Dinge nur in ihren אותות und durch dieselben, in ihren Wirkungen, in welchen sich ihre Eigentümlichkeit ausprägt und die die einzigen Vermittler ihrer Erkenntnis bilden. Der Sprachweisheit unserer Weisen ist es daher ein bedeutender Unterschied, ob das Objekt einfach durch die Nennung des Gegenstandes, oder durch את vermittelt ausgedrückt wird. Im ersten Falle erstreckt sich die Wirkung nur auf den Gegenstand allein, im letztem zugleich auf alle diejenigen Momente, in welchen er seine wesentliche Wirkung äußert. So würde כבד אביך nur den Vater als Gegenstand der Verehrung darstellen, את אביך lässt diese Verehrung auch auf alle diejenigen erstrecken, die in solcher Beziehung zum Vater stehen, daß in ihnen die Person des Vaters vergegenwärtigt wird, z. B.: אשת אביך, die Stiefmutter, und ebenso את אמך, den StiefVater. את ist somit in Wahrheit ein רבוי, das den Gegenstand in weiterem Umfange begreifen lässt. So erweitert auch hier das את den Begriff שמים zum Miteinschluß aller Himmelskörper, so wie ארץ zum Miteinschluss aller Erdgeschöpfe, in denen sich eben die Wirksamkeit des Himmels und der Erde charakteristisch ausprägt.

את השמים ואת הארץ. Wir haben schon im Jeschurun, Jahrgang VIIl. S. 274 bis 276 ff. die Begriffe שמים und ארץ aus ihren Wurzeln zu entwickeln versucht. שמים hat sich uns als Bezeichnung der ganzen außerirdischen Welt, und zwar als das doppelte שם -dargestellt, als das obere und untere "Dort", als der unermessliche Doppelraum ober- halb und unterhalb der Erde, oder vielmehr — von der rad. שום Ort anweisen, bestimmen, — als der ganze Komplex aller außerirdischen Weltkörper, durch deren sich gegenseitig begrenzende Kräfte die Erde, wie jeder andere Punkt im Weltall, ihren Ort angewiesen erhält. Für jeden Punkt im Weltall wäre sodann der ganze übrige Weltenraum mit seinen Körpern שמים. Jedenfalls lehrt schon das Wort שמים, daß wir hier keine überirdischen, kosmogonischen Enthüllungen zu erwarten haben. Die außerirdische Welt wird nur in ihren Beziehungen zur Erde und von dieser aus begriffen und besprochen. תורה will das Gotteswort sein, unser Wegweiser auf Erden und unsere Orientierung in unserer irdischen Welt. Diese und uns aus Gott verstehen lehren, das ist ihr Zweck. Darum stellt sie uns in den Anblick unseres Himmels und unserer Erde und spricht: את השמים ואת הארץ, dieser Himmel mit seinen zahllosen Sternen und diese Erde mit ihren zahllosen Geschöpfen, der Gott, der noch jetzt diese unermeßliche Mannigfaltigkeit zu einer Welt eint, Er ist es, der sie von ihrem uranfänglichen Anfang in's allererste Dasein hinausgesetzt.

Mit diesem ersten Satze ist uns die Haupt- und Grundwahrheit, das Haupt- und Grundfaktum offenbart, das unsere Welt- und Selbstanschauung völlig umwandelt. Es hätte mit diesem einzigen Satze genügt, um die Welt als eine Gotteswelt und uns als Gottesgeschöpf uns denken zu lehren, und uns für die Anforderung vorzubereiten, in dieser Gott entstammenden Welt und in unserem ganzen, Gott entstammenden Wesen Gottes heiliges Eigentum zu erkennen, und in dieser Gotteswelt mit unseren Gott gehörenden Kräften nur Gottes Willen zu erfüllen. Allein es begnügt sich das Gotteswort nicht damit, uns die Schöpfung der Welt durch Gott im allgemeinen mit Einem Schöpferwort anzukündigen. Es soll ja dieses ganze erste Buch von den Ursprüngen der Welt, der Menschengeschichte und Israels nichts als Einleitung zu dem Israel ertheilten Gottesgesetze bilden. Darum führt uns das Gotteswort an alle die einzelnen Erscheinungen in dieser irdischen Mannigfaltigkeit hinan, uns nicht nur in dem großen Ganzen, sondern an jeder einzelnen, gesonderten Wesenart und Wesengruppe das gestaltende, gesetzgebende und ordnende Gotteswort erkennen und verehren zu lehren, auf daß wir uns zu jener Höhe der jüdischen Erkenntnis und der jüdischen Gesinnung erheben, die David mit Harfenton hinausgesungen, daß, wenn alle, alle Wesen, an jeder Stätte des großen Weltenreichs, jegliches in seinem besondern Kreise und in seiner besondern Lebensentfaltung, dem ihm ertheilten Gottesgesetze gehorchen, dann auch !ברכי נפשי את די dann auch wir dem uns ertheilten Gesetze gehorchen wollen und in diesem Gottesgehorsam die ganze Seligkeit unseres Seins und Strebens finden. Unsere Weisen lehren uns noch an diesen, die Welt in ihren einzelnen Kreisen und Gebieten gestaltenden und ordnenden Schöpferworten die Störung einer einzelnen Gottesordnung im kleinsten Kreise der Störung der Gesamtweltordnung gleich verpönt, so wie die pflichtgetreue Erhaltung der Gottesordnung im kleinsten Kreise der Erhaltung der Gesamtweltordnung gleich bedeutungsvoll und lohnes- würdig achten. "Siehe, sprechen sie, nicht mit Einem Schöpfer-Wort stand die Welt in der ganzen Mannigfaltigkeit ihrer Erscheinungen da, בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם mit zehn Schöpfer-Worten ward die Welt geschaffen, um den Schlechten, der die mit zehn Schöpfer-Worten geschaffene Welt stört, verantwortlich zu machen, so wie den Gerechten zu belohnen, der die mit zehn Schöpfer-Worten geschaffene Welt erhält." — Nicht nur die Welt im Ganzen und deren Ordnung, auch jedes einzelne Wesen und seine Ordnung ist eine Gotteswelt und eine Gottesordnung. Weh' Dem, der seine Welt zerstört! Heil Dem, der seine Welt erhält! —

In the beginning, God created: The verse is telling that when it went up into His will, may He be blessed, to create the world, He created the material of all of the creation in one instant; as the heavens that are mentioned here includes all of the existence of the upper world, and the earth includes all of the existence of the lower world. Except, given that all of the things were mixed up together and without order, the Creator decreed to refine all of the offspring of the heaven and the offspring of the earth in six days; in order that everything should be in its place that is fitting for it, and that it should act according to its law. For example, He commanded that the waters should gather and the dry land should be revealed; He commanded the earth that is should bring forth grasses and that it should bring forth living souls; he commanded the waters that they should swarm living souls; and so [too] with everything. Behold that all of these commandments were refinements, not new creations - since they were made and completed from material [already] created on the first day; however that material was created ex nihilo. And hence, the verse here did not say, "God said, 'let there be heavens, 'let there be earth;'" to teach us that the first creation was from absolute nothingness - since it is not possible to have the expression of speaking [to something] before the creation of [that] something. As behold, there was not yet material or anything that God, may be blessed, could command to bring out the heavens and the earth. But with the other creations that [emerged] from something else - even though they were miraculous and similar to ex nihilo, nonetheless, there was already material that they could emerge from - about them, it is fitting to say "And God said;" which is to say that He commanded to that in existence to bring forth something else. Still, in spite of this, even the heavens and the earth were created with His proclamation and through His will, may He be blessed, as it states (Psalms 33:6), "With the word of God were the Heavens made," and so [too] our Sages, of blessed memory, stated, "'In the beginning' is also a proclamation."

In the beginning: [It is] like 'at the start.' And the intention is 'at the start of the being of all that exists;' since before then, there was nothing in existence besides the Creator, may He be blessed, alone. And also from the expression, "In the beginning," we learn the truth of creation of the world [ex nihilo].

Created: The expression of creation relates to new existence and also the expansion of something. And there is no difference between the term, 'creation' (briah) and the term [in the phrase], 'healthy (briot) and good;' except that one is natural and the other is miraculous. Since the essence of the word is about the going form nothing to something like in this verse, and it is [borrowed] also for the addition to what exists and the extension of a being's power.

בראשית, at the beginning of time; this is the first moment which is indivisible into shorter periods. There had not been a concept “time” previous to this, i.e. there had only been unbroken continuity. [The author perceives “time” as one of the creations. Ed.]

ברא, He had converted “nothing” into “something.” There had been no need to invoke “time” in order to accomplish this.

אלוקים, The expression “elo-ha” refers to something enduring, eternal. This is why Moses (Deut. 32,17) refers to demons, שדים, as לא אלו-ה, seeing that they are not eternal, are subject to death as our sages taught (Chagigah 16) The reason that the term “elo-ha” here appears in the plural mode, i.e. “elo-him,” is to teach us that G’d is the origin of all the various visible and invisible manifestations in the universe. This is what the prophet (Isaiah 6,3) has in mind when he described G’d as מלא כל הארץ כבודו, “the entire globe is a manifestation of His glory.” There is no other existence unless it has emanated from His existence. This is what Nechemyah 9,6 had in mind when he said ואתה מחיה את כלם, “You provide life for all of them.” When speaking of “appearances,” every phenomenon which is abstract as distinct from being tangible, is described by the generic term אלוקים. Professional, i.e. expert judges are called אלוהים, as they are able to pronounce judgment בצלם אלוקים, reflecting Divine wisdom. Their very profession is testimony to something enduring, divine in nature.

את השמים, the word שם refers to a place which is distant, as opposed to the word פה, which means “here.” Every plural mode when accompanied by an accented penultimate syllable vocalised with a patach signals 2 of something which are equi-distant from all sides. This is something possible only in connection with an orbiting planet. This is something which is not possible, i.e that two points are equidistant from the center unless they are part of an orbiting spherical planet. The Torah therefore says that G’d created the phenomenon which at this time is far distant from us in such a way that all its sides are equi-distant from us, in other words the phenomenon is a planet, something spherical.

ואת הארץ, and the center which is orbited by the planet.

The enlightened ones will understand that the intent of the Torah is not to inform about the natural sciences; and that the Torah was not given except to straighten the ways of man to righteousness and justice, and to establish in their hearts the belief in [His] unity and providence, since the Torah was not only given to sages but [rather] to the whole people. And just like the matter of providence and reward is not explained (and it would not have been fitting that it be explained) in a philosophical manner, but the Torah [rather] spoke about it like the language of [ordinary] people ([as in] "the anger of the Lord will flare against you" [Deuteronomy 7:4]; "and it grieved His heart [Genesis 6:6]; and there are many [other examples] like this); so too, the matter of creation is not told (and it is not fitting that it would be told) in the Torah in a philosophical manner. And it is as the Rabbis, of blessed memory, have stated (Midrash HaGadol, Genesis 1:1), "To tell the power of the story of creation to flesh and blood is not possible." Hence it is not fitting for the follower of Torah to uproot the verses from their understanding in order to make them agree with the natural sciences. It is also not fitting for the scientist to deny that the Torah is divine (min hashamayim) if he finds things in its stories that don't agree with natural science. But it is fitting for this one and that one, that they contemplate the inner workings of human hearts and the ways of wisdom that is used by nature in speaking to the heart of every individual: to the youth according to his manner and to the young man in a different manner and to the old man in a different manner [still]; to the strong in a particular manner and to the weak in a particular manner; to the rich man in one manner and to the poor man in another manner; and so [too] with all groups of men, nature speaks to their hearts in a specific way that is fitting to the people of that group. And nature does not reveal the pristine truth - without any mask or cover - to any one of these groups. And so [too] the Giver of the Torah, may He be blessed, (since the God that created nature and the God that gave us the Torah is one God.) in his speaking with people was required to speak according to their levels, and not according to His level, may He be blessed. And behold, God wanted to inform people of the unity of the [universe] and the unity of mankind; since error in both of these matters caused great evils in ancient times: from the lack of awareness of the unity of the [universe], it came out that people would believe in the existence of specific gods, with defects and inferior character traits; and they would do evil acts in order to please [these gods] (see what I have written in Parshat Yitro on the verse, "There shall not be for you" [Exodus 20:3]). And from the lack of awareness of the unity of mankind, it came out that the people of one nation would hate and revile the people of another nation and they would act towards them with the force of arms, and not with justice and righteousness. And these two fundamental principles (the unity of the [universe] and the unity of mankind) are the main point of the stories of the creation saga; and details of the book also include other intentions, as will be explained.

In the beginning, God created: Many have already been disturbed [about] why there is no proclamation for the creation of the heavens and the earth, and why the creation of the angels is not mentioned. And one should also wonder why the first day is different from the other days of the creation; since every one of them is dedicated to a specific thing or to specific things of one type or one category. But the first day includes a specific thing which is the creation of light, and besides this [also] includes something general - and there is nothing more general than it - and that is the creation of the heavens and the earth. This is something very strange, and it would have been fitting to designate one day for the creation of the heavens and the earth, without attaching to them the creation of something specific - which is the light - on one day. And it appears to me that one answer will suffice for [all] three of the questions, and that is that the heavens and the earth were not created on the first day but before then. And this is according to what is said (Berakhot 25b), "the Torah was not given to the ministering angels" - and [this means] that the story of creation is only coming to tell the beginning of matters of the lower world - which is the habitation of man - and a little of the matters of the upper world, from the angle of that which is relevant to people, which is to say from the angle of that which is useful for us [to know]. And it would not have been possible to explain to people all the matters of the heavens; but [at the same time] it was [also] not His will, may He be blessed, to bring people to believe that nothing exists except that which we see and [empirically] know. Therefore, the Torah tells what was created and made on each one of the six days of creation; and it began the story of the details of creation with one verse that includes a different creation that came before the six days - and its details were not explained in the Torah - in its stating, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," and not stating, "And God said, 'let there be heavens, let there be earth.'" This is to inform that it is not His intention to tell us the details of that creation and that this is just a vague statement which contains many, many statements. And behold, the heavens and the earth mentioned here are not exactly the heavens and the earth mentioned on the second and third day. Rather the heavens mentioned here includes everything above the earth and the heavens mentioned on the second day includes only the portion from them that is known to people. And the earth that is mentioned here includes the earth that is mixed up with water, and upon which was the wind/spirit, [whereas] the earth mentioned on the third day only includes the dry land. That is, in my opinion, the main simple explanation of this verse. And lest someone say that this contradicts what comes in the Ten Commandments, "because in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth;" there is, in fact, no contradiction to my explanation from there, since it does not say, "because in six days the Lord created the heavens and the earth," but rather, "because in six days the Lord made;" and the intention [there] is about the making of the firmament and about the separation of the earth from the water. And the words, "and all that there is in it" that are said in [the continuation of] the Ten Commandments include the light and the luminaries and the animals that are upon the earth and in the midst of the seas. And in Parshat Ki Tissa (Exodus 31:17), it shortened it and only mentioned the heavens and the earth, and included in them every thing that is in them. Also the Sages, of blessed memory, said (Pesachim 54a) that the Throne of Glory came before the creation of the world. Bara (created): The verb, bara, in the simple structure and in the passive structure, is never found in any place with reference to human action. And we find that a man is called a doer and a former, but we don't find any place where man is called a creator (boreh). And it appears that this root is used to indicate anything that deviates from that which is the way of the world, as per, "I will make wonders which were not created (nivrau) in all the earth" (Exodus 34:10); "and if the Lord creates (yivra) a creation and the ground opens its mouth" (Numbers 16:30); "I let you hear new things from now... they were created (nivrau) now and not from before" (Isaiah 48:6-7); "because the Lord created (bara) something new on the earth" (Jeremiah 48:7); and here God created (bara) the heavens and the earth, a Godly act which has nothing like it. We find creation from nothing (ex nihilo) explicitly [mentioned] in the Book of Maccabees, Book II 7:28; and also the Samaritans say that the world was created from nothing in their liturgical poems, and it is also [included in] the faith of the Karaites. And Yechezkel, when speaking about the king of Tyre, used the expression, briah about him: "on the day you were created (hibaraecha), they were established" (Ezekiel 28:13); "from the day you were created (hibaraech)" (Ibid., 15). He poetically compared him to Adam, whom God created and placed in the Garden of Eden, which is as it is stated [there], "you were in Eden, the garden of God;" hence, he used the expression briah, as if [to say] that he was not formed through a father and mother; instead he was a creation that God created. And in the intensive (piel) structure, we find the root, bara, indicating chopping and cutting (Joshua 17:15; Ezekiel 23:47); and in the causative, "lehavriachem (to feed yourselves)" (I Samuel 2:29), [to indicate] a matter of health and portliness. And in some [versions] of II Samuel 12:17, we find bara in the simple structure [as follows]: "and you did not create bread," with a [letter,] alef instead of a [letter,] hay. And that was the version [in front of] Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, and it was not the version [in front of] Rabbi David Kimchi. Elohim (God): El and eyal is always an expression of power and strength and elohim is the plural form; and this was [the accepted terminology] of the nations that worshiped idols (Kuzari 4:1). And they would call all of the forces of nature that are the causes of phenomena, [elohim], and they would worship them; and each one of them would be a god for them. However, the Hebrews, who were monotheists, kept this name in the plural to indicate that the God that they were worshiping was not [just] one specific power. As the non-Jews would say, "the Lord is the god of the hills and not the god of the valleys," (I Kings 20:28) but [in fact] He is the collection of all the forces and the Master of every force. (And similar to this is the word, seas [yamim], see below, verse 10). So [too] is He called by the name, 'Hosts,' to say that He, Himself, contains all the powers of all of the hosts of the Heavens which the non-Jews would worship - see my commentary on Isaiah 1:9.

The heavens and the earth: The Torah spoke as in the language of men and divided the whole world - and all of the worlds - into two parts; that which is above and that which is below, everything according to the eyes of man that dwells upon the earth. Sama (which is similar to shamayim, the word used here to mean heavens) in Arabic, is like gava (high) in Hebrew; and ara (from which comes araa, which is the same as arets [earth], when switching the letters, ayin and tsaddi, as in tson [in Hebrew] is aaan [in Aramaic], and ravats [accordingly turns into] rava - and from which comes arbaah [in the Targum to Isaiah 7:25] - and also ir, which is a designation for an angel, is like tsir in the Holy Language - the understanding of which is, messenger) is lowly in the Aramaic language, as in (Daniel 2:39) "And after you, a king more lowly (ara) than you will arise." And according to the opinion of some (Galius and Clericus), sama and ara are derived from [the Hebrew], shamayim and arets. And plausible are the words of Rabbi Yaakov Abendana: that shamayim is from sham (there), which indicates a far place - and it is called shamayim from its being far and high from any direction that one turns. And nonetheless, [it was] from shamayim that the Arabic verb (sama) that refers to height, was afterwards derived. Since, truly, it is not possible that verbs that do not indicate an action, but [rather] the characteristic of something, like the verb sama - the understanding of which is 'being high' (altus fuit in Italian) - exist before the existence of the noun or adjective that refers to that characteristic. For example, first the blood of animals was called dam, and afterwards, [people] called that which appears like the color of blood adom (red), and afterwards [still], they made the verb and said odem (redden), odmu (they redden), and similar to it. But [concerning] ara - which is an adjective [to describe] all low things - it is plausible that they said it, before they called the earth, araa.

R. Yitzchok said. Some commentators object that neither the Talmud nor the Midrash mention this statement in the name of R. Yitzchok. [The Midrash] states only what Rashi said [later]: מה טעם פתח בבראשית וכו' but states no more than that. [These commentators then explain] that R. Yitzchok was Rashi’s father and he was not a great Torah scholar. Rashi wished to honor his father by mentioning him in the beginning of his work. Thus Rashi asked his father to pose a difficulty that could be cited in his name. His father asked: למה התחיל בבראשית but did not ask מה טעם פתח בבראשית [as the Midrash does. Thus, Rashi cites the question in his father’s name.] This explanation, found in an old manuscript, is incorrect. For Rashi’s commentary on Avodah Zarah (75a) cites [a scholarly explanation of the Talmud] and says, “This is the explanation of my father, my teacher, may he rest in peace...” Thus it is clear that Rashi’s father was learned in Torah. (Divrei Dovid)

As if to say, “At the beginning of Hashem’s speaking...” [Rashi cites this] so we will not ask: How can we say our verse means, “At the start of the creating of heaven and earth” — all leading up to the statement of “Hashem said, ‘Let there be light,’” which is the conclusion of what preceded? On the contrary: the statement of “Hashem said, ‘Let there be light’” seems to be a new and independent point, similar to: “Hashem said, ‘Let there be a canopy’” (v. 6). Thus, Rashi proves otherwise from Hoshe’a. For there we cannot say that Hoshe’a was the first man to whom Hashem spoke, as Hashem spoke to many prophets before him. [So then, what is the meaning of תחלת דבר ה' בהושע?] Perforce it means that the beginning of Hashem’s speaking to Hoshe’a was what follows: “Hashem said to Hoshe’a...” Thus, it all leads up to “Hashem said to Hoshe’a,” just like here.

And its interpretation is that at the beginning of everything. And as for the objection [raised earlier], that ראשית is always annexed, the answer is that it means: “At the beginning of everything.” Thus, it is indeed annexed to the [understood but omitted] word “everything.”

There are such verses that are shortened. I.e., [the Torah occasionally omits a word] where we would logically understand by ourselves that a word is missing. (Divrei Dovid)

You must question yourself. Because water preceded. I.e., it is understandable if we say that the Torah is not stating the sequence of Creation. And it is not explaining when water was created, because it deals only with what was created after the heaven and earth. But if it is stating the sequence of creation, the question arises: Why does it not mention also the creation of water? (Divrei Dovid)

The Torah not yet having revealed... The creation of fire and of the angels was also not mentioned in the Torah, although [the angels] were created on the second day, [and the heavens were created from fire and water. If so, why does this not raise the same question? The answer is:] Water is different because the Torah mentions it in the sequence of creation: “The breath of Elohim hovered above the surface of the water” (v. 2). Thus, the time of its creation should be mentioned.

Thus teaching that the waters preceded the earth. [You might ask:] Why does Rashi give this answer here, and not above, where he said: “This verse does not intend to teach the sequence of creation”? The answer is: above, you could have deflected this answer, and argued that the Torah deals only with what came after the creation of heaven and earth. But now that Rashi is speaking of “the beginning of everything,” this implies that nothing was created before heaven and earth. So here Rashi says: “You must question yourself...”

It is not written “Adonoy created”! Rashi does not mean that it should say Adonoy without Elohim, for you would still ask: Why did the verse not say Elohim as well? Rather, Rashi means that the verse should say Adonoy as well, as it does later (2:4): “On the day when Adonoy Elohim made earth and heaven.” Rashi then continues to explain “at first He intended to create it with...” However, Maharshal explains [differently], that the question Rashi is answering is: If the world would be created with the attribute of justice it could not exist for even a moment! Thus, He must have created it with the attribute of mercy. If so, why did the verse not say “Adonoy”? The verse should say, “Adonoy created,” using His essential Name, for His Essence expresses mercy. But it should not say Elohim, a Name descriptive of a judge, for He did not yet judge the earth. Thus Rashi answers, “First He intended to create...” (Divrei Dovid)

This is conveyed in the verse, “On the day when Adonoy Elohim made.” Rashi might be bringing this verse also to answer the question: Why say that Hashem added the attribute of mercy because He saw that the world cannot exist with justice alone? The reason is for it is written (Tehillim 89:3), “The world will be built with kindness,” or perhaps there was a different reason. Furthermore, why did He give priority to the attribute of mercy? Rashi answers by citing the verse, “On the day when Adonoy Elohim made earth and heaven” (2:4). And why does the verse not mention heaven before earth like the first verse did, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth”? The answer is: to show that Hashem added the attribute of mercy mainly for sake of the earth and what emerged from it, for the earth cannot stand up to the attribute of justice. Thus He gave priority to mercy over justice, so that mercy would be stronger, for the sake of the earth. The heavens, however, can stand up to the attribute of justice.

The Torah should have begun... This is because the Torah was given to Israel only for the mitzvos it contains, that they should keep them. (Thus it is called Torah, connoting “instructions”). If so, all these narratives should not have been written in the Torah, but they should have been made into a separate book, like Sefer Yehoshua or Sefer Shoftim.

That the Israelites were commanded. The precepts of milah and gid hanasheh [although they appear prior to “This month shall be...”] are different because they were commanded only to individuals (for their sake and for all Israel’s). It is only when all Israel is commanded that it is considered among the Torah’s precepts, for it is written (Devarim 33:4): “The Torah that Moshe commanded us.”

What is the reason... begins with “In the beginning?” This is not a question but [the start of] the answer. Rashi is saying: The verse in Tehillim explains the reason why the Torah begins with “In the beginning.” For the verse means, “He declared the power of His works” (i.e., the Creation of the world) “to His people.” Why? Because He wanted “to give them the inheritance of nations.” It is on account of Avraham, whom Hashem promised to give Eretz Canaan to his offspring, (and the inheritance was in reward for the mitzvos, and it is considered like the mitzvos). [Thus, the Torah indeed begins with the mitzvos]. For this reason [of giving them “the inheritance of nations,”] Hashem needed to declare that the Creation of the world is the power of His works. Alternatively, we could say [that Rashi is asking]: The Book of Bereishis should have been written [at the end,] after Parshas Haazinu. Why then does the Torah begin with it? Rashi answers: Because of “He declared the power of his works, etc.” Rashi is saying that if Bereishis would be at the end of the Torah, it would not be clear that the Torah’s intention was to testify that Bnei Yisrael are not robbers. Rather, we would think that Bereishis was written to teach that the world [is Hashem’s Creation and] did not always exist; this is central to our faith, as Ramban explains. But now that the Torah begins with Creation, we must say that the Torahs’s intention is to testify that “He declared the power of His works....”

You have taken by force the lands of the Seven Nations. This implies that originally it belonged to the Seven Nations (who are descendants of Cham). But you might object: It is written in Parshas Lech Lecha (12:6): “And the Canaanites were then in the Land,” and Rashi there explains that the Canaanites were then conquering the Land of Israel from the descendants of Shem — as it was given to Shem when Noach divided the earth among his sons. If so, why is it robbery (when Bnei Yisrael [who are Shem’s descendants] reclaim their inheritance)? It seems the answer is: Although land cannot be acquired by theft and always remains the property of the previous owner, nonetheless, Bnei Yisrael are like robbers. For the Canaanites were considered like someone who unrightfully seizes a field and makes improvements on it — in which case when the true owners return they must pay the one who seizes the land for his expenses, assuming the improvements are of greater value than the expenses. But Bnei Yisrael took the Land of Israel with all the improvements [that were made by the Canaanites], and did not pay even for the expenses. Therefore the Torah began with “In the beginning...” to say that all the earth and its fullness belong to Hashem, Who may do with it as He wishes. For it says (Chavakuk 3:6): “He saw and allowed the nations,” which is interpreted to mean that [in specific cases,] Hashem allowed their property to [be taken by] Israel (Bava Kama 38a). An alternative answer: “You are robbers” because Shem had other sons as well, and they too have a portion in the Land. However, there is a difficulty [with the first answer, that the descendants of Cham should be paid their expenses. And] even if we say that R. Yitzchok held the [other] view [mentioned in the Gemara,] that the entire Land [originally] belonged [not to Shem but] to Cham, who gave it to his son Canaan, [still their claim is invalid]. For it is written (9:25), “Cursed is Canaan. He shall surely be a slave to his brethren.” Thus, [the offspring of] Cham is enslaved to Shem, and all of a slave’s acquired property belongs to his master. [So whatever Canaan says is his, automatically belongs to Bnei Yisrael who are the offspring of Shem. Why, then, are Bnei Yisrael “robbers”?] An answer is: It is written that Canaan is a slave “to his brethren,” which includes Yefes. Thus, Yefes also has a share in what Canaan acquired, [not just Shem]. (Re’m) Alternatively: [R. Yitzchok held that the Land originally belonged to Cham. And] a slave’s acquisitions belong to his master only when the slave acquires them from others, or seizes ownerless property — but not when the slave inherits them. And since it is by Torah law that a non-Jew inherits his father, Canaan rightfully inherited the Land from his father Cham. (Nachalas Yaakov) Another answer: When someone gives a gift to a slave and stipulates that the master should have no rights to it, the gift does not belong to the master. And here, Hashem apportioned specific territories to Canaan, and different territories to Shem, as the Torah recounts. Therefore, it is as if there is a stipulation that each one may not have any claim to the other one’s portion. (Divrei Dovid)

This verse insists that it be expounded. This is because its simple meaning seems to teach the sequence of Creation. And this cannot be, as Rashi goes on to explain: “For the word ראשית never appears in Tanach except when it is annexed to the following word.”

For the sake of the Torah. This is because the word ראשית cannot mean the start [of the sequence of Creation], as then it would be annexed to the following word. Thus, בראשית means “For the sake of the [ראשית, which is the] Torah and Israel.” (The ב means “for the sake of”).

But if you insist on the simple interpretation. I.e., if you say that בראשית is a word annexed to the following word, then you must change the past tense verb בָּרָא into the “noun” ברוא, as if it was written בְּרִיאַת (the creating of) instead of בָּרָא. Thus, בְּרוֹא itself will be annexed [to the coming words. This interpretation is possible] because we may follow the way the Torah is written and handed down without vowelization, and therefore בָּרָא can be read as בְּרֹא.

As if, “At the beginning of the creating.” Thus, בראשית [and what follows] will mean: At the start of the creating of heaven and earth, the situation was that the earth was unformed and desolate, and darkness. And because it was dark, Hashem said, “Let there be light.” It all leads up to: Hashem said, “Let there be light.”

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The opening verse takes the existence of God as a given. It does not address questions about God’s origin or nature; rather, God is understood to be the absolute existence from which everything begins. Already at the beginning of the account of Creation, heaven and earth appear as distinct entities and as a framework for all of creation, as detailed in the rest of the chapter.

בראשית. Rabbi Yitzchok said that G’d had no need to begin the Torah prior to chapter 12,2 in Exodus, until the words החודש הזה וגו', “this month will be the first of the months for you, etc.” Nachmanides, in justifying Rabbi Yitzchok’s comment, writes that the story of creation is of great consequence and provides the root for our faith in G’d, and that anyone who does not believe what is written in that chapter does not believe that this present universe is G’d’s creation but believes that the universe preceded G’d in historical terms. He who does so is an outright heretic and has no share in G’d’s Torah at all. Chapter 12 in Exodus contains the first commandment addressed specifically to the Jewish people as a people. [the commandment of circumcision also applies to those of Avraham’s descendants who would not be Jews. Ed.] Notwithstanding the latter consideration, seeing that the fact that G’d created the universe is not spelled out anywhere else in the five books of the Torah, it was important to record this vital message at the very beginning. Seeing that the story of creation had been handed down verbally by one generation to the next during the 2448 years which preceded the giving to the people of Israel of the written Torah, Rabbi Yitzchok was correct in saying that inasmuch as people had such a tradition already, the written Torah could have commenced only with chapter 12 in Exodus and the legislative part of the Torah would have been unimpaired. G’d considered it imperative to dictate to Moses the sequence of the 6 days (stages) of creation culminating in the creation of man and G’d assigning man to be in charge of the life-supporting part of the universe, i.e. earth. Rabbi Yitzchok’s comment is especially pertinent as the Talmud in Chagigah 11 warns those who have acquired knowledge of how earth came into being to conceal such knowledge from the public at large. We could have questioned then why the Torah at that stage saw fit to reveal to one and all what only a chosen few had been aware of? G’d wanted us to know that He was at home on earth in a place called גן עדן, and that but for man having been expelled from there due to his sin he could have remained in constant direct contact with his Creator without the need for any intermediary. It also was necessary to record that after the total corruption of mankind save for a single family, the Creator saved that family and destroyed the surface of the earth during the deluge. These short paragraphs summarizing over 1600 years of the history of mankind, serve as a warning to later generations of what might happen if they too would become guilty of deliberately flouting the Creator’s design collectively. Seeing that the inhabitants of the land of Canaan behaved in a manner most displeasing to G’d, the Torah by giving us a short history of man, explains that the forced removal of the Canaanites from their land, was no more than what they had brought upon themselves by ignoring history. Still on the quote by Rashi of what Rabbi Yitzchok said, etc. Notwithstanding the fact that mankind as a whole had received 7 other commandments, the commandment to sanctify the new moon was the first commandment addressed to only a single nation, the Jewish nation. Seeing that at that point the Jewish people still constituted an integral part of mankind as a whole, and they were all subject to these 7 universally applicable commandments, it might have been deemed appropriate to commence the Torah, the Book containing legislation addressed exclusively to that nation only, with the point at which the first of such national commandments was introduced. Rashi explains therefore, that by commencing the Torah at Bereshit bara, the Torah wanted to demonstrate not only that G’d was the Creator, but that He is also the sole and undisputed owner of His universe and may decide which nation is entitled to live on which part of the earth. In other words, if the Jewish people supplanted the Canaanites in the land of Canaan and they were helped by numerous supernatural miracles in doing so, it was clear that their success was G’d’s will, that it was not robbery instigated by Moses and Joshua their leaders. There appears to be a contradiction here, seeing that when the Torah describes who lived in the land of Canaan during Avraham’s time, the Torah first refers to the Canaanite living there, (Genesis 13,7) whereas in chapter 14,18 Malki Tzedek, a Semite, is described as King in Jerusalem (שלם). We would have to answer that the only minute part of the land of Canaan not yet taken over by the Canaanites was that city of Jerusalem. Still, seeing that Canaan had been, cursed by his grandfather Noach to be a slave to Noach’s other two sons, how are we to explain the ascendancy of that nation at that time? Moreover, why should the Canaanites have dispossessed the descendants of Shem more than the descendants of Yaphet? The Torah may wish to hint that seeing the Canaanites obtained their homeland by dispossessing the Semites, the people relatively most loyal to G’d already, put a great question mark on their legal and moral right to occupy the choicest land on earth. [the Canaanites, the most morally corrupt nation, took aim at the Semites, the most morally superior. Ed] Rashi explains the word בראשית as being in a construct mode, to the verb ברא, “He created,” i.e. the line is to be understood as: “at the beginning of G’d’s creating heaven and earth, the earth was in a state of chaos.” At that point G’d issued the directive: “let there be light.” Accordingly, the only thing G’d created on the first day was “light.” Nachmanides explains the words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ, as meaning that G’d’s first creative activity consisted of His calling into existence out of total non-existence, heaven and earth. This “earth” however, was something so insubstantial, something referred to as tohu vavohu, matter which was ready to assume definitive form and substance at a subsequent stage. This “matter=tohu vavohu, is equivalent to what the ancient Greeks called ”hiayuli.” The meaning of the word ברא is the creation of something of substance which had never possessed any substance at all, known in philosophy as “ex nihilo.” Subsequent to this act of creating matter out of pure spirit, any other creative activity made use of this basic and original raw material. Such stages of creative activity are described as יצירה, “providing form and substance,” but are never referred to as בריאה, “creation.” The original not quite definitive form and shape of that matter, is referred to in the Torah as בהו, “vohu.” At that stage, heaven and all its components consisted of a single raw material, and earth and all it is comprised of consisted of another single raw material. According to Rashi on Kohelet 7,19, the word describes the super terrestrial wisdom with which G’d created the universe, a wisdom that leaves even the wisest of men in utter amazement, תוהא. [transliteration from the ancient Greek. Ed.] Both the raw material used to create heaven and that used to create earth are unique and distinct, and the word ברא refers exclusively to the creation of these two phenomena.. The “names” תהו and בהו given by the Torah to these raw materials are intended to forestall man changing the names in question and renaming them to suit his purpose. The words are composites, i.e. בו הוא parallels Isaiah 34,11 ונטה עליה קו-תהו ואבני בהו, “and He shall measure it with a line of chaos and with weights of emptiness.” The word קו is derived from קוה, hope, i.e. the builder employs the plumb line to check if the results of his efforts justified his hopes and expectations. אבני בהו, refer to the stones which the building consists of. [the foregoing is taken from Nachmanides. Ed.] After the Torah reported that initially G’d created heaven and earth, it reverts to the subject of “earth,” explaining that after the initial creative activity producing tangible matter, the phenomenon known as “earth” (in contrast to that known as “heaven”) was in a state of תהו, meaning tangible matter devoid of distinct shape and contours, so that it was best described as בהו, as G’d proceeded to provide it with distinct shape and contours. This meant that what had originally been a single raw material, now became “split” into the four basic raw materials we are all familiar with, i.e. fire, water, earth and atmosphere, air, wind. Ever since that stage of development, whenever we refer to the word הארץ, we mean the phenomenon which is composed of varying proportions of these four raw materials. When the Torah refers to the completion of G’d’s creative activity on the seventh day and describes it as ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם, it refers to the totality of what is known in our literature as the עולם התחתון, “the lower universe,” the part of the universe inhabited by living bodies. The word חשך describes the element fire, because the original fire is black. Had it been reddish it would have illuminated the night so that the darkness of night would be impossible to observe. The water which is the raw material used to mould the dust of the earth, is referred to by the Torah in our chapter as תהם, This is why the waters of the ocean are referred to as תהומות as in Exodus 15,8 קפאו תהומות בלב-ים, “the normally mobile waves became inert (as if frozen) in the midst of the ocean.” The bedrock of the ocean is referred to as תהום as we know from Isaiah 63,13 מוליכם בתהומות כסוס במדבר, “He guides them through the depths of the sea as one guides a horse through the desert.” In our context here, what we know as “air,” is referred to as רוח It is a well known fact that the combination of these four raw materials comprise what we know as ארץ, the globe we all inhabit. The pillar holding this lower universe together is the globe of earth, surrounded by water on most of its surface surrounded further by the atmosphere we call air or רוח. The fire in turn surrounds this atmosphere. [the heat of the sun emanates from beyond the atmosphere. Ed.] What our verse reveals is that this phenomenon described as ארץ, was “dressed up” in a shape, meaning that the element fire surrounded it on the outside, the atmosphere, air, רוח being an element in constant motion interweaving with the other elements. The innermost spot within all these layers is known in the language of our sages as אבן שתיה, the foundation stone of the earth, i.e. the stone which “waters” the entire globe. To sum up, the meaning of the first two verses is: “at the beginning G’d created heaven and He created earth, both out of non-existent matter. When the earth was first created, it was in a chaotic state devoid of form and contours, a mixture of the four basic elements fire, water, earth and wind, none of which had been defined as yet as to their functions.

“When God began to create Heaven and Earth” [1:1]. In the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, the earth was desolate, empty and darkness was over the void. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:1. Rashi calls this the plain meaning of these words.) The Holy One’s Throne of Glory hovered in the air over the water. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:2.) Why did the Torah begin with [the letter] bet? It teaches us that the world is similar to the bet that has three sides and the fourth is open. So too is the world. The Holy One closed three sides and on the north side, the Holy One did not make a heaven. Why? The Holy One wanted to say to the nations of world, let your false gods come and let them close the fourth wall. Since you have chosen them as gods, let them see what they can do. (Hizkuni, Genesis, 1:1.) Another interpretation is that the bet is berakhah (blessing) and the aleph is arur (cursed). Therefore, the Holy One began with the bet. The aleph flew before the Holy One and said, begin the Torah with me. I am the first letter of the alphabet. The Holy One said, I will give the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai and I will begin with the aleph. “I the Lord am your God” [Exodus, 20:2]. (Genesis Rabbah, 1.10. Anokhi [I] begins with an aleph.) That is why the Torah begins with the word bereshit. This teaches us that the world was created for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His course” [Proverbs, 8:22], and because of Israel, which is called “the first fruits of His harvest” [Jeremiah, 2:3]. (Genesis Rabbah, 1.4. This is a word play on the words bereshit and reshit. Both verses cited contain reshit which can be translated as beginning or first depending on the context.) Rabbi Isaac said: Why did the Torah write about how the world was created? Since the Torah is nothing but the Holy One’s commandments, and the Torah should only have discussed the Holy One’s commandments. However, the nations of the world will say later to Israel, why are you conquering and stealing the land of Israel? Then Israel will answer, the Holy One created the world and he can give it to whomever he wishes. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:1.) Our sages said that the Holy One created the world in three ways: for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His path” [Proverbs, 8:22], for the sake of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple, which is called first, because the Temple was created before the world. The third is that the world was created for the sake of charity and tithes, which are called “the first fruits of your new grain” [Deuteronomy, 18:4]. (Genesis Rabbah, 1.4.) Since the first verse of the Torah alludes to the Temple, it also shows us how it will be destroyed. (Genesis Rabbah, 2.5.) That is why it says, “and the earth was desolate and unformed” [Genesis, 1:2]. The earth will be desolate, since the Shekhinah will depart after the destruction [of the Temple]. (B. Yoma, 21b.) Therefore, God said, “and the spirit of God hovered over the waters” [Genesis, 1:2]. This shows us that when we will be in exile, the Torah will not leave us and we will also have the Torah in exile. (Bahya, Genesis, 1:2.) Therefore, it also says, “God said, let there be light” [Genesis, 1:3]. This shows us that at the end of the exile the Holy One will create light for us and will send us the Messiah, concerning whom it is written, “Arise, shine, for your light has dawned” [Isaiah, 60:1]. This means, come arise and illumine us with your light. This passage teaches us that the Holy One tells Israel what will happen and that the world was created for the sake of the Messiah. (B. Sanhedrin, 98b.)

Rashi (Bereishit 1:1) notes that God’s name “Elokim” appears alone in the first chapter of Bereishit, whereas the tetragrammaton (“YKVK”) appears next to “Elokim” in the second chapter. Rashi explains that God intended to create the world “with strict justice” (midat hadin, the attribute associated with “Elokim”), but when He saw that the world could not exist this way, He presented “the Divine attribute of mercy” (midat harachamim, the attribute associated with the tetragrammaton) and coupled it with midat hadin. We are obligated by the verse “Vehalachta bidrachav” (Devarim 13:5 and 28:9; see Sotah 14a) to follow in His footsteps, so must therefore combine our own sense of rigid justice with our sense of compassion. Indeed, the Rambam (Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 5:11) writes that a Torah scholar should always act lifnim mishurat hadin. If we follow only strict law, the world cannot exist.

[The following rules apply regarding] a signet ring (In ancient times, it was customary for rulers to seal their documents with a signet ring. (See Esther 8:8.) Wax would be poured on the document and the ring pressed into the wax, producing an imprint which is a reverse image of that on the ring.) which bears a human image: If the image is protruding, it is forbidden to wear it, (on one's finger, because a protruding image is forbidden, as stated in the previous halachah.) but it is permitted to use it as a seal. If the image is an impression, it is permitted to wear it, (because there is not prohibition against such a human image) but it is forbidden to use it as a seal, (for the human image it produces is sunken into the wax.) because it will create an image which protrudes. (which is forbidden.) Similarly, it is forbidden to make an image of the sun, the moon, the stars, the constellations, (Our understanding of the Rambam's statements here can be enhanced by referring to his Commentary on the Mishnah, Avodah Zarah 3:3: This does not mean a sphere which represents the sun or a hemisphere which represents the moon, but rather the images which the astrologers [i.e., those following Greek mythology] attribute to the stars,... e.g., Saturn is represented as an old dark man of venerable age, Venus is represented as a a beautiful maiden adorned with gold, and the sun is represented as a king with a diadem sitting in a chariot.[These are forbidden because] they are falsehoods and the nature of falsehood is that it will surely spread. Rav Kapach supports this interpretation by quoting BeMidbar Rabbah 2:6, which describes the pennant of the tribe of Issachar as having a picture of the sun and the moon. Were these images forbidden, it would be unlikely that Moshe would have told the tribe to depict them. Even if the decree was instituted in the later generations, it is not probable that the Rabbis would forbid images that had previously been used for a Torah purpose. The Ramah (Yoreh De'ah 141:3) quotes the Rambam's opinion. The Turei Zahav 141:13 and the Siftei Cohen 141:8, however, note that the Rambam's statements which were quoted above (and the Ramah's statements) refer to a question whether one is allowed to keep images of the sun or moon that he finds. Here, the question is whether one is allowed to make such images oneself. From the discussion of the question in Avodah Zarah 43b, where the Sages question how Rabban Gamliel possessed forms of the moon, it would appear that there is a prohibition against making images of the sun and the moon themselves. This interpretation, however, is also somewhat problematic, because the Rambam writes that there is no prohibition against making images of animals, and some of the constellations of the Zodiac are represented and referred to as animals. For example, one of the Zodiac constellations is a fish and Gittin 36a describes Rav as making a drawing of a fish. Another is a lion, which is one of the most popular images found in Jewish art.) or the angels, (As the Rambam writes in Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:3-5, the angels have no body or form. Hence, here, he is obviously referring to a form which a man has conceived of as appropriate for a particular angel. Alternatively, it could refer to the metaphoric imagery used by the prophets.) as [implied by Exodus, ibid.]: "Do not make with Me [gods of silver...]" (The Rambam (quoting Avodah Zarah, ibid.) mentions the above Biblical proof-text in connection with this prohibition. It would appear, however, from the fact that making such images is not punishable by lashes, that the prohibition is only Rabbinic in nature. The reference to the verse must be understood as an asmachta (use of the Biblical verse as a support for a Rabbinic decree).) - i.e., do not make images of (those who are "with Me" - i.e.,) My servants, those who serve before Me (This refers to the celestial beings and the angels. (See Chapter 1, Halachah 1, and Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:3.)) on high. This [prohibition] (is more severe than the prohibition against making human images, and) applies even [to pictures] on tablets. (According to the Rambam's statements in his Commentary on the Mishnah, the difference between the prohibition against making these images and those of humans can be explained as follows: The prohibition against making human statues is Biblical in origin and is defined by the Torah itself. In contrast, the prohibition of making images of the celestial beings was a safeguard instituted by the Rabbis against Greek and Roman culture. It, therefore, applies to all images, whether pictures or statues, because both could influence people to stray from the Torah's ways. According to the simple interpretation of the terms "sun" and "moon," the difference can be explained as follows: The sun and the moon, as we perceive them, appear against the background of the sky. Therefore, for a representation of them to be forbidden, it also need not protrude (Tosafot, 14Avodah Zarah, ibid.).) The images of animals and other living beings (with the exception of men - Avodah Zarah 42b also mentions a prohibition against making the image of a d'rakon which Rashi and others interpret as an animal similar to a serpent. In his Commentary on the Mishnah (ibid.), the Rambam describes this image as a fishlike man with fins and many scales, probably referring to the Greek god Neptune.) - with the exception of men - and similarly, the images of trees, grasses, and the like may be fashioned. This (leniency) applies even to images which protrude. (From these two halachot, particularly according to the Rambam's understanding as reflected in his Commentary on the Mishnah, we see that there is no conflict between Torah law and aesthetics. There are only two restrictions: realistic human statues (and according to some authorities, these must be complete, full-bodied statues) and depictions of pagan gods. Even according to the other opinions which forbid depictions of the sun, the moon, and the like, there is no prohibition against abstract portrayals of these entities. No other restrictions apply at all. There is definitely a divergence between the approach to life that spawned much of the art forms of Western culture and a Torah lifestyle. Perhaps for that reason, many religious Jews have traditionally shunned participation in and patronage of the arts. In the present generation, however, a number of our Torah leaders have urged religious artists to dedicate themselves to expressing Torah ideas and values in a variety of art forms, explaining that:a) Through these media, it is possible to reach many Jews who might never enter a synagogue or Torah center;b) Everything in the world was created to be used by the Jews for a Torah purpose (Rashi, Genesis 1:1 . This also applies to art. Using these art forms for Torah purposes expresses the true intent for their creation and endows them with a depth of meaning and inspiration - and in its deepest sense, a new wellspring of creativity. According to Kabbalah, God's presence is more manifest in the sefirah of Tiferet ("Beauty") than in any other sefirah. Thus, the challenge confronting a Torah artist today is to use beauty as a medium to express Godly truth.)

The common custom throughout all Israel is to complete the [reading of] the Torah in one year. [The cycle] is begun on the Sabbath after the Sukkot festival, reading the sidrah, Bereshit. On the following Sabbath, [the sidrah,] Eleh toldot [is read]; on the third, [the sidrah,] Vayomer Ado-nai el Avram. We continue reading according to this order until the Torah is completed, during the Sukkot festival. There are those who finish the Torah reading in a three-year cycle. However, this is not a widely accepted custom.

At the point [in the Torah] where the Sabbath morning [reading] was completed, the reading [is begun] on the Sabbath afternoon, on Monday, on Thursday, and on the following Sabbath. What is implied? On the first Sabbath, we read [the sidrah,] Bereshit in the morning. In the afternoon, ten or more verses from [the sidrah,] Eleh toldot Noach are read. The same practice [is followed] on Monday and Thursday. On the coming Sabbath, we begin from Eleh toldot Noach, and read until the conclusion of the sidrah. This pattern is followed throughout the year. On each Sabbath, a haftarah is recited that reflects the Torah reading.

2. At Shacharit, we take out three Torah scrolls. From the first, we read from "And this is the blessing" [Deuteronomy 33:1] until the end of the Torah. From the second, we read "In the beginning" [Genesis 1:1] until "that God made" [2:3]. In the third we read "On Shmini Atzeret" [Numbers 29:35]. The haftarah is "And after Moses died" [Joshua 1:1]. In places where they do two days of Yom Tov, they only take two Torah scrolls out on the first day, reading five sections from Re'eh from the first from "every firstborn" [Deuteronomy 15:1]. If it is Shabbat, they read seven and start at "You should tithe" [14:22]. The maftir reads from the second Torah "On Shmini Atzeret." The haftarah is from Kings, "When Solomon finished..." [Kings I 8:1]. The Torah scrolls are returned. We say Kaddish and then announce [the addition of] "who makes the wind blow and the rain fall."

The Order of Simchat Torah: In places where they do two days of Yom Tov, Kiddush on the ninth night includes Shehecheyanu. The next day, we take out three Torah scrolls. From the first, we read "And this is the blessing" [Deuteronomy 33:1] until the end of the Torah. From the second, we read from "In the beginning" [Genesis 1:1] until "that God made" [2:3]. From the third, the maftir reads the same as the previous day. The haftarah is "After Moses died" [Joshua 1:1]. Rem"a: The last day of Yom Tov is called "Simchat Torah" because we rejoice on it, making a festive meal in honor of the finishing of the Torah. It is customary for the person who finishes the Torah and the one who starts Genesis to make a donation and invite everybody to a party (Tur). It is customary in these countries to take all of the Torahs out of the Ark on Simchat Torah at night and in the morning and to sing songs and praises. Every place should follow its customs. It is also the custom to circle the synagogue's Bimah with the Torah scrolls just like we circle with the lulav. This is all done out of joy. It is also the custom to have many readers from the Torah. We read the same section many times, and this is not forbidden (Minhagim, Rivas"h 84). It is also the custom to call up all of the children to the Torah and to read "the angel who has redeemed me..." [Genesis 48:6]. In the evening, we read the special sections from the Torah that are normally auctioned off, every place according to its custom. It is also the custom that even a child can finish off the Torah, even though there are those who say that specifically a scholar should finish it (Mordechai's small notes). Nowadays when the chazzan does the actual reading, there is no issue (his own opinion). In a place with only two Torah scrolls, we read "And this is the blessing" from the first, "In the beginning" from the second, and then we go back and reuse the first for the section associated with the day. This is done whenever three Torahs are needed but there are only two (found written somewhere).

Now that I have explained to you the topic of Kiddush, I will explain the topic of Havdalah, so that nothing will be missing from your table whether it is an ordinary day or Shabbat, for indeed Havdalah is a way of honoring Shabbat, to remember the day of Shabbat both when it comes and goes, as our rabbis z”l taught in a midrash, “’Remember the Sabbath day’ (Ex 20:8.) – remember it both at its entrance and its departure.” (Maimonides, Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, M”A 155, and in Hilkhot Shabbat 29a.) And know that Havdalah with its four blessings is hinted at in the first parshah of Genesis: the first blessing – borei pri ha-gafen – “who creates the fruit of the vine” – is hinted at in the first verse in the word ha-aretz – “the land” (Gen 1:1.) – which is the garden and the vine in the garden, and this is the wine preserved in its grapes from the six days of creation. (B. Berakhot 34b. The wine that will be served at the messianic banquet at the end of time comes has been preserved in the grapes of the first vine God created in the six days of creation.) The second blessing: “atzei besamim”– “spices from a tree” (Technically, one needs to specify in the blessing the type of spice: atzei besamim – “spices from a tree,” such as cinnamon or nutmeg; esvei besamim, “spices from grasses,” such as mint or tarragon. However, taking into account that not everybody knows how to tell the difference between types of spices, the more inclusive formulation minei besamim– “different kinds of spices” was instituted, to avoid having people say the wrong blessing (Chavel).) is hinted in the expression, “a wind [ru’ah] from God sweeping over the water,” (Gen 1:1.) because smell – re’ah – is sensed by means of the wind – ru’ah. The third blessing: bore’ me’orei ha-esh – “who creates the lights of fire,” is what is written in “Yehi ‘or” – “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3: “’Or” and “me’orei” are from the same Hebrew root that means “light.”) The fourth blessing – Ha-mavdil – “Who separates” is what is written in “and God separated [va-yavdel] the light.” (Gen 1:4.) And just as we found the act of separation – Havdalah – in the Holy One Blessed be He at the beginning of His rule with the creation of the world and its renewal, so we found in Him the sanctification – kiddush (Its root, kadosh, in its adjectival and verbal forms means literally to “be set apart” or “to set apart.”) – of the day of Shabbat on which work is forbidden, which is written: “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy [va-yikadesh ‘oto].” (Gen 2:3. What follows is more or less a quotation from Genesis Rabbah Parshah 11, with some omissions.) He “blessed” it providing an extra portion of the manna for it and “declared it holy” by prohibiting the gathering of manna on it.

For so the King ordered how we are to live because of the first sin on the day the smooth talker deceived our first father. (I.e., the serpent.) On the day Adam was ensnared by his enemy, it was decreed for him that he would earn his bread only by the sweat of his brow, (Gen 3:19.) and that man be humbled and brought low. (Is. 2:9.) He traded pleasure [‘oneg] for plague [nega’], got hard work instead of rest. His wisdom spoiled and his stature was diminished. It caused him weakness instead of strength; instead of wheat, thorns came forth. Instead of eternal life, death; instead of light, the shadow of death. With all this the Lord raised the power of the upper beings, and worsened the power of the lower beings. For the upper beings were fed without toiling, while the lower ones had to make do with pain and suffering. He gave the upper beings on high eternal life for all their generations, but to the lower ones short lives, days flying swifter than a runner. (Job 9:25.) This is the striking parable that our rabbis brought in Bereshit Rabba on the verse: “the earth was unformed and void[tohu ve-bohu].” (Gen 1:1.)

It is like a king who acquired two slaves, both with one and the same contract and price. He decreed that one would eat from the king’s stock for free, and that the other would have to work for his food. So the latter sat wondering and confused [toheh ve-boheh]. (A pun on the Hebrew tohu ve-bohu – “unformed and void” – in Gen. 1:1.) He said, ‘Both of us were acquired by one and the same price and contract, yet that one is fed from the treasury. But I, if I don’t work, I don’t eat. I am astonished! Likewise the earth sat wondering and confused. (Ber. R. 2:2.)

What brought this commentator to this difficulty was because many treated the verse “In the beginning God created (bara)” (ibid. 1:1) as if it was written “At the beginning of God’s creating (bero) the heavens and the earth, the earth was empty (tohu) and void (vohu)” – it did not exist, meaning there was no earth. Similarly, “darkness” is the absence of light, meaning there was none. ( According to this interpretation nothing existed prior to the creation of light. So the first created condition was light, followed by darkness at night. Thus a 24-hour day consists of light followed by darkness – day followed by night.) But this interpretation is completely incorrect. Because why did he need to mention the heavens since it did not state that they were nonexistent like the earth? Also, from a grammatical point of view, why is there an added vav (“and”) to the word “veha’arez”? This is not the same as the extra vav found in verbs, as in “On the third day Abraham lifted (vayisa) his eyes” (ibid. 22:4), “he abandoned (vaya’azov) his servants” (Exodus 9:21). They are like the weak fe in Arabic, for Arabic forms are similar to those of the Holy Tongue (Hebrew). However, no vav is added to nouns. Also, according to this interpretation the wind and the water were not created, ( No mention is made of the creation of air and water, even though they are referred to in verse 2.) yet it is written in the book of Psalms with regard to both of these “for He commanded and they came to be” (148:5). ( The verses in Psalms are: “Praise Him, heavens of heavens (the sphere of fire), and waters that are above the heavens. They should praise the name of God, for he commanded and they were created” (148:4–5).) Even darkness was created, as it is written “who forms light and creates darkness” (Isaiah 45:7).

The truth is that Scripture mentions the heavens and the earth because they form one globe, with the heavens like the circumference and the earth like the point at the center. ( Ibn Ezra is of the opinion that the “heavens” spoken of in Genesis refer to the lower sky, the atmosphere that is immediately above the earth. Genesis does not speak of the spheres of planets and stars that encompass the earth. See Ibn Ezra’s commentary to Genesis 1:1–2.) Now the earth was covered with water from all sides, as it is written “they will not return to cover the earth” (Psalms 104:9), and the wind surrounds the waters. ( Thus the lower world consists of four spheres, each one encompassing those below it. Their order from innermost to outermost is: earth, water, air, and fire. The ancients believed that everything in the lower world, the world below the moon’s sphere, is composed of four elements – fire, air, water, and earth. This lower world is the subject of Creation in the book of Genesis.) These are the four elements, namely, the heavens, earth, wind and water, for the heavens correspond to fire. Similarly we find “To make a weight for the wind and He counted the waters by measure” (Job 28:25), “For He gazes to the edges of the earth, under all the heavens He sees” (ibid. 28:24). Similarly, “Who measured the waters with his fist and counted the heavens with a span, and all the dust of the earth in a measure… who counted the wind of God” (Isaiah 40:12–13). Again, “Who ascended to the heavens and descended” (Proverbs 30:4), and the other three follow the word “heavens.” ( The verse reads: “Who ascended to the heavens and descended, who gathered wind in his fists, who bound the waters in a garment, who erected the ends of earth” (Proverbs 30:4). Here again, the four basic elements are enumerated.) Also, “The sun shines” (Ecclesiastes 1:5) corresponds to the heavens, “and the earth remains forever” (ibid. 1:4), “round and round goes the wind” (ibid. 1:6), “all the rivers go to the sea” (ibid. 1:7). Since the circumference, which is the heavens, and the center, which is the earth, were created, so too all that is between them was created.

The meaning of “was empty and void” (“tohu vavohu”) (Genesis 1:2) is that it contained neither man nor animal. As Jeremiah explains, “I saw the land and it was empty and void (tohu vavohu)” (4:23), for which he explains the meaning afterward by saying, “I saw and there was no man” (ibid. 4:25) nor “animal” (ibid. 9:9). Similarly, “like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26) is an explanation of “sevenfold” (ibid.). Also, “that which I will be” (Exodus 3:14) explains “I will be” (ibid.). I have already explained the mystery of “sevenfold.” ( In his Alternative Commentary to Genesis (1:14), Ibn Ezra explains that the light increasingly intensified over the seven days of Creation, hence “sevenfold” means that there were seven stages to the light.) Our Rabbis hinted at this when they said that on the fourth day the luminaries were hung (Hagiga 12a). How admirable to the intelligent is the choice of the word “hung.” ( The description of Creation in the book of Genesis deals only with creation of the lower world, the world of generation and decay, and it does not expound on the creation of the heavenly bodies. So all Scripture tells us about the heavenly bodies is that they were “hung” and visible to the lower world.) Thus the words of Jeremiah disprove those who say that “tohu vavohu” means that there was no earth.

Considering all the efforts made in the Bible to combat tendencies toward idol-worship, the fact that the first commandment given to the Jewish nation should be the sanctification of the moon, seems puzzling. The ceremonies connected with observing this commandment raise the specter of this being akin to idolworship. There are special sacrifices in the temple, benedictions must be recited only when the moon is visible, hallel must be recited; all these observances must seem strange to the uninitiated. Rashi's statement in Genesis 1,1 that the Torah could really have commenced at this point, were it not for the fact that G-d wanted the nations to know that the Jewish people have a valid claim on the land of Israel, is even more puzzling when viewed in light of the above. Even stranger is the observation of Ben Azzai (Chullin 60) that the Almighty decreed a male goat to be offered on the new moon, to atone for the fact that he had diminished the size of the moon. Anyone who dares to withhold from a people items long considered as life sustaining such as bread, milk etc., must be prepared to face the wrath of the people. It requires skill and wisdom to teach that people that the very things which they had for long considered to be life sustaining were in fact most detrimental to their continued wellbeing. In Jeremiah Chapter 44, we find that the people upraid the prophet for warning them against idolworship, that they claim that their recent troubles had been due to their having forsaken their former idols. In such circumstances, one needs to enlighten a few intelligent leaders of the people about the true nature of things, and hope that these leaders in turn will be able to persuade the masses, once they themselves have been convinced of the error of their previous thinking. Idolatry can be divided into three kinds: 1) Belief that the object worshipped is itself a deity; in that event worship of that deity is the real thing. 2) One considers the object in question as close enough to the real deity to exercise some influence on said deity's decision-making process; in that event one worships the object as a sort of intermediary. One hopes that the object worshipped will intercede on one's behalf with the inaccessible deity. In such instances, worship is not a form of adulation, but rather a form of labor, service. 3) One worships the object in question only for the specific visible function it performs; one considers the continued performance of that function by said object as vital to the welfare of the worshipper. In this latter case, worship is merely a form of thanksgiving. All of the above, has been fully explained by Maimonides. When we consider the kiddush hachodesh legislation, the sanctification of the new moon, and the commandment concerning the observance of a leap year, i.e. an extra month at certain intervals, we observe that the mitzvah addresses itself 1) to the moon itself; 2) its motion, its movements; 3) the unique ritual involved. The moon itself, after reflecting progressively more light until full moon, reflects progressively less light until at the end of its cycle it does not reflect any light at all. It proves by its behavior that it is not a primary source of light at all. Astronomy has proved that unless the face of the moon is turned towards the sun, it cannot reflect any light. This teaches the Jewish people that the moon cannot possibly be a deity, since it has nothing of its own to contribute. Deities, by definition, are givers, not recipients. During a lunar eclipse, when neither face of the moon reflects anything, its impotence as a possible deity is demonstrated even more forcibly. What is valid for the moon, is equally true of other heavenly bodies, even the sun, since the sun's light too is eclipsed from time to time. As the prophet exclaims, "Do not be scared for they cannot cause any harm" (Jeremiah 10,5). At the time of the new moon, both moon and sun appear close to one another in the West around sunset time; it seems clear to the beholder that both follow a path imposed upon them, that they are not free to move in the direction of their choice. Which free individual moves forever in a single direction? In the third aspect of the mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh, we are no longer concerned with the moon or its orbit, but rather with the use we can make of it for the needs of our calendar. Since our holy days are determined in large measure by the calendar, the Almighty uses the moon to demonstrate His sovereignty over it. Jewish law provides leeway to use the moon in such a way that it accomodates itself to the needs of the Jewish people, instead of the other way around. The outstanding example of this phenomenon is found in Rosh Hashanah 20, where we are told, "When it is like this, sanctify!" This means that only when the moon is visible can the ceremony be performed. Since the moon is a minimum of eighteen hours into its new cycle before it becomes visible, we do not actually welcome the arrival of the new moon on time. Should the astronomic time for the new moon be less than eight hours before sunset, the ceremony is delayed for fully twenty-four hours. In such an event, the festival of the new moon would actually not be declared until forty-two hours after its advent. All this shows clearly that to think that any star or heavenly body has dominion over the Jewish people, is completely erroneous. On the contrary, if we follow Saadiah Gaon, that visual observation of the new moon has never been a factor determining when Rosh Chodesh would be declared, the mitzvah would demonstrate that we can exert influence on the calendar. The Torah grants the Jewish Supreme Court the right to proclaim the dates of the Jewish holy days, although calendar dates have been spelled out in the Torah. This means that the Jewish Supreme Court has the authority to manipulate the calendar to suit its purpose. "The seasons of the Lord which you will proclaim they will be My seasons" (Leviticus 23,4). The Almighty said in effect, "Even if you err, or even if you deliberately change the correct date by manipulation of the festival of the new moon, My holy days are yours to determine." The elders who are charged with the intricacies of the new moon observance, and who cannot fail to realize that this commandment is the very antithesis of idolworship, will in turn persuade the people of this profound truth. The reason that we add songs and praises to the Lord in our liturgy on that day, is to reflect the awareness that He alone is Master of the Universe, and all that exists therein. Rashi's comment that the Torah could have commenced with this chapter now becomes clearer. Had we not read about the creation and the whole book of Genesis, and only used the commandment regarding the new moon as our introduction to G-d as the sole ruler of the universe and the prime Cause and Creator, that would have been quite sufficient. The unchanging nature of the orbits of all the planets testify to their very impotence as potential deities. The male goat offered as a sin offering is to atone for any lingering subconscious doubts that may have been entertained about the true nature of the heavenly bodies. Isaiah 5,12 castigates those people who, while enjoying all that life has to offer to the senses, fail to give thought to the handiwork of the Lord. Anyone who does not conduct himself properly, is somehow influenced by the thought that the Lord does not observe his conduct. This is a form of heresy which requires the powers of atonement inherent in the offering of the male goat.

(1) The first principle to be appreciated in order to hold a true belief in the creation of the universe ex nihilo, a belief upon which all the other dogmas of faith are based, is the belief in the ability of the Creator to exercise His will upon all creatures in all spheres of the universe, and His ability to create new facts in heaven and on earth for the benefit of His followers, or to the detriment of His enemies. (as explained in connection with the story of the creation and the deluge) We are exhorted to observe the Sabbath by refraining from activity since in this way we testify to the fact that creation commenced from an absolute void. (4) One could ask that since chidush, a new creation is essentially an activity, should it not best be remembered by our observing the six days of creation (the work week) as a memorial to that fact, since that is when the activity took place? When we examine the concept of rest more closely, we realise that what best testifies to the concept of creation ex nihilo, is that from which He has already rested ever since; only that kind of creative activity is not ongoing. This excludes evolutionary changes that start from somewhere rather than from nowhere, and are going on forever. Therefore the Torah writes on the occasion of the very first Sabbath, "for on that day He desisted from all His work which He had created to be carried out in an ongoing fashion i.e. la-assot.” (Genesis 2,3) This is to counter the idea prevalent among some Jews that the story of creation is compatible with the view of kadmut ha-olam, the primacy of matter. This is dealt with in chapter 4. (2) In order to reinforce our appreciation of the special Providence that guides the fortunes of our people through all the miracles G-d has performed, He arranged a second New Year for calculating months and festivals, and handed us the key to this as explained in chapter thirty seven. This is what our sages had in maind when they instituted kiddush, the sanctification of the Sabbath. First we recite: "a memorial to the work of creation," then we follow by reciting "the first of the holy convocations, a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt." The reason that these two remembrances could not be combined in one single phrase is that the Sabbath reminds us of chidush ha-olam, creation ex nihilo which is the foundation that all moadim, festivals have to be based on. These moadim testify to the complete freedom with which G-d conducts history. Had He not created ex nihilo, the moadim could not testify to that fact. The essence of the Sabbath legislation then is to implant in our hearts the belief in chidush ha-olam, from which flows the belief in G-d’s unimpaired Omnipotence. The festivals remind us that G-d’s potential power was in fact translated into practice. Both of these facts are remembered by abstaining from work on the Sabbath, as we will demonstrate in detail. Abstention from work by any person usually consists of two parts. A) The quiet and respite experienced by the person who is prohibited to work. B) The non performance of the labour which would normally have been performed. If one looks only at the first part, it seems that as long as the work that one abstains from could be performed automatically, mechanically, or without causing fatigue to the person performing it, there would be no objection to such work being performed on the Sabbath. On the other hand, if we look only at the second aspect, the fact that the work does not get performed, i.e. consideration of the labourer's fatigue or otherwise, does not concern us. Work prohibition on the Sabbath demonstrates that G-d is concerned with both aspects. On the one hand the Torah writes (Exodus 20,9) "six days you shall labour and do all your work;" on the other hand the Torah writes "the seventh day is a day of rest to the Lord your G-d, you must not do any work etc....because G-d did...and He rested on the seventh day." The repetition of "you must not do any work," clearly shows that the "rest," or "physical fatigue" factor is not the only criterion in the Sabbath observance. The major objective to be achieved by the respite resulting from work abstention, is the chance to reflect on the meaning of the day, and on the revelation in which G-d demonstrated His freedom. Since the word zechirah, remembrance can be applied to matters involving action, whereas the word shemirah suggests matters involving inaction, he Torah uses zechirah when it emphasises respite, i.e. remember to rest!. When the Torah wishes to emphasize abstention from work per se, it uses the word shemirah, "be careful not to do any work!"(see Talmud Berachot 20) The Torah's wording then corresponds to the two objectives of the Sabbath legislation. In the first instance, the Torah writes zachor, reminding us of the need to rest, since it will enable us to appreciate that He blessed the day by instituting rest as a corollary to creation ex nihilo. On the second set of tablets, when the major objective is abstention from work, cessation thereof, the term shamor is appropriate. So is the reminder that we were not able to cease work while enslaved in Egypt. For this reason the Torah adds in that instance "in order that your servant rests just like you," a comment not found on the first set of tablets recorded in Parshat Yitro. In response to the freedom G-d had displayed in practicing hashgachah peratit, personal guidance of the Jews' fates in Egypt, we are told "Therefore the Lord your G-d commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." This is going a step beyond the injunction in Yitro which merely said "therefore G-d blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it." Since the major significance lies in the menuchah-nefishah-shavat aspect, the men of the great assembly when referring to the Sabbath in our prayers, always call it "this day of rest," not just "Sabbath," since that latter word combines rest and non-activity in equal measure. By this little addition of "this day of rest," we know that this is the major factor. Therefore, on the first tablets it says "He rested" on the seventh day, to counter the non believers in creation ex nihilo. Similarly, Onkelos translates Leviticus 25,5, "it shall be a year of Shabbaton for the land," as "a year of idleness, abstention from work." But the words “shabbat shabbaton lashem,” he translates as "a day of restfulness" (ibid verse 4) Since we have established rest and relaxation as being associated with the word zachor, and the abstention from work with the word shamor, and it is clear that abstention from work will lead to rest and relaxation, our sages said that these two terms were uttered simultaneously. (Psalms 62, 12) "One thing the Lord has spoken, I have heard the dual meaning." This refers to the total of textual variants between the first and the second sets of tablets. This also answers the question raised by Maimonides that belief in creation ex nihilo depends on the ability to perform changes, and the ability to perform changes in nature depends in turn on the ability to create ex nihilo. To illustrate: Reuben gave Shimon a dollar to fulfil the mitzvah of tzedakah. He also wanted to express his compassion with Shimon in this way. If we remove one of the two reasons, the mitzvah was fulfilled although some element of it had been lacking. In the first set of tablets there is a causal relationship between the reason for the mitzvah and the mitzvah itself. Without the zechirah remembrance, the mitzvah becomes meaningless; in the second set of tablets (ten commandments) the reason merely becomes subordinate, i.e. "therefore G-d commanded you to do." The mitzvah will be fulfilled, la-assot by its very performance, regardless of the reason associated with it.

Our opening Midrash reflects the same theme. Although all of Israel had contributed in providing the various sections of the tabernacle and its furnishings, when it came to assembling it, the people could not manage, whereas Moses unassisted did manage. The people's contribution then consisted only in preparing the material, providing the basis for the tabernacle's ultimate form, to be erected when it would be ready for use. We find a parallel at the time of the creation of the universe. During six days of creative activity, G-d created all the individual parts and sections of the universe. On the seventh day though, the Torah says "heaven and earth had been completed," this referred only to its constituent parts, not to the whole. Subsequently, "G-d completed on that day," something which follows the statement of "and the heavens and the earth had been completed." Similarly, we find in connection with the completion of the work of the tabernacle "all the work on the tabernacle had been completed," whereas afterwards we read "Moses erected it." Most of this has been explained in chapter four. Midrash Tanchuma points out many parallel expressions employed by the Torah both during creation and during construction of the tabernacle. The common denominator is that the former is a macrocosm whereas the latter is a microcosm designed to mirror the universe. If Moses had been unaware that his face emitted rays, and the fact that he alone could erect the tabernacle is remarkable, it reflects the idea that or with the letter ayin and with the letter aleph can be used interchangeably. The Divine, inner light illuminating the soul of Moses, was visible in the form of his skin giving off a glow, sending out rays.

In the Middle Ages, under the influence of rationalism and the polemic with Christian biblical interpretation, a sharp distinction was made between derash, the midrashic meaning and peshat, the literal, grammatical or historical sense. For the first time commentators such as Abraham Ibn Ezra, Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir (Rashbam) and Rabbi Joseph Kara attached independent dignity to peshat, the “plain sense of things.” However, even for such commentators midrash retained its primacy as authoritative reading. Thus Rashbam, in a passage explaining his methods, writes that “the main point of the Torah” is to teach the laws and ethical principles derived by midrash. He confesses that his own concern, which is to seek “the deep plain sense of Scripture,” is of secondary significance. (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, Commentary to Genesis 37:2; see also his comments to Genesis 1:1.) Or as we might put it, if Torah yields a multiplicity of meanings, the plain sense is certainly one of them, (See the interesting, if speculative, comments of David Weiss Halivni, Midrash, Mishnah and Gemara (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1986), 105–15.) but what is normative for the life of the community is the midrashic tradition. What is more, a clear polarity between derash and peshat is unknown to the early sages. In a masterly essay, Raphael Loewe has shown that though the term peshat was used by the rabbis of the talmudic age, it referred not to the “literal” but rather to the recognised, accepted or authoritative meaning. (Raphael Loewe, “The ‘Plain’ Meaning of Scripture in Early Jewish Exegesis,” Papers of the Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1964), volume 1, 141–85.)

An extreme expression of this is to be found in a midrash cited by Rashi at the beginning of his commentary to the Torah. “Rabbi Yitzchak said: the Torah should have begun with the verse, ‘This month shall be to you the first of months’ [Exodus 12:2] which is the first of the commandments given to Israel.” (Rashi, Commentary to Genesis 1:1; Midrash Tanchuma [Buber], Bereishit, 13.) Behind Rabbi Yitzchak’s remark is the assumption that the Torah is essentially a book of commandments, and should therefore have begun with the first command addressed to the children of Israel. This implies a remarkable indifference to factual information, for it contemplates a Torah which omitted without loss the narratives of creation, the flood, the patriarchs, the exile and the first stages of exodus. The suggestion is not to be taken at its face value, for Rabbi Yitzchak was aware that the Torah did not begin in middle of the book of Exodus. But it reveals an essential characteristic of midrash. When the sages ask, “Why was this written?” or “Why was this passage placed next to that?” their typical answer is not “Because that is how things happened,” but “To teach you that…”

The two passages cited from the Zohar conclude with the interpretation of the concepts according to the Kabbalah. Therefore R. Moshe Cordevero (R. Moshe Cordevero [5282 (1522 CE) – 5330 (1570 CE)], was one of the leading Kabbalists in the city of Safed.) in his text Pardes Rimonim, which is based entirely on the teachings of Kabbalah, in the portion entitled Shaar Miut HaYarei’ach (“The Portal of the Diminishment of the Moon”), cited these two passages at length. He interpreted them – and continuing that approach, also the passage from Tractate Chulin cited above – according to the teachings of Kabbalah. I, however, will do the opposite, for the passage in Chulin lends itself (more) to an interpretation according to its simple, literal meaning (pshat). True, the concluding portions of the passages from the Zohar follow the approach of the Kabbalah. Nevertheless, I found it possible to understand the initial portions of these passages according to their simple, literal meaning, and it is proper to do so. Although Scripture alludes to sublime realms, it speaks about matters on this lowly, earthly plane. (The wording used by Tosfos Yom Tov is found in the commentary of Ramban (Bereishis 1:1) and Rabbeinu Bachaya (Bamidbar 32:3). In contrast to this, Rama of Fano [R. Menachem Azaria of Fano, [5308 (1548 CE) - 5380 (1620 CE)], a leading Italian sage and Kabbalist in his text Asarah Maamaros (the maamar entitled Chikur Din, sec. 3, ch. 22) and Shalah [R. Yeshayahu HaLevi Horowitz 5325 (1565 CE) – 5390 (1630 CE), a sage who lived in Prague at the same time as Tosfos Yom Tov, but later moved to Eretz Yisrael] in his text Shalah, (p. 13b ff., 161a ff.), switched the order of those words. These sages phrase the quote: “The Torah speaks in the sublime realms and alludes to this lowly earthly plane.” Thus, Rama and Shalah imply that the primary dimension of the Torah is its mystical truth that reveals a higher spiritual reality. That spiritual reality is reflected in the events and laws recorded in the Torah. By emphasizing the original wording used by Ramban, Tosfos Yom Tov is highlighting that the wording Rama and Shalah used could lead to a wrong approach. One could understand that their intent is that the ultimate truth of the Torah is the teachings of Kabbalah, and the Written Law and the mitzvos are mere reflections of those sublime truths. Furthermore, by basing his text on pshat, Tosfos Yom Tov underscored that it is the Torah as it exists on this physical plane – the simple, literal meaning of the narrative and the laws – that deserves precedence. Certainly, the simple meaning of the Torah’s narrative and laws reflects higher truths, but those higher truths are expressed through study and observance on this physical plane.) This is reflected in the approach of most commentaries, and is summarized in the above-quoted principle that “The interpretation of a Scriptural phrase never departs from its simple, literal meaning,” as Mar bar Ravina ( The standard printed text of the Talmud attributes this teaching to Mar bar Rav Huna. However, there are texts which attribute it to Mar bar Ravina. Apparently, Tosfos Yom Tov was referring to these texts.) recorded in Tractate Shabbos. (Shabbos 63a.) If so, everything said concerning any verse should be interpreted according to its simple, literal meaning.

Behold, it is very obvious to anyone who knows Torah, that the account of the works of creation in the Torah is presented in extreme brevity. The Sages said in Midrash Rabbah, “It is impossible to relate what happened at Creation to people of flesh and blood. Therefore Scripture concealed it by beginning with 'In the beginning did God create'.” The basis of this statement is that the Torah only relates that which is relevant to our planet, and even then, only those matters that would be understood as having an ethical aspect, that touch on straightening the ways of man, in his outward behavior and his inner emotions.

5 And furthermore you should know, that when the Holy One brought the plagues upon Egypt, he struck them in all divisions of the world, for just as we have said that the plagues came upon them from below, above, and in the hollow (on the surface) of the world, so too they came upon them in all the divisions of the world. There are ten divisions to the world and they are the ten divisions that the Holy One created in the six days of creation. Each division had its own statement and these are the ten statements with which the world was created, for "Bereishit" was also a statement as is stated in Masechet Rosh Hashana (32a). Even though the plagues did not come upon them in the order fo the statement with which the Holy One created the world for each one has its own order, that is because with regards to the plagues, each plague was always more severe than the previous on for you wouldn't make one severe plague followed by one that is not as severe. Therefore they went from least to most (severe) and this is what causes the change in the order of the statements.

The Plague of the Firstborns corresponds to the statement of "Bereishit," for a firstborn is the first of those that come after it and it corresponds to the statement of Bereishis which was the beginning of creation as well. They are both beginnings. Just as the plague of the firstborns was equal to all the other plagues, so too, the statement of "Bereishis," was equal to all the other statement - so we find in the Midrash.

THERE is a difference between first and beginning (or principle). The latter exists in the thing of which it is the beginning, or co-exists with it; it need not precede it; e.g., the heart is the beginning of the living being; the element is the beginning of that of which it is the basis. The term “first” is likewise applied to things of this kind; but is also employed in cases where precedence in time alone is to be expressed, and the thing which precedes is not the beginning (or the cause) of the thing that follows. E.g., we say A. was the first inhabitant of this house, after him came B; this does not imply that A is the cause of B inhabiting the house. In Hebrew, teḥillah is used in the sense of “first”; e.g., when God first (teḥillat) spake to Hosea (Hos. 1:1), and the “beginning” is expressed by reshith, derived from rosh, “head,” the principal part of the living being as regards position.

The Universe has not been created out of an element that preceded it in time, since time itself formed part of the Creation. For this reason Scripture employs the term “bereshit” (in a principle), in which the beth is a preposition denoting “in.” The true explanation of the first verse of Genesis is as follows: “In [creating] a principle God created the beings above and the things below.” This explanation is in accordance with the theory of the Creation.

You are no doubt aware that the Almighty, desiring to lead us to perfection and to improve our state of society, has revealed to us laws which are to regulate our actions. These laws, however, presuppose an advanced state of intellectual culture. We must first form a conception of the Existence of the Creator according to our capabilities; that is, we must have a knowledge of Metaphysics. But this discipline can only be approached after the study of Physics: for the science of Physics borders on Metaphysics, and must even precede it in the course of our studies, as is clear to all who are familiar with these questions. Therefore the Almighty commenced Holy Writ with the description of the Creation, that is, with Physical Science; the subject being on the one hand most weighty and important, and on the other hand our means of fully comprehending those great problems being limited. He described those profound truths, which His Divine Wisdom found it necessary to communicate to us, in allegorical, figurative, and metaphorical language. Our Sages have said (Yemen Midrash on Gen. 1:1), “It is impossible to give a full account of the Creation to man. Therefore Scripture simply tells us, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Thus they have suggested that this subject is a deep mystery, and in the words of Solomon, “Far off and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?” (Eccles. 7:24). It has been treated in metaphors in order that the uneducated may comprehend it according to the measure of their faculties and the feebleness of their apprehension, while educated persons may take it in a different sense.

And as I explained this introduction, I say, for our blessed God has informed us that all things are renewed, and He renews them not from a thing, as it is said (Genesis 1:1), "In the beginning God created," and also, "I, the Lord, make all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself." (Isaiah 44:24) This truth, we have received through signs and miracles. Afterward, I examined this matter, asking whether it is affirmed through investigation as it is affirmed through prophecy? And I found it to be so from various perspectives. I will briefly summarize four evidences:

If so, the foundation of creation and its perfection is contingent on perfection of humility. The Sages, of blessed memory, stated the following in Bamidbar Rabba, concerning the verse “In the beginning God created” (Bereishit 1:1.) : “That is what is written, ‘Your care has made me great.’” (Tehillim 18:36.) Normally, a human king mentions his name and then his accomplishments. But the Lord, blessed is He, mentioned His accomplishments and then mentioned His name. ( Mentioned His name: The Sages in the Midrash Rabba teach the following idea: In the verse, “In the beginning God created,” the word “beginning” precedes the word “God.” This teaches that God acts humbly, as it were, by placing His actions before His name. Therefore, it is specifically the trait of humility that makes one great.) Since humility is the foundation of the ultimate perfection of the creation, the exalted One alluded to it in the opening of the holy Torah.

And the context is that the holy Torah is His (blessed be He) speech, and by the utterances of His (blessed be He) mouth during the creation event, were all the worlds created; that by sequencing the metamorphoses of the combination of letters according to the sequence of the two hundred and thirty-one gates, front and back, that are in the statement “In the beginning created…” [Bereshit 1:1], were the worlds emanated and created, the highest of the high, myriad, in their every arrangement of how they are situated, and the details of their contexts, and everything integrated within them. And so too with each and every utterance in it, according to the method discussed previously, all the details of the species and the contexts in that variety were created, about which that utterance was mentioned.

From the aspect of this lack which is inherent in the creation were born these four empires, who took royalty/kingship/dominion from Yisrael. As this nation [Yisrael] was created for the Glory of Hashem, as it's written: (Isiah 43:21) "This nation I created to speak of my praise". These four empires that inherited rulership from Yisrael detract from the glory of Hashem in the this lower world. For even if one is to find something within them which augments the honor of Hashem's name, as we will explain, for [as people say to a hornet] neither any of your stingers nor any of your honey does Hashem desire, for the essence of his Glory is when Hashem is One in his world and there is none beside him, and this particularly the other nations diminish. No nation was created for this with the exception of Yisrael, for they also are one, as is hinted at in the verse: (Isiah 43,21) "This nation I created to speak of my praise". For in this verse is the phrase "This Nation" ["עם "זו], and the Gematria of the word זו is 13, which is the also the Gematria of the word One [אחד]. For Yisrael are 13 tribes including the tribe of Levi, for Ephraim and Menashe are two (Of the twelve brothers, Yosef is split into his two sons which makes 13). And thus, we find a parallel between the word One [אחד] and the tribes. The Tribe of Levi is a singular tribe and separated from all the other tribes, and it a tribe unto itself, and it is represented by the א [Aleph] in the word אחד [One], for א represents singularity [as the Gematria of Aleph is 1]. And the ח [Chet] corresponds to the children of the Foremother [Rachel and Leah] for they are eight outside of Levi [Reuven, Shimon, Yehuda, Issaschar, Zvulin, Binyamin, Ephriam, Menashe] and this is hinted at in the ח of אחד. The other 4 [ד] are the children of the maidservants [Billah and Zilpah who gave birth to Gad, Asher, Dan, and Naftali]. There the verse says "This Nation" ["עם "זו] to allude to the Oneness of Yisrael, "they will speak of my praise" the essential praise here is that Hashem should be One with nothing besides. This [the number of tribes] is not accidental but purposefully done by Hashem from the outset of creation, for this nation [Yisrael] testifies that Hashem is One, as it is said in the Midrash that Yisrael testify about Hashem that he is One. We don't have room to expand on this idea here. But the four empires nullify the unity of God in the world, for the take rulership from Yisrael, and they [Yisrael] testify on the Unity of Hashem. Therefore, at the end of the four empires, when Kingship/Royalty will return to Yisrael, the following is written (Obadiah 1:21): "For liberators shall march up on Mount Zion to wreak judgment on Mount Esau; and dominion shall be the LORD’s." and in (Zecharia 14,9) "Hashem will be King over all the world - on that day Hashem will be One and His Name will be One." And this is as we have said, that the empires are four and this number represents a deviation from Unity. For a central point which has no sides and is singular is One, as is known, and it is impossible that there could be two corresponding to a center, for a center is one and one alone. And the directions are divergent, for this one stretches to the East, and this one the opposite direction to the West, and this to the South and this to the North. If you think deeply you will realize that these four directions are definitionally divergent, and therefore they are the antithesis of Unity. As such, Yisrael is concealed in a hint in the verse at the beginning of creation: " בראשית". [This word, the first in the Torah, classically translated as "in the beginning" is deeply problematic from a grammatical standpoint. The Maharal quotes Rashi quoting the Midrash on how to resolve this conflict with a different translation]. For the sake of Yisrael was the world created! They are the primary dependent entity created by Hashem, and therefore it is appropriate that they be hinted to at the beginning of creation. A similar idea is seen in the hinting of the four empires, which is a result of a definitional lack found in the creation through its inherent lack of being created [as we have at length seen above].

The Torah summons us to view heaven and earth and speaks "from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, everything which thou seest existing,when it came into existence, בראשית ברא אלהים in its beginning God was active as its creator. Seest thou the heaven in its eternally silent, unchanging course, bearer of light and heat and all the motive forces of our earth, supporter of the earth-world, seest thou it with its millions of starry worlds, or resplendent with the refulgence of the magnificently radiant sun-ball, or the earth, the swift runner, with its eternal circles of originating and passing away, of blooming and withering, of life and death, eternally struggling from ceasing, fading, and death, to ever new existence, bloom, and life; dost thou see it with its millions of productions, stones, plants, animals, all of which it produces, nourishes, and again takes back into its bosom; dost thou see the light, the messenger of heaven to earth, which coaxes all to life and leads from life, through which thou seest everything which is, and everything arrays itself for thee in resplendent colors; dost thou see the firmament spread out around the earth, which receives the ray of light, and alters it to suit the necessity of the earth, in which the clouds move and water the parched earth, the thirsty grasses, and beasts, and men? Seest thou the universal ocean, with all-encompassing arm of flood embracing the earth, or the springs which burst forth from the fissures of the rocks and flow on as rivulets, brooks, and mighty rivers? Dost thou rejoice in the firm surface of the earth upon which thou walkest safe and secure together with thy dear ones; hast thou pleasure in its meadowy expanse or its leafy trees, or in all the living beings which stir so animatedly in the waters and in the air, or dwell with thee on earth ? Dost thou see sun, moon, and stars, which from their celestial positions above thee regulate the times of day and month and the seasons of the year, and determine the recurring periods of waking and sleep, of rise and fall, of bloom and decay on earth?

Having made this distinction, we can use it to understand the different perspectives from which Adam’s creation is seen in the two accounts. The first, using the name E-lohim alone, is a universal description not only in the sense of being less detailed, more general than the second, but in the important sense of being intelligible (and addressed) to all men irrespective of the value systems in which they stand. (This could in any case be inferred from Rashi’s comment on Genesis 1:1, that the Torah begins with an account of the creation of the world so that Israel should be able to justify their inhabiting the land of Canaan to the “nations of the world” when the latter complained that they had no territorial right to it. This clearly supposes that Genesis 1 was addressed to “the nations of the world” and not to Israel alone). But the second, invoking the four-lettered name of the God of Israel, describes the special relationship between man and God, the relationship that can only exist between man and the unique God. In other words, the first articulates the nature of homo sapiens; the second homo religiosus.

In the words of our sages, there are many statements that require evidence and interpretation, such as in Pirkei Avot (3:4) "One who is awake at night" [referring to studying Torah at night], and in Pesachim (111a) "And [he] drank water" [referring to the wisdom of measurements]. And the matter of the letter of the daughter of the voice [the Shekhinah] is derived from the laws of the constellations. And the matter of the moon and its relationship with the sun is derived from the wisdom of the constellations. Similarly, many things in the Scriptures require interpretation, as mentioned by Kohelet regarding the four elements, which are the heavens, the earth, the wind, and the dust. It is written (Kohelet 1:5) "And the sun rises and the sun sets" corresponding to the heavens, (Kohelet 1:4) "And the earth stands forever," (Kohelet 1:6) "And the wind goes round and round," and it does not come to an end, (Kohelet 1:7) "All the rivers flow into the sea," and these four are mentioned in the portion of Bereishit (Genesis 1:1) "The heavens and the earth," (Genesis 1:2) "And the spirit of God hovered over the waters." And similarly, in Isaiah (40:12), "Who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure," and in Psalms (104:2), "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, He lays the beams of His chambers on the waters," and His angels are the winds that roam over the water. And likewise, in Psalms (33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He sets the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." And similarly, it is mentioned in Psalms (33:6) regarding the word of God, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth." And similarly (Job 28:25), "To establish a weight for the wind and apportion the waters by measure." For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens. And thus it is written (Proverbs 30:4), "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Surely you know!" And thus it is written elsewhere (Job 38:18), "Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this!" And all is prepared for the understanding one. And many such things are mentioned at the end of the Book of Psalms, as fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling His word. And thus the waters are above the heavens, and how the luminaries and the stars are in one expanse, and all is true. And the sages of the Talmud in our generation are diverse in their approaches. There are those who delve into matters of prohibition and permission, and there are those who possess knowledge of the Midrashim, and they too provide new insights and seek meaning for every word, whether surplus or lacking. And now, let me state a general principle: Know that the prophets do not guard the words themselves in their years; rather, they guard the meanings alone, which are the essence, as in the words of Eliezer (Genesis 24), "The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you." And Isaac said to Esau (Genesis 27), "So that my soul may bless you before I die." And Rebekah said (Genesis 27), "So that I may bless you before the Lord before my death." And in the dream (Genesis 41), "Handsome in appearance and robust in form," and in the interpretation, it is not stated thus, but to Balaam (Numbers 22), it is said, "You shall not curse them at all, and indeed, you shall bless them." And in the words of Moses (Numbers 21), "And he sent messengers to Sihon, saying, 'Let me pass through your land; I will not turn aside into field or vineyard.'" But Moses changed it and said, "We will not pass through the field." And it is written (Exodus 32), "Now, leave Me alone, and let My anger flare up against them, that I may consume them." But Moses changed it and said, "Turn from Your burning anger and relent from this disaster against Your people." And there are many such instances. And behold, in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), "Remember" (Deuteronomy 5), "Observe" (Exodus 20), "You shall not covet" (Deuteronomy 5), "You shall not desire" (Exodus 20), "And any false oath" (Deuteronomy 5), "And any vain oath." The letters 'vav' (ו) in "Avnei" (אבני) are missing, and Moses changed it to have a 'vav' (ו). Also, "You shall not commit adultery" - this is an addition and a rebuke, and the intelligent one will understand.

At that time. The intention is to explain the end of the verse [In the beginning] God created [heaven and earth] (Gen. 1:1). The passage states, “At that time when he is dry and she is dry.” This indicates that after the emanation which had been deposited with it has been expended and no [further] emanation reaches it, the “river” will also be dry and parched. Thus “he is dry and she is dry.”

In the beginning (Gen. 1:1).

[Sec. 21] 43. [The beginner] must also know that there are holy Names inferior to these. They are similar to appellations for them. [Thus] they have ascribed to Keter the Name Araryta, and to Ḥokhmah the twenty-two [Hebrew] letters with [the suffix] yah, like this: ayah, byah, etc. This [Name] designates the three first [sefirot] together: Khuzu Behokhsaz Khuzu. To Ḥesed belongs the seventy-two letter Name which comes out of the verses He traveled … he came… he pitched (Exod. 19:2). It contains 216 letters like the numerical [equivalent] of aryeh in Ḥesed. Gevurah has the forty-two letter Name which comes out of [the verses] from In the beginning (Gen. 1:1) to the bet in bohu (“void”), [equaling] forty-two letters. They constitute seven Names corresponding to the seven sefirot.

Chapter 3 explains how our Kaballah [understanding of the Sefirot] is ten, which is supported by the Talmud and other imperatives. There we are [actually] dealing with the notion of the Ten Utterances of Creation (Genesis 1:1).

Ben Azai said, that for a kind of flesh and blood, he is mentioned by his name, however, Hashem is mentioned by what he does, and afterwards, his name is mentioned. As we see (Bereishit 1:1), "בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ," ['bara' is mentioned before 'Elokim'].

Rabbi Bun said: What is the meaning of the verse (Proverbs 8:23), "I was set up from eternity, from a head, before the earth"? What is the meaning of "from eternity” (מֵעוֹלָם)?" This means that it must be concealed (הֶעֱלֵם) from the world. It is thus written: (Ecclesiastes 3:11), "He has also placed the world in their hearts..." Do not read “the world” (הָעֹלָם), but “concealment” (הֶעֱלֵם). The Torah said, "I was first, so that I might be the head of the world." It is thus written, "I was set up from eternity, from a head." You may think that the earth was before it. It is therefore written, "before the earth." It is thus written (Genesis 1:1), "In the beginning God created heaven and the earth." What is the meaning of "created"? He created everything that was needed for all things. And then God. Only after that is it written "the heaven and the earth."

Rabbi Yanai said: The earth was created first, as it is written (Genesis 2:4), "...earth and heaven." They said to him: Is it not written (Genesis 1:1), "...the heaven and the earth"? He replied: What is this like? A king bought a beautiful object, but since it was not complete, he did not give it a name. He said, "I will complete it, I will prepare its pedestal and attachment, and then I will give it a name." It is thus written (Psalm 102:26), "From eternity You founded the earth" — and then, "the heavens are the work of Your hands." It is furthermore written (Psalm 104:2), "He covered Himself with light like a garment. He spread out the heaven like a curtain, He rafters His upper chambers with water." It is then written (Psalm 104:4), "He makes the winds His angels, His ministers of flaming fire." Finally, it is written (Psalm 104:5), "He founded the earth on its pedestals, that it not be removed for the world and forever." When He made its pedestal, He strengthened it. It is therefore written, "that it not be moved." What is its name? ‘And Forever’ is its name, and its pedestal is ‘World’. It is therefore written, "for the World And Forever."

Why does the Torah begin with the letter ב? In order that it begin with a blessing (בְּרֵכָה). How do we know that the Torah is called a blessing? Because it is written (Deuteronomy 33:23), "The filling is God's blessing possessing the Sea and the South." The Sea is nothing other than the Torah, as it is written (Job 11:9), "It is wider than the sea." What is the meaning of the verse, "The filling is God's blessing"? This means that wherever we find the letter ב it indicates a blessing. It is thus written (Genesis 1:1), "In the beginning..." The word "beginning" is nothing other than Wisdom. It is thus written (Psalm 111:10), "The beginning is wisdom, the fear of God." Wisdom is a blessing. It is thus written, "And God blessed Solomon." It is furthermore written (I Kings 5:26), "And God gave Wisdom to Solomon." This resembles a king who marries his daughter to his son. He gives her to him at the wedding and says to him, "Do with her as you desire."

Know and have faith that this Name of HaShem-יהו"ה blessed is He, written HaShem-יהו"ה but pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי"ם, brings the quality of judgement-Din into all the Sefirot. Its seat (HaKis’eh-הכסא-86) is the title-Kinuy-כנוי-86 God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם-86, that is, the quality of Might-Gevurah and Fear-Pachad. From this name (HaShem-יהו"ה, pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי"ם) influence comes to the left side, called God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם. We therefore must awaken you to an important foundational principle, that wherever you find the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם written in Torah, it sometimes hints at this Sefirah that is written HaShem-יהו״ה and read Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, called Understanding-Binah. A primary example of this is the verse, (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created,” which refers to this Sefirah, as known to those who know intellect and delve to enter the secrets of the received knowledge (Kabbalah). However, this matter is very difficult to understand except through the true transmission of the received knowledge (Kabbalah), which is an oral Torah received from mouth to mouth. (This refers to the secret of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה, the Name of the Essential Self of the Singular Preexistent Essential Being, blessed is He, and the secret of the Holy Tongue-Lashon HaKodesh (Biblical Hebrew), the language that comes out of His Great Name, by which He created his world, as it says (Psalms 33:9) “He spoke and it was, He commanded and it stood firm.” This Secret is the very essence of the Oral Torah that we received together with the Written Torah and has been transmitted from mouth to mouth in every generation. See at length in Ginat Egoz by our author, Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of Intrinsic Being (Shaar HaHavayah), The Gate of His Title (Shaar HaKinuy). Also see Vol. 2 & 3 (The Letters of Creation, Parts 1 & 2), and Vol. 4 (The Vowels of Creation).) However, I will hint at it, as follows: (In his great kindness, Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, gave us direction, in that He already gave us the key to the puzzle by explaining the first verse, that though the title Elohi’m-אלהי"ם is both written and pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי"ם in the verse “In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי"ם created,” in reality, it refers to HaShem-יהו"ה and represents the Sefirah of Binah.)

“In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created.” (Genesis 1:1) “These are the products of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day that HaShem God-HaShem Elohi”m-יהו״ה אלהי״ם made the earth and the heavens.” (Genesis 2:4) “HaShem the Lord-HaShem Adona”y-יהו״ה אדנ״י [pronounced Elohi”m Adona”y-אלהי"ם אדנ"י] is my strength.” (Habakkuk 3:19) “HaShem-יהו״ה founded the earth-Aretz-ארץ with wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה, He established the heavens-Shamayim-שמים with understanding-Tevunah-תבונה.” (Proverbs 3:19) The signs that includes the whole matter is what our sages, of blessed memory said: (See Gate Two for further clarification.) “Fifty Gates of Understanding were created in the world.” (Talmud Bavli, Rosh HaShanah 21b) “With thirty-two pathways of wondrous wisdom-Chochmah, Ya”h HaShem-י״ה יהו״ה engraved.” (Sefer Yetzirah 1:1. The 32-ל״ב pathways refer to the 32-ל״ב times that the title God-Elohim-אלהי"ם is mentioned in the account of creation, all of which adhere to the same principle mentioned above about the verse, “in the beginning God-Elohi"m-אלהי"ם created.” That is, all 32-ל״ב times represent the Sefirah of Understanding-Binah, which generally is written HaShem-יהו"ה but pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי"ם.)

This also is the secret of the verse, (Exodus 3:6; Also see the Amidah prayer.) “The God of Avraham-Elohei Avraham- אלה״י אברהם, the God of Yitzchak-Elohei Yitzchak-אלה״י יצחק, and the God of Yaakov-V’Elohei Yaakov-ואלה״י יעקב.” That is, so as not to ascribe greatness to the quality of Yitzchak, the verse does not say “and the God of Yitzchak-V’Elohei Yitzchak-ואלה״י יצחק,” but instead, the quality of Yitzchak is subjugated to the quality of kindness-Chessed of Avraham. This is the meaning of, “The two of them went together.” That is, the quality of Yitzchak does not have the authority to go forth until the quality of Avraham argues for merit, and if this was not so, the quality of Yitzchak would destroy the world. (See Rashi to Genesis 1:1 and elsewhere.) This is the secret of the verse, (Genesis 22:1) “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם tested-Nisah-נסה Avraham,” meaning that the name Elohi”m-אלהי״ם gave its banner-Neis-נס over into the hands of Avraham. You also should know that Avraham bound Yitzchak, so that the quality of Yitzchak would be bound, hand and foot, (See Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 54a; Midrash Bereishit Rabba 56) under the dominion of the quality of Avraham. (That is, the quality of might-Gevurah and judgment-Din is bound hand and foot and cannot make even the slightest move to act without being granted the authority by the quality of kindness-Chessed of Avraham.)

However, Yaakov was completely refined and pure, without dross. We thus find that Yaakov had the perfect form of Adam as he was before the sin. This is why the Jewish people – Israel-ישראל – are called, (Jeremiah 2:3; Also see Rashi to Genesis 1:1) “The first-Reishit-ראשית of His crop” and are called “My firstborn son-Bnee Bechoree-בני בכורי,” (Exodus 4:22) for they are His first intention in Creation. (See Rashi to Genesis 1:1 ibid.) We thus find that our forefather Yaakov, peace be upon him, is the complete and perfect form, having no dross whatsoever. We also find that Avraham and Yitzchak had a small measure of dross, such that Yishmael emerged out of Avraham, and Esav emerged out of Yitzchak. (Also see at length in Mehutam Shel Yisroel, by Rabbi Yoel HaKohen Kahan, translated as On the Essence of the Jewish People.) Therefore, when it came time for Yaakov to pass from this world, he said to his sons, (Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 56a) “Perhaps one of you is unfit, as it was with Avraham, from whom Yishmael came out, and as it was with Yitzchak, from whom Esav came out.” They all answered their father Israel in unison and said, “Listen Israel, HaShem-יהו״ה is our God, HaShem is One-HaShem Echad-יהו״ה אחד. Just as in your heart there only is One, so in our hearts there only is One.” You thus have learned that Yaakov and his children were all pure and fitting, without any dross. In contrast, Avraham and Yitzchak had some dross, and therefore Yishmael and Esav emerged from them. It is to that tiny quantity of dross of Avraham and Yitzchak that all the surrounding ministers adhere to. That is, if Avraham and Yitzchak had not had this tiny bit of dross, the supernal ministers would be incapable of adhering to them altogether.

After having informed you of this, we now must begin explaining the letters of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, according to the intention of this book, with the help of HaShem-יהו״ה. The mystery of The First Letter-Ot HaRishonah-אות הראשונה, is the letter Yod-י of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה. This letter is the conceptual form of the essential point, that created beings are incapable of contemplating, since it is hidden from the eyes of all living beings. Therefore man is not permitted to contemplate it, but solely to have faith in it as a self-evident axiom, even though he will never understand or grasp what it is, or its essential truth. Thus, the mystery of the letter Yod-י of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה is called “the wonders of wisdom-Pley’ot Chochmah-פליאות חכמה.” (Sefer Yetzirah 1:1) About this, our sages said, (Talmud Bavli, Chagigah 13a) “Do not seek that which is wondrously beyond you-Mufla Mimcha-מופלא ממך, and do not investigate that which is concealed from you.” It also is called “The Hidden Recesses of Wisdom-Ta’alumot Chochmah-תעלומות חכמה.” (Job 11:6) About this, the verse states, (Job 28:12) “Wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה is found from nothing-Ayin-אין.” For, its actual name is wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה, and about it the verse states, (Job 28:21) “It is hidden from the eyes of all the living,” and from this concealment the world was created. (That is, wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה is called “The beginning-Reishit-ראשית,” and thus, the first word of the Torah, “Bereishit-בראשית” can be translated as “With wisdom-b’Chochmah-בחכמה.” See Targum Yerushalmi to Genesis 1:1, and Ramban commentary there.) This letter Yod-י is called “Desire-Ratzon-רצון without limitation,” and it also is called “Thought-Machshavah-מחשבה.” About it the verse states, (Psalms 92:6) “How exceedingly profound are Your thoughts-Machshevotecha-מחשבותיך,” and, (Ecclesiastes 7:24) “It is very very deep-Amok Amok-עמוק עמוק, who can fathom it?” Know and understand that the mystery of the letter Yod-י of the Singular Name HaShem-יהו״ה hints at the second Sefirah, called wisdom-Chochmah. However, the crown-Keter is only hinted in the thorn of the Yod-Kutzo Shel Yod-קוצו של יוד, in that the thorn indicates the crown-Keter and the mystery called “The Unlimited One-Ein Sof-אין סוף.”

Now, as has been mentioned, there also is the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם as the matter of might-Gevurah and judgment-Din, as our sages, of blessed memory, stated, (See Midrash Bereishit Rabba 12:15) “At first He began creating His world with the quality of judgment-Din, as it says, (Genesis 1:1) ‘In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created.’ Seeing that it could not endure, He added the quality of mercy-Rachamim, as it says, (Genesis 2:4) ‘on the day that HaShem God-HaShem Elohi”m-יהו״ה אלהי״ם made earth and heaven.’” All this is true, well established, and correct. However, come and see wondrously great matters. The verse states, (Isaiah 40:26) “Raise your eyes on high and see Who-Mee-מי created these-Eileh-אלה.” Certainly, that which is called Who-Mee-מי created These-Eileh-אלה. This refers to the mystery of “day one-Yom Echad-יום אחד,” (Genesis 1:5) which is the matter of understanding-Binah. From it, until the day of Shabbat, there were six days in which the heavens and the earth and all therein were made. Now, in truth, the word Who-Mee-מי is above, (The Sefirah of understanding-Binah.) and the word Sea-Yam-ים is below. (The Sefirah of kingship-Malchut.) Now, Who-Mee-מי created, this being the beginning of the manifestation of the name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם within the secret of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה. That is, in its written form this quality is the name HaShem-יהו״ה, but in the secret of HaShem-יהו"ה it is vowelized and pronounced as God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם . (That is, the title Lord-Adonay-אדנ״י refers to the Sefirah of kingship-Malchut, which is below. In Torah, when the Name HaShem-יהו״ה is juxtaposed to the title Lord-Adonay-אדנ״י and follows it, such as (Deut. 3:24), “Lord HaShem-אדנ״י יהו״ה,” the Name HaShem-יהו"ה is pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי״ם,” in reference to the Sefirah of understanding-Binah. Thus, the name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם is hidden in the vowelization of the written Name HaShem-יהו״ה. These two names HaShem-יהו״ה and God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם are thus found as one.) Both are the mystery of Who-Mee-מי-50, as hinted in the verse, (Ecclesiastes 1:7) “All-Kol-כל-50 rivers flow into the sea-Yam-ים-50.” From this quality called Who-Mi-מי, which is the matter of the manifestation of God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם within the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, the quality of might-Gevurah inherited judgment-Din and fear-Pachad. This quality of might-Gevurah is the actual name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם. (That is, both in its written form and in its pronunciation the quality of might-Gevurah-גבורה is called Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.) With these two, the quality called Lord-Adona”y-אדנ״י inherited the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם and donned its garments, and the world was then created through the matter of HaShem Lord-HaShem Adona”y-יהו״ה אדנ״י (pronounced Elohi”m Adona”y-אלהי"ם אדנ"י).

You thus have learned that upon the creation of the world, His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י became garbed in His quality of Who-Mee-מי, which is the matter of the Sefirah of understanding-Binah, which is the Name HaShem-יהו״ה as written and vowelized, and the world was created. Now, the quality of the upper righteousness-Tzeddek Elyon, which is called understanding-Binah, and the quality of might-Gevurah, and all the other Sefirot, bestow the influence of their powers into the title of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י, and it thus became garbed by the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם and created the world. The verse thus states, (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning, God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created.”

When HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, created all things, each with its form and qualities, no argument remained in the world for any creature to claim that it had been created unjustly. Thus, since everything in the entire Act of Creation (Ma’aseh Bereishit) was created in line with straightforward judgement and justice, therefore, to inform us of this, throughout the act of creation the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם was used. That is, the fact that this creature is greater and this one is lesser, this one exists for a long time and this one exists for a short time, this one has a big body and this one has a small body, this one flies and this one walks, this one hops, and this one swims, this one is circular and this one is rectangular, this one is long and this one is short, is all in line with straightforward judgment and justice. Lest you say that since the creatures are different from each other, in that one is greater and one is lesser etc., they therefore are dishonored or unjustly oppressed in some way, the Torah teaches us, (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created,” in that all creatures were created in line with judgment and balanced justice.

1. “In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created.” (Genesis 1:1)

(The world of Tohu-Chaos, the world of Tikkun-Repair, the connection of the three upper Sefirot with the seven lower ones, Yisroel Saba, Tevunah, the seven Repairs, and the thirteen Repairs of the Beard.) 119. The Sages noted, (See Rashi to the first verse in the Torah (Bereshit – Genesis 1:1).) “At first the world was created through the attribute of Judgment. He saw that the world could not withstand this so He joined (This is the concept of Shitoof-שיתוף (Joining), in which two conducts act in partnership, thus tempering each other.) the attribute of Mercy to it.” For this reason, the Torah begins with the name Eloh”im-אלהי״ם, signifying Judgment, and only later, in order to soften its nature (The nature of the world is generally severe since its source is in the Divine name Eloh”im-אלהי״ם. This is indicated by the fact that the numerical value of the word for nature-HaTeva-הטבע is 86, which is the same numerical value as the name Eloh”im-אלהי"ם. See at greater length in Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of His Title (Shaar HaKinuy).) the name HaShem-יהו"ה, which signifies mercy is used, as is written “On the day that HaShem-יהו"ה God-אלהי״ם made Earth and Heaven.” The primary and fixed nature of the world is that of Judgment, since it was originally created through this attribute. Mercy, however, is added to the world to soften its natural harshness in accordance to the degree of man’s righteousness. Conversely, to the degree of his transgressions, it is withdrawn, resulting in a regression to its primary nature.

147. The world is generally conducted through the attribute of Malchut, which is more severe than Zeir Anpin. As such, it is called Nukvah – Female, and represents an exacting Judgment. Zeir Anpin, which is the conduct of Justice, represents a more lenient, merciful judgment. If the world is meritorious, Zeir Anpin joins with Malchut, affecting Goodness. If not, Zeir Anpin separates, and the world is conducted solely through the severity of Malchut. All this is dependent on man’s deeds. This is in accordance with the statement, “The world was originally created with judgment. He saw that it could not withstand this, so He added the quality of Mercy.” (Zohar Ha’azinu, Idra Zuta; Rashi to Genesis 1:1.)

"Bereshit, in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1). This includes two fires ("trei esh"), which are the two flames [referred to in the blessing] "Blessed is the Creator of the lights of fire". And in this regard it is written (Song of Songs 2:5) "Sustain me with cakes (ashishot)", that is, with two fires (eishot). Why is 'sustain me' said in this context? This refers to the eves of the Shabbat, when an additional soul descends in order to support the lower Shechina in exile, of whom it is said (Amos 5:2) "Fallen, not to rise again [is the maiden of Israel.]" When Shabbat reaches its end, this additional soul leaves, of which it is written (Exodus 31:17) "[God was] refreshed (vayinafash)". [This is the meaning of ] vayinafash? As soon as it leaves, woe to the soul! (vay nefesh!), for nobody is left to support her. In such moments, she cries out to Israel "Support me with ashishot", that is, with lights of fires. What are these fires? Two Torahs, carved of fire, which are ELOHIM, the aspect of might. These are known as (Isaiah 54:13) "Teachings of the Lord," two lips of burning flames, or two apples out of which the spirit of the Messiah comes, of which is said (Isaiah 11:2) "The spirit of the Lord shall alight on him."

(Gen. 1:1) In the beginning, ELQYM created... etc.

Opened Rabbi Shim’on and said: (Gen. 1:1) In the beginning, ELQYM created... (Ps. 25:14) The ‘secret’ of Y”Y is with those who fear Him, and His covenant is to let them know it.

(Gen. 1:1) In the beginning (Be-REiShYT) ... The letter Beiyt (ב) (2) and the word REiShYT (beginning) .

And just as Higher Mother produces six, so does Lower Mother produce six. And what are they? (Gen. 1:1) ... the heavens and the earth. And they are six vessels of which it is stated: (Ex. 20:11) For in six days did Y”Y make the heavens and the earth... And the lower chambers are vessels for the higher chambers.

(Gen. 1:1) Be-REiShYT (In-the-beginning) – there in these letters is ASHReY (Fortunate) . And this is: (Ps. 1:1) Fortunate (ashrey) is the man... And it is: (Ex. 3:14) EHYeH (I-am) that which (ASHeR) EHYeH... – the Head of all

(Gen. 1:1) Be-REiYShYT (In-the-beginning) Upon it is stated: (Ex. 23:19) The first (reishyt) of the first-fruits of your land, you shall bring to the house of Y”Y ELoQeYKha, you shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.

(Gen. 1:1) In the beginning (Be-REiShYT) – this is Israel, as is written: (Jer. 2:3) Holy is Israel to Y”Y, the ‘reishyt’ (first) of His produce... – ‘first’ without any other admixture. And because he is holy, he has no grafting of any other type.

(Gen. 1:1) Be-REiShYT (In-the-beginning) : Upon that it is stated: based upon Deut. 18:4 The reishyt (first) of the tithing (ma’aser) of your grain... [Var. your produce] And this is the sephirah of Malkhut, which is ma’aser (tithing) , and it is ‘the tenth’ of the ten sephirot, and because of Her there is tithing.

And he said: Be-reishyT (Gen. 1:1) – BaT (daughter) is there.

In the beginning (Be-reishyt) (Gen. 1:1) ELQYM created...

Be-REiShYT – BaRA (He-created) ShYT (six) – these are six elders. And who are they? (Gen. 1:1) ... the heavens and the earth. Behold we are seven, and three are hidden above them. With these 7 elders and a daughter, ‘Sabbath,’ a unique-one female, corresponding to the seven. And thus, behold we are ‘the seven weeks’.’

And furthermore: the cantillation-note qarnei parah (֟) (‘horns of a cow’) – these are the scholars, who argue with one another in the Torah, and gore each other like oxen, because the Oral Torah is from the side of Gevurah, which is called ELQYM, and with it the Torah opens: (Gen. 1:1) In the beginning, ELQYM created...

“In the beginning (Bereishit), God created” (Genesis 1:1): Rabbi Abba began and said: “On that day. the Lord made a covenant with Avram, saying” (Genesis 15:18). The covenant was said about five things: The first is circumcision, as it is stated (Genesis 17:13), “this shall be My covenant in your flesh as an eternal covenant.” The second is the rainbow, as it is stated (Genesis 9:13), “and it shall be a sign of the covenant.” The third is the covenant of salt, as it is stated (Numbers 18:19), “an everlasting covenant of salt.” The fourth is the covenant of afflictions, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:69), “These are the words of the covenant.” The fifth is the covenant of the priesthood, as it is stated (Numbers 25:13), “And it shall be for him, and for his offspring after him, an everlasting covenant of priesthood.”

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" [Bereshit 1:1]. Six (שיתא) [probably referring to the six words in this verse after the word בראשית], Bereshit (בראשית) above them, all of them downward, and they hang from seven of the skull until the Glroy of Gloriousness. "And the earth" (והארץ)[Bereshit 1:2], the second [time "earth" is mentioned] is not in the calculation, and this has been said [before]. And from this one that/who had been cursed she/it went out, as is written: "from the field that HaShem had cursed" [Bereshit 5:29]. "was waste (תהו) and empty (בהו), and darkness over the deep, and the breath of God hovering over the waters" [Bereshit 1:2]. Thirteen [words does this verse contain in Hebrew, when the first word "And the earth" is not taken into account] hang in the thirteen of the Glory of Gloriousness.

It is with this secret that the Holy One, blessed be He, made the artistry of the whole world. And this secret is, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." With this secret, the tabernacle was made and it was built. For it was in the image of the higher world and in the image of the lower world. And that is [the meaning of] that which is written (Exodus 25:2), "and they shall take an offering for Me." [An offering for Me] is two levels, which are one, since they join together as one.

What is the reason? Since the world endures by His Holy Name. This is the meaning of, "For Yah Hashem is an everlasting (lit. 'worlds') rock (Heb. tzur)" (Isaiah 26:4), the former (Heb. צַיָּיר) of worlds. For by two letters were the worlds created, this world and the World to Come. This world was created with Judgment and is maintained on Judgment. This is the meaning of, "In the beginning Elohim created" (Beresheet 1:1). The reason is so that people would conduct themselves according to judgment (law) and would not digress from the path.

Blessed is He Who spoke, and the world came into being, blessed is He; blessed is He Who maintains the creation; blessed is He Who says and does; (God’s saying and doing are synonymous and simultaneous as it is said, “By the word of God the heavens were made” (Psalms 33:6).—Etz Yosef) blessed is He Who decrees and fulfills; (“Says and does” refers to those things that are not lasting and must be renewed whereas, “He decrees and fulfills,” refers to those things that have קיום, and last forever.—Tzelosa d’Avrohom) blessed is He Who has compassion on the earth; blessed is He Who has compassion on the creatures; (Not only is God’s compassionate providence concerned with the earth and enduring things, but His compassion and providence extend even to those creatures which are destined to perish.—Avudraham) blessed is He Who rewards well those who fear Him, blessed is He Who lives forever and exists eternally; blessed is He Who redeems and saves (God redeems those who are in captivity and saves others from being taken into captivity.) blessed is His Name. Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, King of the Universe, the Almighty, the merciful Father, Who is verbally extolled by His people, praised and glorified by the tongue of His pious ones, and His servants, and through the songs of David Your servant. We will extoll You, Adonoy our God, with praises and psalms; we will exalt, praise, and glorify You; we will mention Your Name, and proclaim You—our King, our God. Unique One, Life of the worlds, King, praised and glorified forever is His great Name. Blessed are You, Adonoy, King, Who is extolled with praises.

Another matter: “Et hamishkan” – as it is equal to the rest of the world, which is called a tent, just as the Tabernacle is called a tent. How so? It is written: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). And it is written: “He spreads the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “You shall make sheets of goats’ hair as a tent over the Tabernacle…” (Exodus 26:7). On the second, it is written: “Let there be a firmament…and let it divide…” (Genesis 1:6). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “The curtain shall divide for you” (Exodus 26:33). On the third: “Let the water under the heavens [be gathered to one place]” (Genesis 1:9). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a basin of bronze and its base of bronze for washing…” (Exodus 30:18). On the fourth, “let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a candelabrum of pure gold…” (Exodus 25:31). On the fifth, “let birds fly over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20). In the Tabernacle, “the cherubs shall be spreaders of wings” (Exodus 25:20). On the sixth, man was created. In the Tabernacle, “you, draw Aaron your brother near to you” (Exodus 28:1). On the seventh, “the heavens…were completed” (Genesis 2:1). In the Tabernacle, “all the work of the Tabernacle…was completed” (Exodus 39:32). In the creation of the world it is written: “God blessed” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “he (Moses) blessed them” (Exodus 39:43). On the seventh, “God completed [vaykhal]” (Genesis 2:2). In the Tabernacle, “it was on the day that Moses concluded [kalot].” On the seventh, “and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “and sanctified it” (Numbers 7:1). That is, “et hamishkan.”

Rabbi Pinḥas ben Ya’ir said: It was corresponding to the generations that were from Adam the first man until the Tabernacle, and corresponding to the mitzvot that they were commanded, that the princes presented the offering. “One silver dish” (Numbers 7:13) (Citations here and later from the portion describing Naḥshon’s offering (Numbers 7:13–17) are sample citations of phrases that recur for the rest of the tribal princes as well.) – do not read it as kaarat but rather as akeret; this is Adam the first man, who was the root [ikaran] of the people. Rabbi Shemaya said: From where do you say that it is regarding Adam the first man that kaarat kesef is stated? It is because the tally of the years of Adam the first man was nine hundred and thirty years, and the numerical value of kaarat kesef is nine hundred and thirty. (Kof – 100; ayin – 70; resh – 200; tav – 400; together they sum to 770. Kaf – 20; samekh – 60; peh – 80; together they sum to 160. The two sums together equal 930.) From where is it derived that Adam the first man lived nine hundred and thirty years? It is as it is stated: “All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died” (Genesis 5:5). Why was it of silver? It is because he gave him six mitzvot, (The prohibitions against idolatry, forbidden relations, bloodshed, cursing God, and robbery, and the command to establish courts.) as it is stated: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” (Genesis 2:7) (The Etz Yosef explains that the midrash brings the first verse, which leads to the verse (Genesis 2:16) from which the six commandments are learned (see Bereshit Rabba 16:6).) , and the Torah is called silver, as it is stated: “[The words of the Lord are pure words,] like silver purified in the furnace of the earth” (Psalms 12:7). Why is “one” stated in his regard? It is due to Eve, who was created from him, as it is stated: “He took one of his sides” (Genesis 2:21). “Its weight one hundred and thirty” – it corresponds to the one hundred and thirty years during which he withdrew from the woman and ultimately begat Seth, who was the first of his offspring, as it is stated: “Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth [Shet]” (Genesis 5:3), as from him the world was established [hushtat], as Abel and Cain were driven from the world. “Basin [mizrak]” (Numbers 7:13) – it corresponds to Noah, who was cast [shenizrak] out of the generation of the Flood. Why silver? It is because he was righteous in his generation, as it is stated: “As I have seen you to be righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Another matter: Because of the mitzvot that he was commanded he was called “silver,” as it is stated: “But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat” (Genesis 9:4). Rabbi Shemaya said: Corresponding to the years of Noah’s age when he produced offspring are equal to the total of “mizrak eḥad kesef” (Numbers 7:13). (Mem – 40; zayin – 7; resh – 200; kof – 100; together they sum to 347. Alef –1; ḥet – 8; dalet – 4; together they sum to 13. Kaf –20; samekh – 60; peh – 80; together they sum to 160. The three sums together equal 520. Mizrak eḥad kesef is “one silver basin.”) Go out and calculate their letters, and they total five hundred and twenty, corresponding to the five hundred years of Noah’s age when he produced offspring, as it is stated: “Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot…” (Genesis 5:32). This is the reason that he delayed procreating; it was due to the iniquity that he saw in his generation, until the Holy One blessed be He revealed to him the matter of the ark. At that moment he married a wife and produced offspring, and it was one hundred years from that year until the Flood. And that zayin (In the word mizrak.) and the word eḥad that total twenty beyond the five hundred are an allusion to the twenty years prior to Noah’s producing offspring that the decree of the Flood was decreed, just as it says: “Its days will be one hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). “Seventy shekels in the sacred shekel” (Numbers 7:13) – it corresponds to the seventy nations that emerged from him. Alternatively, why seventy? It corresponds to the beginning of the book of Genesis until the curse of the serpent, seventy verses. Rabbi Pinḥas said: Two enemies were not cursed until it completed seventy verses in their regard: The serpent and the wicked Haman. The serpent from “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) until “accursed are you beyond all the animals” (Genesis 3:14), seventy verses. Haman, from “after these matters, King [Aḥashverosh] promoted [Haman]” (Esther 3:1) until “they hanged Haman” (Esther 7:10), seventy verses. At the end of seventy, he was hanged at fifty. (This is a passage from the liturgy for Shabbat Zakhor composed by Rabbi Elazar HaKalir. The reference is to seventy verses and gallows fifty cubits high.) Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy holy names from “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) until the portion of the serpent. If you say that there is one more, “you will be like the great ones [elohim]” (Genesis 3:5) is not sacred. (It means in that verse that they will be important. See Targum Onkelos on the verse.) Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy years of age that Teraḥ was when he begot Abraham, as it is stated: “Teraḥ lived seventy years, [and he begot Abram]” (Genesis 11:26). There were two in two generations of seventy years: Kenan in one generation, “Kenan lived seventy years” (Genesis 5:12), and Teraḥ in a second generation. (Each of them was seventy years old when he begot his first child.) Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy days that they wept for Jacob the pious, as it is stated: “Egypt wept for him seventy days” (Genesis 50:3). Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy holidays that the Holy One blessed be He gave to Israel: Seven days of Passover, eight days of the Festival, (Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.) Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, the festival of Shavuot, and there are fifty-two Shabbatot in the solar year; that is seventy. Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy names of the Holy One blessed be He, the seventy names of Israel, the seventy names of the Torah, and the seventy names of Jerusalem. Another matter: It corresponds to the seventy years that Adam deducted from his years and gave to David son of Yishai, as he was supposed to have lived one thousand years, as it is stated: “For on the day that you eat of it you will die” (Genesis 2:17), and the day of the Holy One blessed be He is one thousand years, as it is stated: “For one thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday as it passes, like a watch of the night” (Psalms 90:4). “Both of them full” (Numbers 7:13) – as both Adam and Noah received mitzvot and were righteous. That is “high-quality flour mixed with oil as a meal offering” (Numbers 7:13). “One gold ladle of ten shekels, filled with incense” (Numbers 7:14) – it corresponds to the ten sayings with which the world was created; and corresponds to the ten fundamental spheres; and corresponds to the ten generations from Adam to Noah, and the ten generations from Noah to Abraham; and corresponds to the Ten Commandments; and corresponds to the ten rulers over a person; (See Kohelet Rabba 7 (verse 19).) and corresponds to the ten “generations [toledot]” (Genesis 6:9) (Toledot appears ten times in reference to people in the Torah.) in the Torah; and corresponds to the ten miracles that were performed on behalf of our ancestors in Egypt, and the ten miracles at the sea; and corresponds to the ten covenants mentioned in the portion of circumcision. (see Genesis17:2–14). “Filled with incense” (Numbers 7:14) – the verse is speaking corresponding to circumcision, as at the moment that Israel were circumcised in Egypt, as it is stated: “[I passed you,] and saw you wallowing in your blood, and I said to you: In your blood, you shall live; I said to you: In your blood, you shall live” (Ezekiel 16:6), the odor of the blood and the foreskin was as pleasant before the Holy One blessed be He as spices. Likewise, when Joshua circumcised them, the odor was, likewise, pleasant before the Holy One blessed be He. In that regard it is stated: “I will go to the mountain of myrrh” (Song of Songs 4:6) – this is the circumcision of Egypt, as they made a mountain of the foreskins, because they all needed to be circumcised, and it was pleasant before the Holy One blessed be He like the fragrance of pure myrrh, which was the first of the spices. “And to the hill of frankincense” (Song of Songs 4:6) – this is the circumcision of the arrival in the land of Canaan, as they made a hill of the foreskins, as it is stated: “At the hill of the foreskins” (Joshua 5:3), and their odor was as pleasant before the Holy One blessed be He as the fragrance of frankincense. That is, “filled with incense” – myrrh, which is the first of the spices of the incense, and frankincense, which was the last of spices of the incense. It mentioned both of them in the verse. “One young bull” (Numbers 7:15) – it corresponds to “He sent the young men of the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to God” (Exodus 24:5). “One ram” (Numbers 7:15) – it corresponds to “It was the portion for Moses [from] the ram of investiture” (Leviticus 8:29). “One lamb” (Numbers 7:15) – it corresponds to the two daily offerings: “The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, [and the second lamb you shall offer in the afternoon]” (Exodus 29:39). “One goat as a sin offering” (Numbers 7:16) – it corresponds to the scapegoat that carries the iniquities of Israel. Another matter: “One young bull, [one ram, one lamb…as a burnt offering]” (Numbers 7:15) – there are three types of burnt offerings here, corresponding to the heavens, the earth, and the sea, and corresponding to them, the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were blessed: “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens” (Genesis 26:4); “I will render your descendants like the dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:16); “like the sand that is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17). “One goat [use’ir]” (Numbers 7:16) – it corresponds to the Torah, in whose regard it is stated: “Like rainstorms [kisirim] on the grass” (Deuteronomy 32:2), to teach you that the entire world was created due only to the merit of the Torah. (Since the Torah is being compared to rain which is critical for the existence of the world.) Another matter: Why did they sacrifice three species as a burnt offering? It corresponds to Noah, who took from all the animals and sacrificed burnt offerings, as it is stated: “He took from every pure animal, and from every pure bird, and offered up burnt offerings on the altar” (Genesis 8:20). Why did they not sacrifice birds? It is because there is no poverty in a place of wealth. Why a goat as a sin offering? It is because Noah sacrificed those burnt offerings only to atone for the curse of the earth (A sin offering was brought in order to show that the burnt offerings correspond to burnt offerings which were brought as atonement.) , just as it says: “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, and the Lord said in His heart: I will not continue to curse the ground anymore on account of man…” (Genesis 8:21). Another matter: Why three species of burnt offering and one of sin offering? It corresponds to the four components of nature from which the Holy One blessed be He created the world; three are supernal, one above the other, and the fourth is earthly, the heaviest of them all. These are: The earth; it is the heaviest of them all, and corresponding to it, the goat is prepared. The water is above the earth. The atmosphere, from which the wind is formed, is above the water. And the fire is above the atmosphere, as the fire is the lightest of them all, as it ascends to the firmament. A mnemonic for this matter (That the fire ascends.) is: When the flame separates from the coal it gradually floats upward. Likewise, they say: Fire surrounds the entire world up until the firmament. Corresponding to the fire, the wind, and the water, which are supernal, three types of burnt offering were prepared. “And for the peace offering, two bulls” (Numbers 7:17) – it corresponds to the two altars that Jacob crafted, one in Beit El and one in Beersheba. “Five rams” (Numbers 7:17) – it corresponds to the five mighty ones of the world, and they are: “The sons of Zeraḥ: Zimri, Eitan, Heiman, Kalkol, and Dara; all of them were five” (I Chronicles 2:6). (See Yalkut Shimoni, I Chronicles 10:74.) “Five goats, five lambs in their first year” (Numbers 7:17) – it corresponds to the altar; its width five cubits and its length five cubits. Alternatively, it corresponds to five senses and five perceptions. (These are the matters perceived by the senses.) “This was the offering…” (Numbers 7:17) – that it says at the end of the offering of each and every prince is to say to you: Once they presented their offerings according to this order, the Holy One blessed be He began lauding their offerings and saying: This was the offering of each and every one. “This was the dedication of the altar, on the day that it was anointed, from the princes of Israel: Twelve silver dishes, twelve silver basins, twelve golden ladles” (Numbers 7:84). “This was the dedication of the altar, on the day that it was anointed” – was the entire dedication of the altar performed on the day that it was anointed? In fact, the dedication of the Temple was not completed until the completion of twelve days. Rather, the verse comes to teach you that all the tribes were equal and beloved as one before the Holy One blessed be He, as the Torah ascribed to them as though they all presented their offering together on the first day, to realize what is stated: “You are all fair, my love, and there is no blemish in you” (Song of Songs 4:7).

Everything that you see is an outgrowth of either the heavens or the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the earth sprout grass” (Genesis 1:11). On the fourth day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth day, He came to create man. He said: ‘If I create him from the heavenly realm, the heavenly will outnumber the earthly by one creation and there will not be peace [equilibrium] in the world. If I create him from the earthly realm, the earthly will outnumber the heavenly by one creation and there will not be peace in the world. Rather, I will create him from both the heavenly and the earthly realms for the sake of peace.’ That is what is written: “And the Lord God created man…” (Genesis 2:7) – “Out of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7), from the earthly, “and He blew into his nostrils a living spirit” (Genesis 2:7), from the heavenly. This is as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “Dominion and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2). “Dominion” – this is Gabriel; “and fear” – this is Mikhael. (The angels Mikhael and Gabriel represent opposite spiritual forces, and God creates a balance (“peace”) between them, as he did with all of creation.)

It [a cloud] is called by five names: Av (Judges 5:4), ed (Genesis 2:6), anan (Genesis 9:13), nesiim (Jeremiah 10:13), ḥaziz (Zechariah 10:1). Av – because it darkens [me’abev] the face of the firmament. Ed – because it ruins the celebration [eid] of the price gougers. (Who profiteer during droughts.) Anan – because it makes people tolerant [anavim] of one another. Nesiim – because it makes people regard each other as aristocrats [nesiim]. (People earn money from their crops.) Ḥaziz – because it creates [colorful] spectacles [ḥezyonot] in the heavens, and because it causes the divine spirit to rest upon the people, (Rain indicates divine favor (see section 5).) as it says: “The vision [ḥazon] of Isaiah son of Amotz” (Isaiah 1:1). Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Earth is called by four names, corresponding to its four seasons: Eretz (Genesis 1:1), tevel (I Samuel 2:8), adama (Genesis 1:25), arka (Jeremiah 10:11). Eretz – corresponding to the season of Nisan [spring], because it accelerates [meritza] production of its produce. Tevel – corresponding to the season of Tamuz [summer], because it brings flavor [metabelet] to its produce. Adama – corresponding to the season of Tishrei [autumn], as the ground becomes disparate clods of earth [adama]. Arka – corresponding to the season of Tevet [winter], because it causes its produce to wither [moreket].

“The Lord God formed the man of dirt from the ground and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). “The Lord God formed” – it is written: “A king will uphold the land with justice [but a man of terumot destroys it]” (Proverbs 29:4). “A king” – this is the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He. “Will uphold the land with justice” – as He created the world with [the attribute of] justice, as it is stated: “In the beginning, God [Elohim] created” (Genesis 1:1). (Throughout the creation narrative, God is referred to as Elohim, indicating his attribute of strict justice.) “But a man of terumot destroys it” – this is Adam the first man, who was the ḥalla of the completion of the world. (Ḥalla is separated after the completion of the dough, and is endowed with sanctity, given to a priest to eat. Adam was intended to be the sacred finale to the creation of the world.) Ḥalla is called teruma, (Teruma refers to a portion of something set aside as sacred. ) as it is stated: “The first of your kneading basket [you shall separate as a loaf, as teruma]” (Numbers 15:20). Rabbi Yosei ben Ketzarta said: It is like a woman who mixes her dough with water and [then] separates its ḥalla from its midst; so, too, first “a mist would rise from the earth” (Forming a dough-like mixture with the earth.) (Genesis 2:6), and then, “The Lord God formed [man]…”

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

Rabbi Hoshaya the Great began: “I (The speaker is Wisdom (the Torah) personified.) was with Him as an amon, a delight day after day…” (Proverbs 8:30) – amon means a child’s caretaker, amon means covered, amon means hidden, and some say amon means greatness. Amon means a child’s caretaker, as it says: “As a caretaker [omen] carries a nursing child” (Numbers 11:12). Amon means covered, as it says: “Those covered [ha’emunim] in scarlet…” (Lamentations 4:5). Amon means hidden, as it says: “He was omen (This is expounded to mean that Mordekhai hid Esther from the emissaries of Aḥashverosh.) Hadassa” (Esther 2:7). Amon means great, as it says: “Are you better than No Amon [which sits in the rivers]?” (Nahum 3:8), which we translate in Targum as: Are you better than the great city of Alexandria, (No (or No Amon) is the name of a city in Egypt. Targum identifies this city as Alexandria, and explains Amon to mean great.) which is located among the rivers? Another matter, amon means artisan [uman]. The Torah is saying: ‘I was the tool of craft of the Holy One blessed be He.’ The way of the world is that when a flesh-and-blood king builds a palace he does not build it based on his own knowledge, but rather based on the knowledge of an artisan. (A professional builder.) And the artisan does not build it based on his own knowledge, but rather, he has [plans on] sheets and tablets by which to ascertain how he should build its rooms, how he should build its doors. So too, the Holy One blessed be He looked in the Torah and created the world. The Torah says: “Bereshit God created” (Genesis 1:1), and reshit is nothing other than the Torah, as it says: “The Lord made me at the beginning of [reshit] His way” (Proverbs 8:22). (Be-reshit is interpreted as ‘by means of the Torah.’)

Rabbi Yona said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Why was the world created with the letter beit? (It is the first letter of “bereshit – in the beginning.”) It is because just as the beit is closed on all [three of] its sides but open in its front, so, you do not have permission to ask: What is below, what is above, what was before, and what is after, (Ḥagiga 2:1. One should not ponder what is above the firmament and what is below the earth, what was before Creation, and what will be after the end of the world.) but only from the day when the world created and onward. Bar Kapara said: “For ask now of the early days that were before you, from the day [that God created man upon the earth]” (Deuteronomy 4:32) – from the day they were created, you may inquire, but you may not inquire what was before that. “From one end of the heavens to the other end” (Deuteronomy 4:32), you may inquire and investigate, but what is beyond that you may not investigate. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi expounded regarding the act of Creation together with bar Kapara: Why was the world created with the letter beit? It is to inform you that there are two worlds, (The numerical value of beit is two.) this world and the World to Come. Another matter, why with a beit? Because it alludes to an expression of blessing [berakha]. And why not with an alef? Because it alludes to an expression of curse [arira]. Another matter, why not with an alef? It is to avoid giving recourse to the heretics to say: How can the world endure, as it was created with an expression of curse? Rather, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Behold, I will create it with an expression of blessing, and there is hope that perhaps it will endure.’ Another matter, why with a beit? It is because just as the beit has two protrusions, one above it and one below and behind it, if one says to the beit: ‘Who created you?’ It points with its upper protrusion, saying: ‘That One who is above created me.’ ‘And what is His name?’ It points with its rear protrusion and says: ‘The Lord [Adonai] is His name.’ (It points to the letter that is behind it, the alef, which is the first letter of Adonai, one of God’s names.) Rabbi Elazar bar Ḥanina said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: For twenty-six generations (This is the number of generations that passed from Creation to the giving of the Torah.) the alef complained before the throne of the Holy One blessed be He. It said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I am the first of the letters, but You did not create Your world with me.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to it: ‘The world and all its contents were created only for the sake of the Torah, as it is stated: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom…” (See earlier, section 4.) (Proverbs 3:19). Tomorrow, I will be coming to give the Torah at Sinai, and I will open it at its beginning only with you, as it is stated: “I [anokhi] am the Lord your God”’ (Exodus 20:2). Rabbi Hoshaya says: Why is it called alef? It is because He consented concerning a thousand, as it is stated: “The word that He commanded for one thousand [elef] generations” (Psalms 105:8). (The Torah was originally supposed to be given to the thousandth [elef] generation (Bereishit Rabba 28:4). The first letter of that Torah was therefore given the name alef.)

Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: [The alternative forms of the letters] Mem, nun, tzadi, peh, kaf, (These letters have different forms depending on whether they appear in the beginning or middle of a word, or at its end.) the prophets said them, though it was a halakha transmitted to Moses at Sinai. (The existence of these alternative forms was transmitted to Moses, forgotten, and the prophets restored them.) Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: What the prophets instituted. (The letters are not listed in the order they appear in the alphabet, and the list can be read as min tzofakh – from your prophets.) It once happened that there was a stormy day and the Sages could not gather at the house of assembly, (The bet midrash, where the Torah was expounded.) but there were some children there. They said: ‘Let us make our own house of assembly.’ They said: ‘What is the reason that it is written mem mem, (Why are there two forms with which to write mem, and so on.) nun nun, tzadi tzadi, peh peh, kaf kaf ? It is for this reason: [To allude to the fact that the Torah was transmitted] from utterance [ma’amar] to utterance, from a faithful one [ne’eman] to a faithful one, from a righteous one [tzadik] to a righteous one, from mouth [peh] to mouth, from hand [kaf] to hand. From utterance to utterance – from the utterance of the Holy One blessed be He to the utterance of Moses; from a faithful one to a faithful one – from the Holy One blessed be He, who is called ‘God, faithful King’ – to Moses who is called faithful, as it is written: “In all My house he is faithful” (Numbers 12:7); from a righteous one to a righteous one – from the Holy One blessed be He, who is called righteous, as it is written: “Righteous is the Lord in all His ways” (Psalms 145:17), to Moses, who was called righteous, as it is written: “He performed the righteousness of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 33:21); from mouth to mouth – from the mouth of the Holy One blessed be He, to the mouth of Moses; from hand to hand – from the hand of the Holy One blessed be He, to the hand of Moses.’ They [the Sages] took note of them [the children], and [ultimately] great sages in Israel emerged from among them. Some say they were Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva. And they applied to them the verse: “Even a boy is recognized through his deeds, if his action is pure or upright” (Proverbs 20:11). anokhi of Rabbi Meir…> (These words are a scribal error and should be deleted (Matnot Kehuna). )

Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Akilas: To this One it is fitting to call God. The ordinary way of the world is that a flesh-and-blood king is praised in his province though he has not yet built any public baths in it and has not yet built private baths in it. (That is, without yet having provided anything for his subjects.) First he proclaims his name and then presents his works. The Unique One of the world, however, first acted and then He was praised. Shimon ben Azai says: “Your humility has made me great” (II Samuel 22:36) – a flesh-and-blood [king] mentions his name first and then his title of praise: So-and-so Augustoli, (A title of great rank.) So-and-so Pro titulo. (Meaning, whatever the title may be.) But the Holy One blessed be He is not so; instead, after creating the needs of his world, only then does He mention His name: “In the beginning…created [bereshit bara]” and then “God [Elohim].”

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: From where is it derived that a person should not say [when consecrating an offering]: ‘To the Lord, a burnt offering,’ ‘To the Lord, a meal offering,’ ‘To the Lord, a peace offering,’ but rather: ‘A burnt offering to the Lord,’ ‘A meal offering to the Lord,’ ‘A peace offering to the Lord’? (As a precaution, one should not say “to the Lord” before stating the offering in question, to avoid a situation where one might say “to the Lord” and fail to complete the statement.) As the verse states: “An offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:2). (This is another explanation as to why the first verse of the Torah mentions God’s name only as the third word.) A lesson can be derived from this by a fortiori: If, even of one who is about to consecrate something, the Torah says: Let the name of Heaven not be desecrated through the sacrifice; then those who curse, blaspheme, and engage in idol worship, (Engaging in actual desecration of God’s name.) all the more so that they will be eradicated from the world. The Rabbis say: When a flesh-and-blood person builds a building, if the building process goes well, he makes it broad on top, but if not, he must make it broader on the bottom and narrower at the top. (If he sees that the foundations are not so sturdy, or the building materials are inferior, he must make the building narrower as it rises, for structural integrity.) But the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather “[God created] the heavens” (With the definite article, alluding to an item that is already known.) – those heavens that He had previously planned; “and the earth” – that earth that he had previously planned. Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili: Even those things, about which it is written: “For, behold, I am creating new heavens [and a new earth]” (Isaiah 65:17), [they] were already created since the six days of Creation. That is what is written: “For just as the new heavens and the new earth” (Isaiah 66:22); “[new heavens] and a new earth” is not written here, but rather, “the new [heavens and the new earth].” (The addition of the definite article indicates that it refers to earth and heavens that are previously known.)

Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva, saying to him: ‘Because you studied under Naḥum of Gam Zo for twenty-two years, [who taught:] The words akh and rak are restrictive expressions, et and gam are inclusive expressions, [I ask you:] What is the meaning of the et that is written here [twice]?’ (Et hashamayin ve’et haaretz.) He said to him: ‘Had it been stated: “In the beginning God created heavens and earth [bereshit bara elohim shamayim vaaretz]” – we might have said that the heavens and the earth are deities.’ (It could have been interpreted: ‘God, who is heavens and earth, created.’ The word et, however, indicates that what follows is the direct object of the verb.) He [Rabbi Yishmael] said to him: “For it is not an empty matter for you [mikem]” (Deuteronomy 32:47) – if it is empty, it is because of you [mikem], (If you find something in the Torah that appears devoid of significance, it is because of your own ignorance.) because you do not know how to expound, because you do not exert yourself in its regard. “As it [the Torah] is your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47) – when is it your life? It is when you exert yourself in its regard. Rather [the explanation is]: “et hashamayim” – to include the sun, the moon, and the constellations; “ve’et haaretz” – to include trees, vegetation, and the Garden of Eden. Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of Rav Huna: “Betzalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, did everything that the Moses commanded him” is not stated, but rather, “everything that the Lord commanded Moses” (Exodus 38:22). Even matters that he [Betzalel] did not hear from his teacher, his perception corresponded to what was stated to Moses at Sinai. Rabbi Ḥonya said in the name of Rabbi: “The Torah of truth was in his mouth” (Malachi 2:6) – these are matters that he heard directly from his teacher. (The following line should be added here (Matnot Kehuna): “and falsehood was not found on his lips” (Malachi 2:6) – these are matters that he did not hear from his teacher.) The Rabbis say: “For the Lord will be your hope [bekislekha]” (Proverbs 3:26) – even matters that you are a fool [kesil] in their regard, “He will protect your foot from being ensnared” (Proverbs 3:26). (If you make a concerted effort to understand, God will assist you, even regarding matters that you do not know about, so that you will not be caught up in any misstep. ) Rabbi Dosai said: From promulgating [mistaken] teachings. Rabbi Abahu said: From transgressing. Rabbi Levi said: From malevolent spirits. Rabbi Avdimus said: If you gave charity from your purse [kis-lekha], the Holy One blessed be He will protect you from being charged unjust security taxes, fines, head taxes, and property taxes.

Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and the earth was created thereafter. Beit Hillel says: The earth was created first and the heavens thereafter. (One verse puts the order as “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), but another has the opposite: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Which is the true chronological order?) These cite a reason for their position and those cite a reason for their position. According to the opinion of Beit Shammai, who say that the heavens were created first and the earth thereafter, it is analogous to a king who had a throne made, and once that was made he had its footstool made. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool…” (Isaiah 66:1). According to the opinion of Beit Hillel, who say that the earth was created first and the heavens thereafter, it is analogous to a king who built a palace; first he built the lower sections and then he built the upper sections, so, “on the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4). (The earth first, then the heavens.) Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: This verse, too, supports Beit Hillel: “You laid the foundations of earth in times past” (Psalms 102:26), and then, “the heavens are the work of Your hands” (Psalms 102:26). Rabbi Ḥanin said: From the same place where Scripture supports Beit Shammai, ("God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).) from there, Beit Hillel refute them: “The earth was” (Genesis 1:2) – it already was. Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of the Sages: In terms of Creation, the heavens were first, but in terms of completion, the earth was first. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source; in terms of Creation, the heavens were first, as it is stated: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens].” In terms of completion, the earth was first, as it is stated: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens.” Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: I am surprised how it is that the fathers of the world, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, disagreed regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is, rather, as I say, that both of them were created [at the same time,] like a stewpot and its lid, as it is stated: “[My hand also laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand measured the heavens]; I appointed them; they arise together” (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: If it is in accordance with the opinion of my father, why is it that at times the earth is mentioned before the heavens and at times the heavens are mentioned before the earth? Rather, it teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Abraham is mentioned before Isaac and Jacob, but in one place it says: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob, [and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham]” (Leviticus 26:42). This teaches that the three of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Moses is mentioned before Aaron, but in one place it says: “It is Aaron and Moses” (Exodus 6:26). This teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Joshua is mentioned before Caleb, but in one place it says: “Except for Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 14:30, Numbers 32:12). (The citation in the Midrash is actually an amalgam of these two verses.) This teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place turtledoves are mentioned before young pigeons, but in one place it says: “And a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering” (Leviticus 12:6). This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place, honor of the father is mentioned before the mother, but in one place it says: “Each of you shall fear his mother and his father” (Leviticus 19:3). This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another. However, the Sages said: The father takes precedence over the mother, because both he [a son] and his mother are obligated to honor his father. In every place the creation of the heavens is mentioned before the earth, but in one place it says: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens.” This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another.

Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin began in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The power of His deeds (The account of Creation.) He told to His people, to give them the inheritance of nations” (Psalms 111:6). What is the reason that the Holy One blessed be He revealed what was created on the first day and what was created on the second day? It is due to the idolaters, so they could not rebuke Israel and say to them: ‘You are a nation of robbers.’ (By your conquest of the land of Israel from its original inhabitants.) Israel responds to them and says to them: ‘And you, is it [your own land] not in your hands by robbery? Is it not so that: “Kaftorim, who emerged from Kaftor, destroyed them [the Avites], and settled in their place”? (Deuteronomy 2:23). The world and all its contents belong to the Holy One blessed be He. When He wished He gave it to you, and when He wished He took it from you and gave it to us.’ That is what is written: “[The power of His deeds He told to His people,] to give them the inheritance of nations…” – He told them [the history of] all the generations. (So that they should see clearly that peoples have often conquered other peoples.)

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “In the beginning, God created” – Rabbi Tanḥuma began: “For You are great and perform wonders” (Psalms 86:10). Rabbi Tanḥum said: A wineskin, if it has a hole as small as the point of a needle, all its air will escape from it. (When one inflates it to determine whether there are any holes.) Yet a human is made with numerous cavities and orifices, but his air does not escape from him. Who can do so? It is “You, alone, are God” (Psalms 86:10). When were the angels created? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers (The heavens.) with water…” (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. That is what is written: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20), and it is written [of the angels]: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrin said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be He straightened it out in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone…by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two], (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in the creation of the world? Another matter, “for You are great and perform wonders” (Psalms 86:10) – the way of the world is that a flesh-and-blood king, when he is receives praise in the province, (For its magnificent buildings or for its proficient administration.) the prominent leaders of the province receive praise along with him, as they bear the burden [of governing] with him. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so; rather, He alone created the world, He alone is lauded in the world, He alone is glorified in the world. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: “For You are great and perform wonders” – why? It is because “You, alone, are God” – You alone created the world.

“In the beginning, God created” – six items preceded the creation of the world; some of them were [actually] created, and some of them God contemplated creating, [though He did not actually do so]. The Torah and the Throne of Glory were created. Torah, from where is it derived? As it is stated: “The Lord made me (The speaker is Wisdom (the Torah) personified.) at the beginning of His way” (Proverbs 8:22). The Throne of Glory, from where is it derived? “Your throne stands firm from earliest time, [You are from eternity]” (Psalms 93:2). The patriarchs, Israel, the Temple, and the name of the messianic king – God contemplated creating them [before the world, but did not]. The patriarchs, from where is it derived? “Like grapes in the wilderness [I found Israel, like a first fruit on the fig tree, at its beginning [bereshitah] I saw your fathers]” (Hosea 9:10). Israel, from where is it derived? “Remember Your congregation, that You acquired from old times” (Psalms 74:2). The Temple, from where is it derived? “Throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, [is the place of our Temple]” (Jeremiah 17:12). The name of the messianic king, from where is it derived? “May his name endure forever. His name is praised before the sun” (The Midrash expounds “before” to mean prior to.) (Psalms 72:17). Rabbi Ahava ben Rabbi Ze’eira said: Repentance as well, as it is stated: “Before the birth of mountains” (Psalms 90:2), and at that same time, “You bring man down until he is crushed, [and then You say: Return, sons of man]” (Psalms 90:3). But I do not know which of them (The two things that were actually created before the world.) was first – did the Torah precede the Throne of Glory, or did the Throne of Glory precede the Torah? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The Torah preceded the Throne of Glory, as it is stated: “The Lord made me at the beginning of His way, [before His undertakings of old times]” (Proverbs 8:22) – before that in whose regard it is written: “Your throne stands firm from earliest time” (Psalms 93:2). Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak: The contemplation about [creating] Israel preceded all other things. This is analogous to a king who married a noblewoman, but did not have a son from her. Once the king was found passing in the marketplace. He said: ‘Take this ink and inkwell for my son.’ Everyone was saying: ‘He has no son and yet he says: Take this ink and inkwell for my son?’ Then they said: ‘The king is a great astrologer, had it not been that he is destined to beget a son from her, he would not have said: Take this ink and inkwell for my son.’ So, too, had it not been that the Holy One blessed be He foresaw that after twenty-six generations Israel was destined to receive the Torah, He would not have written in the Torah: “Command the children of Israel”; “speak to the children of Israel.” Rabbi Banai said: The world and its contents were created only due to the merit of the Torah, as it is stated: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom [beḥochma]” (Beḥochma could also be translated “for the sake of wisdom” – wisdom, throughout Proverbs, refers to the Torah. Similarly, the Midrash is interpreting Bereshit as “for the sake of Reshit” – God created the heavens and the earth for the sake of that which is called Reshit.) (Proverbs 3:19). Rabbi Berekhya said: It was due to the merit of Moses, as it is stated: “He saw the first [reshit] for himself, [as there the portion of the lawgiver is hidden]” (Deuteronomy 33:21). (Moses, the lawgiver, is called Reshit, the first one.) Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Matana: The world was created for the sake of three things: For the sake of ḥalla, for the sake of tithes, and for the sake of first fruits. What is the source? “In the beginning, [bereshit] (Or, for the sake of reshit.) God created,” and reshit is nothing other than ḥalla, as it is stated: “The first of [reshit] your kneading basket” (Numbers 15:20). Reshit is nothing other than tithes, as it says: “The first [reshit] of your grain” (Deuteronomy 18:4). And reshit is nothing other than first fruits, as it is stated: “The choicest of [reshit] the first fruits of your land…” (Exodus 23:19).

Rav Huna began in the name of bar Kapara: “May they be silenced [te’alamna], those lying lips [that speak harsh words against the righteous one with arrogance and contempt]” (Psalms 31:19) – may they be bound up, may they become mute, may they be silenced. (The word te’alamna can have all these three meanings, as the Midrash goes on to show.) May they become mute – as it says: “Who gives a mouth to a person, or who renders one mute [ilem] or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11). And [may they be bound up,] as it says: “Behold, we were binding [me’alemim] sheaves in the field and behold, my sheaf arose” (Genesis 37:7). May they be silenced – that is its plain sense. (That is the literal translation of te’alamna.) “That speak…against the Righteous One” (Psalms 31:19) – [this refers to] Him of eternal life. (The “righteous one” refers to God.) “Harsh words [atak]” (Psalms 31:19) – matters that He concealed [shehe’etik] from His creations. (They speak out loud and expound on the secrets of Creation.) “With arrogance” (Psalms 31:19) – this is an expression of bewilderment: (Can it be that someone would do such a thing out of arrogance?) [Do they do this] in order to boast arrogantly: I am expounding the act of Creation? “And contempt” (Psalms 31:19) – this [too] is an expression of bewilderment: Is it in order to show contempt for My honor? As Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Anyone who attains honor through the degradation of another person has no portion in the World to Come; how much more so is this so regarding the honor of the Omnipresent. What is written following this? “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20) – for those who fear You, but not for those who demean the [awesome] fear of You. They will not be included in: “How great is the goodness.” The way of the world is that when a flesh-and-blood king builds his palace in [a location that had been] a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place, anyone who comes and says: ‘This palace was built in a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place,’ is this not an insult? So, too, anyone who comes and says: ‘This world was created from emptiness and disorder,’ is this not an insult? This is a rhetorical question. Rav Huna said in the name of bar Kapara: Were the matter not written explicitly it would not have been possible to say it: “In the beginning, God created” (Genesis 1:1) – from what? “The earth was emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2).

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon began: “He reveals the deep and the hidden [umsatrata]” (Daniel 2:22). “He reveals the deep” – this is Gehenna, as it is stated: “He does not know that the ghosts are there; [her guests are in the depths of the netherworld]” (Proverbs 9:18). And it says: “He deepened [he’emik] and widened” (Isaiah 30:33). “And the hidden [umsatrata]” – this is the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “For protection and refuge [ulmistor]” (Isaiah 4:6). And it says: “Conceal them [tastirem] in the hideaway of Your presence” (Psalms 31:21). Another matter, “He reveals the deep and the hidden [umsatrata]” – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “Those who go deep from the Lord” (Isaiah 29:15). Umsatrata – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “To conceal [listor] counsel” (Isaiah 29:15). “He knows what is in the darkness” (Daniel 2:22) – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “Their actions are in the darkness” (Isaiah 29:15). “And the light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22) – these are the actions of the righteous, as it is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light” (Proverbs 4:18), and it says: “Light is sown for the righteous…” (Psalms 97:11). Rabbi Abba Sarongaya said: “And the light rests with Him” – this is the messianic king, as it is stated: “Arise, shine, [for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you]” (Isaiah 60:1), etc. in Pesikta. (The Midrash refers us to Pesikta Rabati parashat Kumi ori, where the idea of light representing the Messiah is expounded further. (According to some, the word בפסיקתא is a scribal error and should be deleted.)) Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, “He reveals the deep and the hidden” (Daniel 2:22). [The verse states:] “In the beginning God created [the heavens]” (Genesis 1:1) – but it did not elaborate. (As to how they were created.) And where did it elaborate? It was elsewhere: “Who spread the heavens like a curtain” (Isaiah 40:22). [It states further:] “And the earth” (Genesis 1:1) – but it did not elaborate. And where did it elaborate? It was elsewhere: “For He says to the snow: Become the earth” (Job 37:6); “when the dust consolidated into a mass…” (Job 38:38). [It states:] “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – but it did not elaborate. Where did it elaborate? “Enveloping with light as if with a cloak” (Psalms 104:2).

Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “The beginning of Your word is truth…” (Psalms 119:160) – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world [it can be seen that] “the beginning of Your word is truth” – “in the beginning, God created.” “But My Lord God is truth” (Jeremiah 10:10), (This verse shows that God is the epitome of truth, and it is fitting that He should establish this truth right at the beginning of the Torah. This truth is the unity of God, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) “All Your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalms 119:160) – as each and every edict that You decree upon Your creations, they accept the judgment upon themselves and receive it faithfully, and no person can come and say that two authorities created the world: (Other versions add: Or that two authorities gave the Torah.) “God [Elohim] spoke [vaydaberu]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God spoke [vaydaber];” (Although the word Elohim is grammatically a plural form, the Torah constantly uses singular verbs with it, proving that God is indeed one. ) “God [Elohim] said [vayomeru]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God said [vayomer]”; “In the beginning God created [bare’u]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God created [bara].”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of Rabbi Levi: A builder requires six items: Water, dirt, wood, stones, reeds, and iron. If you say that he is wealthy and does not need reeds [to build with], he still needs to use them as a measuring rod, as it is stated: “A linen thread and a measuring rod” (Ezekiel 40:3). So, too, the Torah employed these six expressions of precedence: “Of old [kedem]…from earliest time [me’az], from ancient times [meolam]…from the beginning [merosh], from before [mikadmei]…” (Proverbs 8:22–23) – which counts as two, (Since mikadmei is a plural form.) in the section of “the Lord made me” (Proverbs 8:22).

A certain philosopher once asked Rabban Gamliel, saying to him: ‘Your God is a great artist, however he found many excellent raw materials that helped him: Emptiness, disorder, darkness, wind, water, and depths.’ He said to him: ‘May the spirit of that man depart from him; regarding all of them, creation is written.’ (God did not “find” these materials; He created them Himself.) Emptiness and disorder, as it is stated: “Who makes peace and creates evil” (Isaiah 45:7). Darkness, “who forms light [and creates darkness]” (Isaiah 45:7); water, “Praise Him, heavens on heavens, and the water [above the heavens]” (Psalms 148:4). Why? “For He commanded and they were created” (Psalms 148:5). Wind, “For behold, He forms mountains and creates wind” (Amos 4:13); depths, “when there were no depths, I generated” (Proverbs 8:24).

Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, Rabbi Abahu said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. That is what is written: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalms 1:6). (See Bereshit Rabba 8:4.) “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” – these are the actions of the righteous. But I do not know which He desires, whether it is the actions of these, or the actions of those. When it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – this shows that He desires the actions of the righteous, and does not desire the actions of the wicked. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the Temple built, destroyed, and rebuilt. “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” – that indicates [the Temple] being built, as it says: “To plant the heavens and to lay the foundation of the earth and to say to Zion: You are My people” (Isaiah 51:16). “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – that indicates [the Temple] destroyed, just as it says: “I have seen the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). “God said: Let there be light” – that indicates [the Temple] being built and perfected in the future, as it says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come” (Isaiah 60:1), and it is written: “For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, and nations, a fog; but upon you the Lord will shine and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

“God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water” – the Rabbis say it in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina, Rabbi Pinḥas, and Rabbi Yaakov bar Avin in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: When the Holy One blessed be He said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water,” the middle drop [of water] congealed and thereby the lower heavens and the upper highest heavens came about. Rav said: Their substance on the first day (When God “created the heavens” (Genesis 1:1).) was damp, and on the second day they congealed. “Let there be a firmament” – let the firmament harden. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: Let there be a lining for the firmament [rakia], as it says: “They flattened [vayraku] the sheets of gold” (Exodus 39:3). Rabbi Ḥanina said: Fire emerged from on High and passed over the surface of the firmament. (Drying it, in accordance with the opinion of Rav.) When Rabbi Yoḥanan would reach this verse: “With His wind, the heavens are enhanced” (Job 26:13), he would say: Rabbi Ḥanina taught me well. Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon said: The fire emerged from on High and burnished the surface of the firmament. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: The act of Creation came to teach something about the giving of the Torah, but ultimately learned something from it. “Like [the day of] a splitting fire” (Isaiah 64:1) (The verse is speaking of the giving of the Torah, and describes that day as being like another day, one of fire splitting something in two. ) – when did fire split between what was above and what was below, was it not at the giving of the Torah? (And the verse compares that day to another day, one of a splitting fire – namely, the day of the creation of the heavens.) That is a rhetorical question. So it was at the creation of the world.

“For who is a great nation that has God near it, as is the Lord our God in all of our calling to Him.” The heretics asked Rabbi Simlai: ‘How many authorities created the world?’ He said to them: ‘Let you and me inquire into the six days of Creation.’ They said to him: ‘Is it written: “In the beginning God [Elo’ah] (Singular) created”? It is written: “In the beginning God [Elohim] (Plural) created”’ (Genesis 1:1). He said to them: ‘Is created [baru]” (Plural) written? “Created [bara]” (Singular) is written. And is it written: “God said [vayomeru] (Plural) let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:7); “[God said:] Let the water…be gathered” (Genesis 1:9); “[God said:] Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14)? “Said [vayomer]” (Singular) is written.’ When they reached the action of the sixth day, they rejoiced. They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26)?’ He said to them: ‘It is not written here, “They created man in their images,” but rather, “God created man in His image”’ (Genesis 1:27). They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “For who is a great nation that has God near [kerovim] (Plural) it”?’ He said to them: ‘But is it written: “As is the Lord our God in all of our calling to them”? It is written, “[As is the Lord our God] in all of our calling to Him.”’

Rabbi Yoḥanan began: “A prophecy of the Valley of Vision” (Isaiah 22:1) – the valley about which all the seers prophesy, the valley from which all the seers originated, as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Every prophet the name of whose city was not articulated was a Jerusalemite. “Valley of Vision” – as they cast the words of the seers to the ground. (The residents treated the prophecies with derision, reflected in the term valley, as a valley is low ground.) “What, indeed, happened to you, that you all ascended to the roofs?” (Isaiah 22:1). Did they in fact ascend to the roofs? Rabbi Levi said: These are the arrogant. “Full of tumult [teshuot]” (Isaiah 22:2) – Rabbi Elazar ben Yaakov said: This expression is used in three senses: Troubles, tumult, and gloom. Troubles, as it is stated: “Does not hear the troubles [teshuot] caused by the oppressor” (Job 39:7); tumult, as it is stated: “Full of tumult [teshuot].” Gloom, as it is stated: “Darkness, gloom [shoa], and desolation” (Job 30:3). “Clamorous city” (Isaiah 22:2) – a city of commotion; “merry town” (Isaiah 22:2) – a lively city; “your slain are not slain by the sword and they did not die in war” (Isaiah 22:2) – what are they? “Bloated by famine and ravaged by plague” (Deuteronomy 32:24). “All your officers wandered together; from the bow [mikeshet] they were bound” (Isaiah 22:3) – due to their stubbornness [kashyutam], they were delivered to the kingdoms. Alternatively, “all your officers wandered together; from the bow they were bound” – as [the enemies] would untie the strings of their bows and bind with them. “All those found among you were bound together, they fled afar” (Isaiah 22:3) – they distanced themselves from hearing the words of Torah, just as it says: “From afar the Lord has appeared to me” (Jeremiah 31:2). “Therefore, I said: Turn from me, I will weep bitterly” (Isaiah 22:4) – Reish Lakish said: On three occasions the ministering angels sought to recite song before the Holy One blessed be He but He did not allow them to do so. These are: In the generation of the Flood, at the sea, and upon the destruction of the Temple. Regarding the generation of the Flood, what is written? “The Lord said: My spirit shall not abide in man forever” (Genesis 6:3). (The midrash interprets the word abode [yadon] in the sense of singing praise [yaron], such that the verse means that God’s praise will not always be able to be sung over the occurrences regarding mankind. This interpretation is based on the fact that the Hebrew letters dalet and resh look very similar and are sometimes interchanged (Etz Yosef). ) At the sea it is written: “One did not approach the other the entire night” (Exodus 14:20). (The terminology of this verse is reminiscent of the verse in Isaiah (10:3) describing the angels singing song to God.) Regarding the destruction of the Temple it is written: “Therefore, I said: Turn from me, I will weep bitterly; do not rush to comfort me” (Isaiah 22:4). It is not written here: Do not continue [to comfort me], but rather, “do not rush [ta’itzu].” The Holy One blessed be He said to the ministering angels: The words of comfort that you are reciting before Me, they are insults [ni’utzin] for Me. Why? “For it is a day of turmoil, trampling and confusion [mevukha] from the Lord, God of hosts” (Isaiah 22:5) – a day of turbulence, a day of plundering, and a day of weeping [bekhiya]. “Of the Valley of Vision” (Isaiah 22:1) – it is the valley about which all the seers prophesy. “Breaching the wall and crying [vesho’a] to the mountain” (Isaiah 22:5) – for they were breaching the walls of their houses, using [the materials] for shields, and placing them atop their citadels [sho’eihem]. “Elam carried the quiver” (Isaiah 22:6) – Rav said: This is a collection of arrows. “Among chariots of men are horsemen, and Kir bared a shield” (Isaiah 22:6), for they were breaching the walls [kirot] of their houses and using [the materials] for shields. “And it was that your choicest valleys [amakayikh] filled with chariots” (Isaiah 22:7) – Rav said: To the full depth of [umkah] the sea waters. “And the horsemen directed themselves [shot shatu] to the gate” (Isaiah 22:7) – like weaving [mishteyei] they went and like weaving they came, (They crossed like the warp and woof strings on a loom.) and they appeared to be many. “He laid bare the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8) – exposing what was covered. “You looked on that day to the weapons in the house of the forest” (Isaiah 22:8) – Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: The Israelites had a weapon at Sinai, and the ineffable name was etched upon it. When they sinned it was taken from them. That is what is written: “The children of Israel were stripped of their ornament from Mount Ḥorev” (Exodus 33:6). How was it taken from them? Rabbi Aivu and the Rabbis: Rabbi Aivu said: It peeled off on its own. The Rabbis say: An angel descended and peeled it off. “You saw that the breaches of the city of David were many.… And you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke the houses to fortify the wall” (Isaiah 22:9–10) – this teaches that they would shatter their houses and add to the wall. But did Hezekiah not already do so? Is it not written: “He took courage and rebuilt the entire breached wall…” (II Chronicles 32:5)? (Isaiah criticized the people for adding to the wall, whereas Hezekiah similarly rebuilt the walls as protection from his enemies and was not criticized.) Hezekiah, however, put his trust in the Lord, God of Israel, but you did not put your trust in Him. That is what it says: “You did not look to the One who planned it, and you did not see the One who fashioned it long ago” (Isaiah 22:11). “The Lord, God of hosts, called on that day for weeping and for lamentation” (Isaiah 22:12) – the ministering angels said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, it is written: “Majesty and glory are before Him” (Psalms 96:6), and You say this?’ He said to them: ‘I will teach you. That is what it says: “Disrobe and bare yourselves, and place a belt upon your waist” (Isaiah 32:11) – this is how you shall lament. “Smiting upon the breasts” (Isaiah 32:12) – on the first destruction and on the second destruction. “Over pleasant fields” (Isaiah 32:13) – on the house of My delight, which I made like a field. That is what it says: “Zion will be plowed like a field” (Micah 3:12). “Over a fruitful vine” (Isaiah 32:12) – this is Israel, just as it says: “You transported a vine from Egypt” (Psalms 80:9).’ Another matter: “The Lord, God of hosts, called on that day…” (Isaiah 22:12) – that is what was stated in the verse by the sons of Koraḥ through the Divine Spirit: “These I remember, and pour out my soul within me, [how I passed on with the throng and led them to the house of God]” (Psalms 42:5). Regarding whom did the sons of Koraḥ recite this verse? Regarding the congregation of Israel, as the congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, I remember the security, tranquility, and calm in which I existed, and now it has grown distant from me. I am weeping and moaning and saying: If only I could be restored to the earlier times when the Temple was built, and You would descend to it from heaven On High and rest Your Divine Presence upon me. The nations of the world would laud me, and when I would request mercy for my iniquities, You would answer me. But now I am in shame and humiliation.’ They also said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, my soul is desolate within me when I pass by Your Temple and it is destroyed, and a still small voice within it says: The place where the descendants of Abraham sacrificed offerings before You, the priests would stand on the platform, and the Levites would laud with their lyres, shall foxes prance in it? That is what is written: “On Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes walk upon it” (Lamentations 5:18). But what shall I do? My iniquities have brought this upon me, the false prophets who were in my midst misled me from the path of life to the path of death.’ That is why it is stated: “These I remember, and pour out my soul within me…” Another matter: “The Lord, God of hosts, called on that day for weeping and for lamentation…” (Isaiah 22:12) – when the Holy One blessed be He sought to destroy the Temple, He said: As long as I am inside it, the nations of the world will not touch it. So, I will avert My eyes from it, and I will take an oath that I will not attend to it until the time of the end of days. Then the enemies will come and destroy it. Immediately, the Holy One blessed be He took an oath by His right hand, and withdrew it behind Him. That is what is written: “He withdrew His right hand from before the enemy” (Lamentations 2:3). At that moment, the enemies entered the Sanctuary and burned it. Once it was burned, the Holy One blessed be He said: I no longer have an abode on the earth; I will remove My Divine Presence from it, and I will ascend to My original location. That is what is written: “I will go and return to My place, until they will be punished and they seek My presence” (Hosea 5:15). At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He was weeping and saying: Woe is Me for what I have done. I rested My Divine Presence below for the sake of Israel. Now that they have sinned, I have returned to My original place. Heaven forbid that I have become a laughingstock to the nations and a mockery to the people. At that moment, Metatron (This is the name of an important angel.) came and fell on his face and said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I will weep but You shall not weep.’ He said to him: ‘If you do not allow Me to weep now, I will enter a place into which you have no authorization to enter, and I will weep, as it is stated: “But if you will not heed it, my soul will weep in concealed places due to your arrogance…”’ (Jeremiah 13:17). The Holy One blessed be He said to the ministering angels: ‘Come and let us go, you and I, and let us see what the enemies did in My Temple.’ Immediately, the Holy One blessed be He and the ministering angels went, with Jeremiah before Him. When the Holy One blessed be He saw the Temple, He said: Certainly, this is My Temple and this is My resting place that enemies entered and did in it as they pleased. At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He was weeping and saying: Woe is Me for My Temple. My children, where are you? My priests, where are you? My beloved, where are you? What could I do for you? I warned you but you did not repent. The Holy One blessed be He said to Jeremiah: ‘Today I am like a person who had an only son, made a wedding canopy for him, and he died within his wedding canopy; do you not feel pain for Me or for My son? Go and call Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses from their graves, as they know how to weep.’ [Jeremiah] said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I do not know where Moses is buried.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Go, stand on the bank of the Jordan, raise your voice, and call: Son of Amram, son of Amram, arise and see your flock who have been consumed by enemies.’ Immediately, Jeremiah went to the Cave of Makhpela and said to the patriarchs of the world: ‘Arise, as the time has arrived that you are summoned before the Holy One blessed be He.’ They said to him: ‘Why?’ He said to them: ‘I do not know,’ because he feared that they would say: In your days this befell our children? Jeremiah left them and stood on the bank of the Jordan, and called out: ‘Son of Amram, son of Amram, arise, the time has arrived that you are summoned before the Holy One blessed be He.’ He said to him: ‘What is different about today that I am summoned before the Holy One blessed be He?’ Jeremiah said to him: ‘I do not know.’ Moses left him and went to the ministering angels, as he was familiar with them from the time of the giving of the Torah. He said to them: ‘Ministers On High, do you know why I am summoned before the Holy One blessed be He?’ They said to him: ‘Son of Amram, do you not know that the Temple has been destroyed and Israel has been exiled?’ He was screaming and weeping until he reached the patriarchs of the world. Immediately, they rent their garments, placed their hands on their heads, and were screaming and weeping until the gates of the Temple. When the Holy One blessed be He saw them, immediately, “the Lord, God of hosts, called on that day for weeping and for baldness and for donning sackcloth” (Isaiah 22:12). Had it not been for the verse that is written, it would have been impossible to say it. They were weeping and walking from this gate to that gate like a person whose deceased relative is lying before him. The Holy One blessed be He was lamenting and saying: Woe to a king who was successful in his youth and in his old age was not successful. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Temple was destroyed, Abraham came before the Holy One blessed be He weeping, pulling out his beard, tearing out the hair of his head, striking his face, rending his garments, ashes on his head, and he was walking in the Temple and lamenting and screaming. He said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Why am I different from all nations and tongues that I have come to this state of shame and humiliation?’ When the ministering angels saw him, they too composed lamentations standing in rows and saying: “[Behold, their angels cry out outside.…] The highways are desolate, wayfarers have ceased; [he breached the covenant, rejected cities, regarded no man]” (Isaiah 33:7–8). What is “the highways are desolate”? The ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘The highways to Jerusalem that You prepared so that travelers would never cease from them, how have they become desolation?’ “Wayfarers have ceased” – the ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘The ways upon which Israel would travel on the festivals, how have they become idle?’ “Breached the covenant” – the ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, the covenant of their patriarch Abraham has been breached, by means of whom the world was settled, and by means of whom You were recognized in the world as God on High, Maker of the heavens and the earth.’ “Rejected cities” – the ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Have You rejected Jerusalem and Zion after You chose them?’ That is what is written: “Did You reject Judah, did Your soul loathe Zion…?” (Jeremiah 14:19). “Regarded no man [enosh]” – the ministering angels said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You did not consider Israel even like the generation of Enosh, who were the originators of idol worshippers.’ At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the ministering angels. He said to them: ‘Why are you composing lamentations like this, standing in rows?’ They said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, why did You not pay attention to Abraham, Your beloved, who came to Your House and lamented and wept?’ He said to them: ‘From the day that My beloved passed away from before Me to his eternal home, he did not come to My House, and now: “What has My beloved to do in My House?”’ (Jeremiah 11:15). Abraham said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe: Why did You exile my children, deliver them into the hand of the nations, kill them with all kinds of uncommon deaths, and destroy the Temple, the place where I elevated my son Isaac as a burnt offering before You?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: ‘Your children sinned and violated the entire Torah and the twenty-two letters that are in it.’ That is what is written: “All Israel have violated Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11). Abraham said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, who will testify against Israel that they violated Your Torah?’ He said to him: ‘Let the Torah come and testify against Israel.’ Immediately, the Torah came to testify against them. Abraham said to it: ‘My daughter, you have come to testify against Israel that they violated your mitzvot, and you have no shame before me? Remember the day that the Holy One blessed be He circulated you among every nation and they did not want to accept you, until my descendants came to Mount Sinai and accepted you and honored you. Now you come to testify against them on their day of distress?’ Once the Torah heard this, it stood to one side and did not testify against them. The Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: ‘Let the twenty-two letters come and testify against Israel.’ Immediately, the twenty-two letters came. Alef came to testify against Israel that they violated the Torah. Abraham said to it: ‘Alef, you are the leader of all the letters, and you come to testify against Israel on their day of distress? Remember the day that the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself on Mount Sinai and began with you, “I am [anokhi] (Anokhi begins with the letter alef.) the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2) – no nation other than my descendants accepted you, and you come to testify against my descendants?’ Immediately, alef stood to one side and did not testify against them. Bet came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to it: ‘My daughter, have you come to testify against my descendants, who are diligent in the five books of the Torah, as you are at the head of the Torah?’ That is what is written: “In the beginning [bereshit] (Bereshit, the first word of the Torah, begins with a bet.) God created” (Genesis 1:1). Immediately, bet stood to one side and did not testify at all. Gimel came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to it: ‘My daughter, have you come to testify against my descendants that they violated the Torah? Is there any nation who fulfills the mitzva of ritual fringes, which you appear at its head?’ That is what is written: “You shall make for yourselves twisted threads [gedilim]” (Deuteronomy 22:12). (Gedilim, which in Hebrew is the first word of this verse, begins with a gimel.) Immediately, gimel stood to one side and did not testify at all. When all the letters saw that Abraham had silenced them, they were ashamed, stood by themselves, and did not testify against Israel. Immediately, Abraham began [speaking] before the Holy One blessed be He and said: ‘Master of the universe, at one hundred years You gave me a son. When he achieved cognition and was a thirty-seven-year-old young man, You said to me: Sacrifice him as a burnt-offering before Me. I became like a cruel person to him and had no mercy on him. Rather, I, myself, bound him. Will You not remember this on my behalf and have mercy on my descendants?’ Isaac began and said: ‘Master of the universe, when my father said to me: “God, Himself, will see to the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8), I did not delay fulfillment of Your words, and I was bound willingly upon the altar and extended my neck under the knife. Will You not remember this on my behalf and have mercy on my descendants?’ Jacob began and said: ‘Master of the universe, did I not remain in Laban’s house for twenty years? When I departed from his house, the wicked Esau encountered me and sought to kill my children, and I endangered my life on their behalf. Now they are delivered into the hand of their enemies like sheep to slaughter after I raised them like chicks and suffered the travails of child raising on their behalf, as most of my days I experienced great suffering for their sake. Will You not now remember this on my behalf to have mercy on my descendants?’ Moses began and said: ‘Master of the universe, was I not a loyal shepherd over Israel for forty years? I ran before them like a horse in the wilderness, yet when the time came for them to enter the land, You decreed against me that my bones would fall in the wilderness. Now that they have been exiled you sent to me to lament them and weep over them.’ This is the parable that people say: From the goodness of my master it is not good for me, and from his evil it is bad for me. At that moment, Moses said to Jeremiah: ‘Go before me so I may go and bring them. I would like to see who is going to restrain them.’ (If I bring them back no one will dare stand in their way.) Jeremiah said: ‘It is impossible to go on the way due to the corpses.’ (I am a priest, and it is prohibited for me to contract impurity imparted by a corpse.) He said to him: ‘Nevertheless.’ Immediately, Moses went and Jeremiah was before him, until they reached the rivers of Babylon. They saw Moses and said to each other: ‘The son of Amram has come from his grave to redeem us from the hand of our adversaries!’ A Divine Voice emerged and said: ‘It is a decree from before Me.’ Immediately, Moses said to them: ‘My children, to return you is impossible, as the decree has already been issued. Rather, the Omnipresent will return you speedily.’ He left them. At that moment, they raised their voice in great weeping until their weeping ascended On High. That is what is written: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and also wept” (Psalms 137:1). When Moses came to the patriarchs of the world, they said to him: ‘What have the enemies done to our descendants?’ He said: ‘Some of them they killed, some of them they tied their hands behind them, some of them were bound in iron chains, some of them were stripped naked, some of them died on the way and their carcasses were left for the bird of the heavens and the animals of the earth, and some of them were cast in the sun hungry and thirsty.’ Immediately, they all began weeping and lamenting: ‘Woe over what has befallen our children! How have you become like orphans without a father; how do you lie in the afternoon and in the summer without garment and without covering; how have you walked on mountains and on gravel with shoes removed and without sandals; how have you carried bundles filled with sand; how have your hands been bound behind you; how have you been unable to swallow even the spittle in your mouths?’ Moses began and said: ‘Cursed sun! Why did you not darken when the enemy entered the Temple?’ The sun responded to him: ‘Moses, loyal shepherd, how could I darken, they did not allow me and did not relent from me, as they took me with sixty rods of fire and said to me: Go and shine your light.’ Again Moses began and said: ‘Woe over your radiance, Temple, how has it gone dark? Woe that its time to be destroyed arrived, the Sanctuary was burned, schoolchildren killed, and their fathers sent to captivity, exile, and the sword.’ Again Moses began and said: ‘O captors, by your lives! You killers, do not kill cruelly and do not implement total annihilation, do not kill a son in the presence of his father, or a daughter in the presence of her mother, for the time will come when the Master of heaven will settle the score with you.’ But the wicked Chaldeans did not do so, but rather, would seat the son on his mother’s lap and say to his father: Rise and slaughter him. The mother would cry and her tears would fall on him, and his father would hang his head. He also said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, You wrote in Your Torah: “An ox or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (Leviticus 22:28). But have they not killed many, many children and their mothers, and yet You are silent!’ At that moment, Rachel our matriarch interjected before the Holy One blessed be He and said: ‘Master of the universe, it is revealed before You that Your servant Jacob loved me abundantly and worked for my father seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time for my marriage to my husband arrived, my father plotted to exchange me with my sister for my husband. The matter was extremely difficult for me when I became aware of that plot, and I informed my husband and gave him a signal to distinguish between my sister and me so that my father would be unable to exchange me. Afterward, I regretted what I had done and suppressed my desire. I had mercy on my sister, so that she would not be led to humiliation. In the evening they exchanged me with my sister for my husband, and I transmitted to my sister all the signals that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she is Rachel. Moreover, I entered beneath the bed on which he was lying with my sister. He would speak with her and she would be silent, and I would respond to each and every matter that he said, so that he would not identify my sister’s voice. I performed an act of kindness for her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not lead her to humiliation. If I, who is flesh and blood, was not jealous of my rival, and I did not lead her to humiliation and shame, You who are a living and eternal merciful King, why were You jealous of idol worship that has no substance, and You exiled my descendants, and they were killed by sword, and the enemies did to them as they pleased?’ Immediately, the mercy of the Holy One blessed be He was aroused and He said: ‘For you, Rachel, I will restore Israel to its place.’ That is what is written: “So said the Lord: A voice is heard in Rama, wailing, bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be consoled for her children, as they are not” (Jeremiah 31:14). And it is written: “So said the Lord: Restrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, as there is reward for your actions.… And there is hope for your future, the utterance of the Lord, and your children will return to their borders” (Jeremiah 31:15–16).

R. Juda in the name of Rab said again: "Ten things were created on the first day, and they are: the Heaven and earth; chaos and desolation; light and darkness; wind and waters; the combined length of day and night. That Heaven and earth [were created on the first day], we infer from the following verse (Gen. 1, 1) In the beginning God created the heaven and earth; chaos and desolation, we infer from the following verse (Ib. 1, 2) And the earth was without form and void (chaos); light and darkness, from the following verse (Ib. ib.) And darkness was upon the face of the deep, and again it is written (Ib. 1, 3) And God said. Let there be light; wind and water, from the following verse (Ib. 1, 2) And the spirit (wind) of God was waving over the face of the waters; the combined length of day and night, from the following verse (Ib. 1, 5) And the Lord called unto the light day, and unto the darkness He called night.

Our Rabbis were taught: The School of Shammai say: "The Heavens were created first, and afterwards the earth was created, as it is said (en. 1, 1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." [Heaven is mentioned first.] But the School of Hillel say: "The earth was created first, and afterwards the heavens, as it is said (Ib. 2, 4) On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." [Earth is mentioned first.] The School of Hillel said to the School of Shammai: "According to your opinion, how is it possible that a man builds ap upper story, and then the lower story; as it is said (Amos 9, 6) That buildeth in the heavens His steps, and hath founded His vault over the earth." The School of Shammai replied to the School of Hillel: "And according to your opinion, is it then proper that a man should make a foot-stool, and afterwards make a throne, as it is said (Is. 66, 1) Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My foot-stool." The sages however, say: "Both were created together, as it is said (Ib. 48, 13) My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned out the heavens. I call unto them, they stand forward together." But how are the two passages to be explained? Resh Lakish said: "At the creation heaven preceded the earth, but at the expansion earth preceded the heaven."

(Fol. 9) R. Juda said: "Even though our sages permitted the use of Greek they referred merely to the translation of the Pentateuch, but not to anything else. And this was also allowed only because of what occurred to Ptolemy, the king." What was it? We are taught: It happened that Ptolemy the king took seventy-two elders from Jerusalem, and placed them in seventy-two separate chambers, and did not inform them for what purpose he had brought them there. He afterward visited each chamber, and said to them: "Translate me the Torah of Moses, your teacher, [by heart.]" The Holy One, praised be He! sent into the heart of each of them a counsel which caused them to think as one mind, and [instead of, In the beginning God created the world] they wrote God created the world in the beginning; [instead of, Let us make a man, they wrote] I will make a man in an image; [instead of, And it was finished, they write] And God finished on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh day; [instead of. He created them, they wrote] Created him; [instead of. Let us go down, they wrote] Let Me go down; [instead of Sarah laughed within herself (Ib. 18, 12) they wrote] And Sarah laughed among her relatives; [instead of (49, 6) For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they honged an ox, and in their self-will hanged a fattened ox; [instead of (Ex. 4, 20) Set them on a donkey, they wrote] Set them on a porter (man-carrier); [instead of (Ib. 12, 40) Dwelt in Egypt, they wrote] Dwelt in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty wears; [instead of (24, 5) And he then sent the youth, they wrote] The respectable men of Israel; [instead of (Num. 16, 15) I have not taken one ass of them, they wrote] Not one precious thing I took away; [instead of (Deut. 4, 19) Which the Lord thy God hath assigned unto all nations under the whole heaven, they wrote] Assigned to light for all nations; [instead of (Ib. 17, 3) Which I have not commanded, they wrote] Which I have not commanded to worship; [and instead of (Lev. 11, 6) The Arnebeth (the hare) they wrote], The slender footed, because Ptolemy's wife was named Arnebeth, and they were afraid lest he say that the Judaeans laughed at him by inserting his wife's name in the Torah. MISHNAH: Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel says, etc., R. Abahu, in the name of R. Jochanan, said: "The Halacha prevails according to Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel." And R. Abahu said again: "What reason does Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel advance? Because it is written (Gen. 9, 27) May God enlarge the boundaries of Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem; i.e., the most beautiful thing which Japheth has — (the Greek language) shall dwell in the tents of Shem."

(Fol. 49) GEMARA: R. Jochanan said: "The Shittin have existed since the six days of creation, as it is said (Songs 7, 2) The roundings of thy thighs are like the links of a chain, the work of the hands of a skilled workman. [This implies that] the roundings of thy thighs, refers to the Shittin; like the links of a chain which, perforating, reaches until the depth; the work of the hands of the artificer; i.e., which are the skilled workmanship of the Holy One, praised be He!" In the college of R. Ishmael it was taught (Gen. 1, 1) Breshith (In the beginning). Do not read Breshith, but Bra-Sith. (He created the Sith)." We are taught that R. Jose says: "The Shittin extend way down to the bottom, and upon them did David begin to dig [the pits of the Temple] sixteen thousand cubits in depth, as it is said (Is. 5, 1) I will sing now for my beloved, etc. And He fenced it in, and cleared it of stones, and planted it with the choicest vines, and built a tower in its midst, and also a wine press he hewed out therein; i.e., He planted it with the choicest of vines, refers to the Temple; and built a tower in its midst, refers to the altar; and also a wine-press He hewed out therein, refers to the Shittin."

“Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet; vanity of vanities, everything is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). “Vanity of vanities [havel havalim]” – Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: David made a statement and did not explain it, but his son Solomon explained it. Solomon made a statement and did not explain it, but his father David explained it. David said: “Man is like hevel” (Psalms 144:4); to what hevel [is man compared]? If it is to the hevel [heat] of an oven, it has significance. If it is to the hevel of a stove, it has significance. His son Solomon came and explained: “Vanity of vanities [havel havalim], said Kohelet.” Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani taught it in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa: It is comparable to a person who places seven pots on the fire one atop the other, and the heat of the upper one is insignificant. (This comparison is based on the fact that the term vanity [hevel] appears five times in Ecclesiastes 1:2, and twice it appears in the plural, for a total of seven mentions of the term hevel.) Solomon said: “For who knows what is good for man in his life, [all the days of his vain life,] that he spends like a shadow” (Ecclesiastes 6:12). What shadow? If it is like the shadow of a wall, it has substance. If it is like the shadow of a palm tree, it has substance. David came and explained: “His days are like a passing shadow” (Psalms 144:4). Rabbi Huna [said] in the name of Rav Aḥa: Like that bird that passes and its shadow passes with it. Shmuel said: Like the shadow of bees that have no substance at all. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak taught it in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: The seven vanities [havalim] that Kohelet mentioned correspond to the seven worlds that a person sees. A one-year-old is like a king who is on a canopied litter and everyone is hugging and kissing him. A two- or three-year-old is like a pig that extends its hands into the sewers. A ten-year-old jumps like a goat. A twenty-year-old whinnies like a horse, beautifies himself and seeks a wife. When he marries a wife he is like a donkey. When he begets children, he is as audacious as a dog to bring [home] bread and food. When he grows old, he is like a monkey. That is stated regarding the common people; however, regarding Torah personalities, it is written: “King David was old” – even though he was old, he was a king. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The seven vanities that Kohelet mentioned correspond to the seven days of Creation. On the first, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), and it is written: “For the heavens will vanish like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6). On the second: “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6), and it is written: “The heavens will be furled like a scroll” (Isaiah 34:4). On the third: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9), and it is written: “The Lord will destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt” (Isaiah 11:15). On the fourth: “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14), and it is written: “The moon will be disgraced” (Isaiah 24:23). On the fifth: “Let the waters swarm [with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven]” (Genesis 1:20), and it is written: “I will destroy the birds of the heavens” (Zephaniah 1:3). On the sixth: “Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26), and it is written: “I will destroy man and animal” (Zephaniah 1:3). Regarding Shabbat, what do you have to say? “One who profanes it will be put to death” (Exodus 31:14). That is stated regarding one who does so intentionally; but [one who profanes it] unwittingly, he will bring an offering and gain atonement. When Adam saw the praise of Shabbat, that one who brings an offering gains atonement, he began singing in its regard to the Holy One blessed be He, praise and psalm. That is what is written: “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbat” (Psalms 92:1). Rabbi Levi said: This [psalm] was stated by Adam.

THE FIRST THINGS CREATED

In the beginning, two thousand years before the heaven and the earth, seven things were created: the Torah written with black fire on white fire, and lying in the lap of God; the Divine Throne, erected in the heaven which later was over the heads of the Hayyot; Paradise on the right side of God, Hell on the left side; the Celestial Sanctuary directly in front of God, having a jewel on its altar graven with the Name of the Messiah, and a Voice that cries aloud, "Return, ye children of men."

"And the habitation of the children of Israel in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred and thirty years." This is one of the verses that they (the seventy-two elders changed) in transcribing (the Torah) for King Ptolemy, viz. (Megillah 9a): Once King Ptolemy assembled seventy-two elders and placed each in a separate house (without telling them why he was doing so), and he said to each of them: "Transcribe for me [into Greek] the Torah of Moses your teacher." The Holy One Blessed be He placed goodly counsel in the heart of each, and they all wrote as one (Genesis 1:1): "G–d created in the beginning" [so that Ptolemy could not structure the words as: "In the beginning, god was created."] [They wrote] (Ibid. 1:26): "I will make a man in image and form" [and not, literally: "Let us make a man, etc.", so that he would not be able to argue for a plurality of gods]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 2:2): "And He finished on the sixth day, and He rested on the seventh day" [and not, literally: "And G–d finished His work on the seventh day," so that he could not argue that G–d worked on the seventh day]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 5:2): "Male and female He created him" [and not, literally: "Male and female He created them" (which Ptolemy could use as an argument for the creation of two separate bodies)]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 11:7): "Let Me go down and confound their tongue" [and not, literally: "Let us go down", so that he would not find support for his polytheistic views]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 18:12): "And Sarah laughed bikrovehah" ["among her neighbors", and not, literally: "bekirbah" ("within her"), so that Ptolemy would not question why Sarah should be punished for laughing, and not Abraham, if they both laughed inwardly]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 49:7): "For in their wrath they killed an ox" [instead of: "a man" (so as not to give Ptolemy a pretext to call Jews murderers)], "and in their willfulness they razed a manger" [instead of: "an ox"]. [They wrote] (Exodus 4:20): "And Moses took his wife and his sons and he rode them on the bearer of men" [instead of "on the ass" (so that he not say that Moses lacked a horse or a camel)]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 12:40): "And the sojourning of the Jews, their dwelling in Egypt and in other lands was four hundred years." [(and not just: "their dwelling in Egypt," as per the verse, which would be open to dispute by Ptolemy's reckoning)]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 24:5): "And he sent the dignitaries of the children of Israel" [lest "youths" be taken demeaningly]; (Ibid. 11): "And to the dignitaries of the children of Israel, He did not stretch forth His hand." [They wrote] (Numbers 16:15): "Not one desirable object of theirs" [(instead of, literally: "Not one ass of theirs")] have I taken" [thus preventing Ptolemy from contending that it was only an ass that Moses had not taken]. [They wrote] (Deuteronomy 4:19): ["all the host of heaven …] which the L–rd your G–d bequeathed for illumination to all the peoples under the heavens" [and not, as in the verse: "which the L–rd your G–d bequeathed to all the peoples under the heavens," thus preventing him from construing this verse as a license for idolatry]. [They wrote] (Ibid. 17:3): "and he go and serve other gods … which I did not command to serve" [instead of, as per the verse: "which I did not command", lest he misconstrue it as: "which I did not command to exist" (and which "forced themselves" into creation against My will)]. And instead of (Leviticus 11:6): "And the arneveth (hare) […it is unclean to you"], they wrote: "the slender-legged"; for Ptolemy's wife was called "Arneveth", and Ptolemy would [otherwise] say: "The Jews have poked fun at me and put my wife's name in the Torah!" (Megillah 9a)

Similarly, (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning G–d created the heavens and the earth": I might think that what takes precedence in the verse took precedence in creation. It is, therefore, written (Genesis 2:4) "on the day that the L–rd G–d made earth and heaven" — They were both created together.

The measure of flesh and blood — First he builds the lower; then the higher. But the Holy One Blessed be He — First He builds the higher; then the lower, viz. (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning G–d created the heavens, (and then) the earth."

In the beginning, God created. This is a scripture: Thus said the Lord, if the heavens are measured (from above) [to upward] and the institutions of the earth below are searched, I will also be overwhelmed by all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, said the Lord (Jeremiah, 31:36), according to what Jeremiah said, He is overwhelmed by Judah and Gomer (ibid. 14:15), the answer is that if you have seen the heavens and the earth that have passed, at that moment you will be able to say that I am tired of them, according to the fact that Israel is the foundation of heaven, and if the foundation is tired, the building on top of it will fall. And where did you learn that heaven and earth were not created except for Israel, as it is said in Bereshit [בראשית], which means beginning, and Israel was called the first, as it is said that Israel is holy to God, the beginning of his harvest (Jeremiah 2:3).

Another thing is why in the second letter, against male and female, it is written that there is no confusion between creation and completion (Isaiah 45:18), and the wise man said that the two years are better than the one (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

Elokim created. It doesn't say "G-d created," as initially, He thought to create the world through the attribute of Judgement. However, since He saw that it would not be able to endure Judgement alone, he combined it with the attribute of Mercy, as it says, "These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, on the day that G-d Elokim made earth and heaven." [Alternative Translation: ברא אלהים Created Elohim. And it is not said that YHVH created, that in the beginning he arose in thought in the measure of judgment to create the world, and since he saw that he could not stand the measure of judgment alone, he shared with it the measure of mercy, as it is said that these are the history of the heavens and the earth in creation on the day that God created the earth and the heavens (Genesis 2:4) ]

And why didn't it say "God created at the first", but said "At the first God created"? According to the fact that there is no mention of the name of heaven except for speech, which is said to be a sacrifice to God (Leviticus 1:2). After all, things are light and heavy, and what about those whose way is to dedicate, the Torah says that one should not say a "to YHVH sacrifice", but a "sacrifice to YHVH", light and heavy to those who revile and blaspheme and who swear in vain, which they must before the place.

את השמים the Heavens. Teaches that all the history of the heavens was created........ In a world where he would not eat and the opinion of the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with her, therefore she did not put forth a tree bearing fruit.

Another thing in Genesis. With reverence for God, the Holy One, blessed be He, created his world saying the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (Psalms 111:10).

Another thing in Bereshit. Thanks to the Torah, the Holy One created his world with his blessings, which is called the beginning, as it is said, God is the beginning of the beginning, and his works have preceded him ever since (Proverbs 8:22).

Another thing in Bereshit. In the beginning, there are six letters, against the six words in which the Holy One created his world with his blessing, as it is said that in her the Lord created the worlds (Isaiah 26:4), there are two words, the Lord is four words, six, do not create but (rock) [flint] Worlds.

Another thing in Bereshit. b're (ברא) shit (שית), shit is for the altar and the b're for the world.

Another thing in Bereshit. ב & ר the beginning of the word, י & ת the end of the word, and it is a word ברית (brit) i.e. covenant, And thanks to the Word and the Sabbath, the Holy One with His blessing created the world, and from whence was the Sabbath called a covenant, when it was said to their generations an eternal covenant (Exodus 15), and the word was also called a covenant, which was said to be a covenant in your flesh (Genesis 17:13), and it was also because of the Torah that the world was created, because it remained from the word of Genesis Black fire and it is fire, and there is no fire but the Torah, which is said to be from the right hand, the fire of religion to him (Deuteronomy 32:2).

Another thing in Bereshit. Six letters are, against six series of Mishnah, and against six days of Creation.

Another thing in Bereshit. By removing the letter S there are six hundred and thirteen, against six hundred and thirteen unleavened bread, and the letter S that a person is obliged to memorize for his sons, as it was said and memorized for your sons (Deuteronomy 6:7).

And the Torah began with the letter ב (B), and why? It represents two Torahs, the written Torah, and the oral Torah.

Another interpretation [(of Numb. 10:2): MAKE TWO SILVER TRUMPETS]. This text is related (to Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD, MY CHILD, AND THE KING. R. Isaac bar Eleazar of Caesarea said: What wisdom made was a crown for her head. (yShab. 1:3 (or 5) (3c).) Her humility made {slippers} a slipper] (Lat.: solea.) for her foot. (The foot with such a covering need fear no thorns. See Gen. R. 44:12.) It is written elsewhere (in Ps. 111:10): THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM IS THE FEAR OF THE LORD and it is written (in Prov. 22:4): THE HEEL (‘QB. The Masoretic text vocalizes the word as ‘eqev which means “effect” but the word may also be vocalized as ‘aqev to mean “heel.” See Tanh. Gen. 1:1.) OF HUMILITY IS THE FEAR OF THE LORD. Solomon therefore said (in Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD, MY CHILD, AND THE KING. But what is the meaning of AND THE KING? Simply : Make him (i.e., the Holy One) king over you. (Tanh. Numb. 3:9 cont.; Numb. R. 15:14 cont.) Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21): AND THE KING. Be king over the evil drive, which is called a king where it is stated (in Eccl. 9:14): AND A GREAT KING CAME AGAINST IT…. (Cf. see above Gen. R. 11:1; 23:2; also Eccl. R. 4:13:1; 9:14:6, 9.) Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21): AND THE KING. " than the king," lest it be supposed that, if the king says to you: Worship an idol you should heed him. (See above Gen. 2:15.) The text reads (in Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD, MY CHILD. Thus Nebuchadnezzar told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to worship an idol, they did not heed him. Instead they said to him (in Dan. 3:18): WE WILL NOT SERVE YOUR GODS, NOR WILL WE PAY HOMAGE TO THE IMAGE OF GOLD WHICH YOU HAVE SET UP. (Dan. 3:14:) IS IT TRUE, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO? [Yesterday you were actually (Gk.: ontos.) saying: Whoever wanted to take an idol for himself came to Jerusalem, as stated (in Is. 10:10): AND THEIR GRAVEN IMAGES WERE FROM JERUSALEM AND FROM SAMARIA. (It is in this literal sense that the midrash understands the passage. English renderings usually translate in the following sense: AND THEIR GRAVEN IMAGES EXCEEDED THOSE OF JERUSALEM AND SAMARIA.) But now you have come to destroy my idol worship. (Dan. 3:14:) IS IT TRUE, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO? Did not the Holy One say this to you that you should obey royalty in whatever it tells you, where it is stated (in Eccl. 8:2): I : KEEP THE KING'S COMMAND? They said to him: You are king over us for taxes and crop levies; (Lat.: annona.) but in regard to the service of idols, Nebuchadnezzar and a dog equal . (Dan. 3:16–17:) SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO ANSWERED [AND SAID TO THE KING: O NEBUCHADNEZZAR], WE DO NOT {CARE} [NEED] IN THIS . IF OUR GOD . They said: Whether he delivers us or whether he does not deliver us (in vs. 18): BE IT KNOWN TO YOU, . Ergo (in Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD, MY CHILD, AND THE KING; AND DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE WHO WOULD DIFFER, DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH those who say that there are two gods in the world, for the end of is to perish from the world. It is so stated (in Zech. 13:8): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, SAYS THE LORD, THAT TWO-THIRDS [IN IT] SHALL BE CUT OFF [AND DIE], BUT ONE-THIRD SHALL REMAIN IN IT. And who is the one-third? This is Israel as stated (in Is. 19:24): AND ISRAEL SHALL BE A THIRD . Ergo (in Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD MY CHILD AND THE KING.

R. Isaac said: It was only necessary to write the Torah from < the words > (in Exod. 12:2): THIS MONTH SHALL BE FOR YOU. (I.e., from where the actual commandments begin. Cf. Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, which does in fact begin here.) Why did he write from < the words > (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING? To make known his mighty power. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 111:6): HE HAS DECLARED TO HIS PEOPLE THE POWER OF HIS WORKS IN GIVING THEM THE HERITAGE OF THE GENTILES.

Resh Laqish said: A word, as it were, came from the mouth of the Holy One (according to Ps. 33:6): BY THE WORD OF THE LORD WERE THE HEAVENS MADE. It is also written (in Gen. 1:1-27) < that > by it he CREATED. < This account was > simply for exacting retribution from the wicked who destroy the world, which was created with toil and wearisome labor, and to give a good recompense to the righteous who preserve the world, which was created by the word of the LORD. Ergo (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED < THE HEAVENS >…. (Cf. Avot 5:1.)

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. This text is related (to Prov. 3:19): THROUGH WISDOM THE LORD FOUNDED THE EARTH. You find that through wisdom the Holy One created heaven and earth. (Targum Neofiti I, Gen. 1:1; Frag. (Jerusalem) Targum, Gen. 1:1; Tanh., Gen. 1:1.) R. Azariah said in the name of Resh Laqish: On the first day he created heaven and earth. Five days were left over. He created above and below on alternate days. On the second day he created the firmament above. On the third day (in Gen. 1:9): LET THE WATERS BE GATHERED below. On the fourth day (in Gen. 1:14): LET THERE BE LIGHTS above. On the fifth day (in Gen. 1:20): LET THE WATERS SWARM below. The sixth day remained for creating. The Holy One said: If I create above, the earth will be angry; but if I create below, the heavens will be angry. What did the Holy One do? He created Adam below with breath from above. Thus it says (in Prov. 3:19): THROUGH WISDOM THE LORD FOUNDED THE EARTH.

One text says (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, but another says (in Gen. 2:4): ON THE DAY THAT THE LORD GOD MADE EARTH AND HEAVEN. (Hag. 12a; yHag. 2:1 (77c-d); Gen. R. 1:15; Lev. R. 36:1; PRE 18 (19); M. Sam. 5;cf. Tamid 32a.) The Bet Shammay say: Heaven was created first (according to Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. But the Bet Hillel say: Earth was created first, as stated (in Gen. 2:4): ON THE DAY THAT THE LORD GOD MADE EARTH AND HEAVEN. R. Judah b. R. Il'ay said: The Scripture supports the Bet Hillel, since it is stated (in Ps. 102:26): BEFOREHAND YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH. Moreover, R. Hanina said: You have learned it from your place (in Gen. 1:1), where it is stated: IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED…. And what is written next (in vs. 2)? AND THE EARTH WAS VOID…. R. Simeon ben Johay said: I am amazed at how the ancestors of the world (i.e., the scholars) were divided on the creation of heaven and earth. So how were they created? Just as a pot (Gk.: lopas.) and its cover did the Holy One create the heavens and the earth. Thus it is stated (in Is. 48:13): MOREOVER, MY HAND HAS FOUNDED EARTH [AND MY RIGHT HAND HAS SPREAD OUT HEAVEN]. Why did the Holy One put heaven before earth (in Gen. 1:1) and earth before heaven (in Gen. 2:4)? In order to teach you that both of them are considered together. R. Tanhuma bar Abba said: In the creation (of Gen. 1:1) heaven preceded earth, but in the making (of Gen. 2:4) earth preceded heaven.

(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. It is written (in Ps. 104:3): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT…. R. Johanan said: (Gen. R. 1:3; PRE 4; M. Pss. 104:7. See below, sec. 1:12; M. Pss. 24:4.) Heaven and earth were created on the first day, and on the second the Holy One (In this translation “the Holy One” (apart from biblical quotations) represents the Hebrew acronym, HQBH, which stands for “The Holy One Blessed be He.” A somewhat abbreviated form is called for because this acronym has become the common midrashic name of the Deity and is treated as a single word. The full title would be awkward and only appears in the translation where the full title occurs in the Buber text.) created the firmament and the angels. Where is it shown that they were created on the second day? Where it is stated (ibid.): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, (The midrash interprets this roof as the firmament of Gen. 1:6-8. Thus Ps. 104:3f. is seen as a reference to the second day of creation.) WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT, WHO WALKS ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND (ruah). And what is written next (in vs. 4)? WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS (ruah). (Cf. Hebrews 1:7.) R. Hanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. Thus it is written concerning the fifth (in Gen. 1:20): AND LET FOWL FLY (ye'ofef) ABOVE THE EARTH. Now the word ye'ofef only refers to the flying of angels, as it is used (in Is. 6:2): AND WITH TWO HE DID FLY (ye'ofef). And why were the angels not created on the first day? So that the heretics (minim) would not say: Michael was standing in the north with Gabriel in the south, and together they spread out the heavens and the earth. So who did create them? The Holy One by himself, as stated (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED < THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH >. R. Judah and R. Nehemiah disagree. R. Judah says: The world was being created for six days. Thus it is written concerning the work of each and every day (in Gen. 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30): AND IT WAS SO. That is R. Judah's opinion, but R. Nehemiah says: The whole world was created on the first day. R. Judah said to him: What is the meaning of what is written concerning the work of each and every day: [AND IT WAS SO]? R. Berekhyah said concerning R. Nehemiah's opinion: (According to Gen. 1:24) GOD SAID: LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH. The expression LET BRING FORTH is only used of something that was prepared from IN THE BEGINNING, as stated concerning the first day (in vs. 1): IN THE BEGINNING.

R. Judah bar Shallum said: The world was created for the sake of Israel. (See 4 Ezra 6:55, 59; 7:11; 8:1; Gerim 1:5; Lev. R. 36:4.) "From of old" is not written here (in Gen. 1:1), nor is "from the start" written here, but IN THE BEGINNING. What is the meaning of IN THE BEGINNING? This is Israel, which is called BEGINNING. It is so stated (in Jer. 2:3): ISRAEL IS HOLY TO THE LORD, THE BEGINNING OF HIS HARVEST. {From what < verse is it shown > that they were called BEGINNING? In the verse where it is stated:} [Where < is the original proposition shown >? From what we read on the subject:] IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED….

(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED. This text is related (to Ps. 18:36 = II Sam. 22:36): AND YOU GAVE ME YOUR SHIELD OF YOUR SALVATION. (Exod. R. 41:4; M. Pss. 18:28f.; see Tanh., Exod. 9:15.) < The words > [speak of Israel. What is written (in vs. 31 = vs. 31)? HE IS A SHIELD FOR ALL WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.] (The verse continues:) AND YOUR RIGHT HAND SUSTAINS ME. This is Torah according to what is stated (in Deut. 33:2): AT HIS RIGHT HAND IS A FIERY LAW (dat). (Ps. 18:36 = II Sam. 22:36 continues:) AND YOUR HUMILITY HAS MAGNIFIED ME. Now is anyone more humble than the Holy One? R. Abba bar Aha said: The student sits before his master. When he is finished, the student says to the master: How I have tired you! But Israel was learning from the Holy One. When they are departing, he says to them: How I have tired you! It is so stated (in Deut. 1:6): THE LORD OUR GOD SPOKE TO US IN HOREB, SAYING: < YOU HAVE SAT LONG ENOUGH AT THIS MOUNTAIN >. Ergo (in Ps. 18:36 = II Sam. 22:36): AND YOUR HUMILITY HAS MAGNIFIED ME.

Ben 'Azzay said: Come and see the humility of the Holy One. < The matter is comparable to > a king of flesh and blood who mentions his name < and >, afterwards mentions his creation. (Gk.: ktisma.) But the Holy One is not like that. Rather, when he mentioned his works, < it was > afterwards < that > he mentioned his name. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:1, following the Hebrew word order): IN THE BEGINNING CREATED GOD.

[(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED]: (Gen. R. 1:1 ; TDER 29(31); see Tanh., Gen. 1:1.) This text is related (to Prov. 8:30): AND I WAS WITH HIM AS AN CONFIDANT. What is the meaning of CONFIDANT 'MWN? R. Judah bar Il'a'y said: < That he was > an expert 'WMN in the Torah. The Holy One would scrutinize the Torah as he was creating the world. Ergo: AND I WAS WITH HIM AS A CONFIDANT. What is written (in Gen. 1:1)? IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED. There is no BEGINNING but Torah, as stated (in Prov. 8:22): THE LORD ACQUIRED ME (“Me” here refers to wisdom, which is regarded as the equivalent of Torah.) AS THE BEGINNING OF HIS WAY. Ergo: IN THE BEGINNING (i.e., in Torah) GOD CREATED.

R. Simeon ben Johay said: (See Gen. R. 1:13.) Woe to blasphemers who take the name of the Holy One lightly, for one should not say: To the LORD an offering, to the LORD a burnt offering. Rather, < use the biblical wording > (as in Lev. 1:2): WHEN ONE OF YOU PRESENTS AN OFFERING TO THE LORD; (or as in Numb. 8:12): A SIN OFFERING < … > TO THE LORD; (or as in Lev. 23:18; Numb. 8:12; 28:11, 19; 29:8; Jud. 13:16; etc.): A BURNT OFFERING TO THE LORD; (or as in Gen. 4:3; Is. 66:20; Ezek. 46:14; Mal. 2:12; II Chron. 33:23): A MEAL OFFERING TO THE LORD. Learn (from the Hebrew word order in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING CREATED, and after that, GOD. When he mentions his creation, (Gk.: ktisma.) < it is only > afterwards < that > he mentions his name.

The minim questioned {R. Ishmael} [R. Simlay]. (yBer. 9:1 (12d); Gen. R. 8:9; Deut. R. 2:13; Tanh., Lev. 7:4.) They said to him: How many deities created the world? He said to them: Let us, me and you, inquire of the Torah. They said to him: See, it written (in Josh. 24:19): FOR … HOLY GODS. (While “God” in the Bible is commonly plural, here the adjective “holy” is plural as well.) He said to them: Read the rest of the verse, < where > "they" is not used but HE. (Thus the text reads literally: FOR HE IS HOLY GODS.) R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Abba the Edomite: Why is HOLY plural (in Josh. 24:19)? Because he is holy in all categories of holiness. R. Aha bar Hanina said: In regard to the Holy One, his way is in holiness; he processes in holiness; he is seen in holiness; his speech is in holiness; the uncovering of his arm is in holiness; [he is beautiful and glorious in holiness]. His way is in holiness. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Ps. 77:14): YOUR WAY, O GOD, IS IN HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place, the Temple). He processes is in holiness. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Ps. 68:25): THE PROCESSIONS OF MY GOD, MY KING, ARE IN HOLINESS. He is seen in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 63:3): SO I HAVE BEHELD YOU IN HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place). His speech is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 60:8): GOD SPOKE IN HIS HOLINESS (Holy Place). The uncovering of his arm is in holiness. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Is. 52:10: THE LORD HAS UNCOVERED HIS ARM OF HOLINESS. He is beautiful and glorious in holiness. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Exod. 15:11): WHO IS LIKE YOU AMONG THE GODS, O LORD, < GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS >? Hence < the plurals > (in Josh. 24:19): FOR HE IS HOLY GODS, in < the sense > that he is holy in all types of holinesses. < The minim > said to him: But he caused to be written (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD (in the plural) CREATED. He said to them: < The plural form of > "created" is not written here, but CREATED < in the singular to agree with the singular subject >.

R. Ishmael questioned R. 'Aqiva, (Cf. Hag. 12b; Gen.R. 1:14; 22:2; 53:15.) who was interpreting the words akh ("but") and raq ("only") as < indicating > exclusions, with et (either the sign of a definite accusative or the preposition "with") and gam ("also") as < indicating > inclusions. R. Ishmael said to him: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" is not written here but ET THE HEAVEN AND ET THE EARTH. < The use of ET is simply > a clarification of Scripture. R. 'Aqiva said to him: It is written (in Deut. 32:47): FOR IT (the Torah) IS NO EMPTY THING FOR YOU. If "heaven and earth" had been stated (in Gen. 1:1), we should have said: They are two deities. (Without the use of et the two might be seen as the subject of “create” along with God.) But ET THE HEAVEN AND ET THE EARTH means those < two creations > and what was created along with them. (Aquila apparently followed the principle of his master ‘Aqiva in his Greek rendering of Gen. 1:1.)

(Gen. 1:1) "God created in the beginning" (with this word order). (This wording, which puts “God” first in the sentence, does not agree with the Septuagint, which follows the Masoretic Text.)

Another interpretation (of Ps. 24:8 & 10): WHO IS THIS KING OF GLORY? Who is he? This is the king who distributes glory to those who fear him (according to vs. 10, cont.): THE LORD OF HOSTS, . (Tanh., Exod. 2:8; M. Pss. 21:2; below, Numb. 2:24; 3:15; and the other parallels listed there.) In what way? In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one sits on his throne; (See Sanh. 2:5, which affirms this royal prerogative along with the two which follow.) yet the Holy One had Solomon sit on his throne. It is so stated (in I Chron. 29:23): THEN SOLOMON SAT UPON THE THRONE OF THE LORD. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one rides upon his horse; yet the Holy One had Elijah ride on his horse. Now what is the horse of the Holy One? Whirlwind and storm, as stated (in Nahum 1:3): THE LORD IS IN THE WHIRLWIND, AND THE STORM IS HIS ROAD. (Tanh., Exod. 2:8; Exod. R. 8:1; M. Pss. 21:2; and below, Numb. 2:34, all cite II Kings 2:11 here to show when Elijah rode the whirlwind of the Holy One.) In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one uses his scepter; yet Moses used the scepter of the Holy One. It is so stated (in Exod. 4:20): AND MOSES TOOK THE ROD OF GOD IN HIS HAND. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one puts on his crown; yet the Holy One has given crowns to the Messianic King. It is so stated (in Ps. 21:4): YOU HAVE SET ON HIS HEAD A CROWN OF FINE GOLD. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one puts on his robes; yet Israel has put on the Holy One's robes, strength. It is so stated (in Is. 51:9): AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD; and he has given it to Israel, as stated (in Ps. 29:11): THE LORD WILL GRANT STRENGTH TO HIS PEOPLE. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, no one calls by his title, as Caesar, Augustus, King; (Gk.: Basileus.) and, if a certain person calls anyone by one of them, he will not live. Do you yourself know a person who calls his friend Augusta so-and-so? But the Holy One said to Moses: See, I have made you like me to Pharaoh. I am called God; and in that name I created the world, as stated (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. And here I have made you like me, a god to Pharaoh. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 7:1) SEE, I HAVE SET YOU AS A GOD TO PHARAOH. Ergo (in Ps. 24:8 & 10): WHO IS THIS KING OF GLORY? The one who distributes glory to those who fear him.

(Exod. 20:2:) I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD…. R. Aha said: For twenty-six generations (between creation and the giving of Torah) the alef (Alef and bet are the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and are represented here in transliteration by ‘and b respectively.) kept making a complaint before the Holy One, saying: Even though I am the first of all the letters, you did not create the world with me but with a bet (i.e., in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING (Bereshit) GOD CREATED. (Gen. R. 1:10; Cant. R. 5:11:4; PRK 12:24; PR 21:21.) The Holy One said: By your life, I will repay you with the Torah, which was created two thousand years before the world was created; (Gen. R. 8:2; Lev. R. 19:1; Cant. R. 5:11:1; Tanh., Gen. 9:4. Other sources place Torah 974 or 980 generations before creation. So Shab. 88b; Zev. 116a; ARN, A, 31; Gen. R. 28:4; Eccl. R. 1:15:2; Tanh., Gen. 3:11; Exod. 5:9; M. Pss. 90:13; 105:3.) and when I come to give Torah to Israel, I will begin {according to} [with] you (in Exod. 20:2): I (Anokhi) AM THE LORD YOUR GOD. R. Nehemiah said: What is 'anokhi? It is an Egyptian word. To what is the matter comparable? To a king whose son was captured and spent a long time with the captors. He learned the speech of those captors. When had taken vengeance on his enemies and brought him , he went to converse with him in his own language; but he did not know it. What did he do? He began to speak with him in the language of his captors. Thus did the Holy One do with Israel. During all those years that Israel had been in Egypt, they had learned the Egyptian speech. When the Holy One had redeemed them, he came to give them the Torah, they did not know how to understand it. The Holy One said: Here, I shall converse with them in the Egyptian language. 'Anokh. In Egypt, when one wants to say "I" to a friend, he says: 'anokh. (The word means “I” in Coptic.) Thus the Holy One began in their language and said (in Exod. 20:2): I ('anokhi).

With (The prefix bet in the first word of the Torah can be translated as “with,” “in,”, “by means of,” etc.) the beginning (Gen. 1:1). This is what Scripture means when it says: The Lord with wisdom (“Beginning” and “wisdom” are synonyms for “Torah” in rabbinic literature. See Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, p. 129.) founded the earth (Prov. 3:19). That is, when the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to create this world, He consulted the Torah (Seven things were created two thousand years before the creation of heaven and earth, and the Torah was one of them.) before embarking upon the work of creation, as it is said: Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine (ibid. 8:14). How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire, as is said: His locks are curled and black as a raven (Song 5:11). What is meant by His locks are curled? (The word taltalim (“curls”) is read as tille tillim (“heaps upon heaps”). Each letter in the Torah has numerous strokes upon it which, according to tradition, represent heaps upon heaps of laws. Cf. Leviticus Rabbah 19:2, Song of Songs Rabbah 5:11–12.) It means that each crowned stroke on the letters of the Torah contains heaps and heaps of law. For example, it is written in the Torah: Profane not My Holy Name (Lev. 22:2); but if you should change the het in the word yehallelu (“profane”) into a heh, the word would read “praise,” and you would thereby destroy the world. Conversely, where it is written Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6), if you should alter the heh in the word tehallel (“praise”) into a het, the word would read “profane,” and you would thereby destroy the world.

In the beginning God created (Gen. 1:1). May it please our master (Many yelammedenu (“may our master teach us”) passages are included in Midrash Tanhuma, and for this reason our text is entitled both Midrash Tanhuma and Yelammedenu. Buber, in the introduction to his edition of Tanhuma, maintains that these passages were adopted from an earlier Tanhuma text that is lost to us. See Buber Tanhuma, introduction, p. 13. The yelammedenu statements are found in many other texts.) to teach us the benediction one should offer upon the erection of a new home? Thus did our masters of blessed memory teach us: Upon the erection of a new home, a man should recite the blessing: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us in life, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this season.” He must recite this prayer in order to please his Creator.

In the beginning God created (Gen. 1:1). It is written elsewhere in reference to this verse: Blessings are upon the head of the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked concealeth violence (Prov. 10:6). Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, commence the account of the creation of His world with the letter bet rather than with the alef, the first letter of the alphabet? He did so because the alef is the first letter of the word arur (“cursed”), while the bet is the first letter of the word barukh (“blessed”). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: “I will begin the account of the creation of the world with the letter that symbolizes a blessing.” Even though the account of the creation of the world starts with a letter that symbolizes a blessing, mankind angered its Creator. How much angrier would man have made Him if the creation narrative had commenced with the letter that symbolizes a curse!

After He fashioned the firmament, He created the angels, and the fire of Gehenna on the second day, for about that day it is not written: And God saw that it was good (Gen. 1:1). However, the pits of Gehenna were created two thousand years before, as it is said: For a hearth is ordered of old (lit. “yesterday”) (Isa. 30:33). Just as a man who is about to purchase some slaves tells his servants: “Prepare the executioner’s sword so that they will hear the call to judgment if they should rebel,” likewise, the Holy One, blessed be he, may His Name be blessed, prepared Gehenna so that if His creatures sin, they can be cast down into it.

"And it was on the day that Moses had finished to erect the tabernacle" (Numbers 7:1). Our rabbis taught (Avot 1:2),"On three things the world stands: On the Torah, on the service and on acts of lovingkindness." You find twenty-six generations from when the world was created until the Torah was given, and the Holy One, blessed be He, supported them out of kindness (since they were not worthy). And corresponding to them, David said, "As Your kindness is great," twenty-six times in the great Hallel (Psalms 136). Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rav Huna, "Moshe also hinted about them to Israel at the [Red] Sea, as he said am zu (this nation, in that zu has a numerical equivalent of thirteen) twice. As it is stated (Exodus 15:13), 'You have led this people that You have redeemed,' and it is written (Exodus 15:16), 'until this nation that You acquired has passed' - these are the twenty-six generations that [arose] from when the world was created until the Torah was given. 'You led them with Your strength (Exodus 15:13) - that is the Torah, which is called strength, as it is stated (Psalms 29:11), 'May the Lord give strength to His people.'" A parable: To what was the world similar at this time? To a basket with two legs, which [hence] could not stand. Once the tabernacle was erected, the world stood and was given a base, as stated, "And it was on the day that Moses had finished to erect the tabernacle (et hamishkan)." "Hamishkan" is not written here, but rather "et hamishkan, [the extra word coming] to include the creation of the world, about which it is written (Genesis 1:1), "et the heavens and the earth."

R. Jacob the son of Issi asked: Why does it say; I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth? Because the Tabernacle is equal to the creation of the world itself. How is that so? Concerning the first day, it is written: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and it is written elsewhere: Who stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2), and concerning the Tabernacle it is written: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7). About the second day of creation it states: Let there be a firmament and divide between them, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6). About the Tabernacle it is written: And the veil shall divide between you (Exod. 26:33). With regard to the third day it states: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered (Gen. 1:9). With reference to the Tabernacle it is written: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass … and thou shalt put water therein (Exod. 30:18). On the fourth day he created light, as is stated: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven (Gen. 1:14), and concerning the Tabernacle it is said: And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold (Exod. 25:31). On the fifth day He created birds, as it is said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the fowl fly above the earth (Gen. 1:20), and with reference to the Tabernacle. He directed them to offer sacrifices of lambs and birds, and it says as well: And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high (Exod. 25:20). On the sixth day he created man, as it is said: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27), and about the Tabernacle it is written: A man who is a high priest who has been anointed to serve and to minister before God. (You write that this is not a direct quote from the Bible.) On the seventh day The heaven and the earth were finished (Gen. 2:1), and with regard to the Tabernacle it is written: Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle (Exod. 39:32). Concerning the creation of the world it is written: And God blessed (Gen. 2:3), and of the Tabernacle it is said: And Moses blessed them (Exod. 39:43); with regard to the creation it is said: And God finished (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle it is written: On that day Moses made an end (Num. 7:1); of creation it says: And hallowed it (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle: And had anointed it and sanctified it (Num. 7:1). Why is the Tabernacle equal to heaven and earth? Because even as heaven and earth bear witness concerning Israel, as it is written: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day (Deut. 30:19), so the Tabernacle bears witness in behalf of Israel, as is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). Hence it is said: Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8).

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Exod. 4:20). This is one of the ten verses our rabbis altered when they translated the Torah into Greek for King Ptolemy. (Megillah 9a. The Septuagint, begun during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.).) The ten changes are: “God created in the beginning” (Gen. 1:1); (Instead of In the beginning God created, in order to emphasize that God alone created.) “I shall make man in My image and My likeness” (ibid., v. 26); (Instead of Let us make man in our image. etc.) “And He finished on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh day (ibid. 2:2); (Instead of And on the seventh day God finished, thus giving the impression that God actually worked on the seventh day.) “Male and female He created him” (ibid. 5:2); (Instead of Male and female He created them, etc.) “Come, let Me descend and confound their tongue” (ibid. 11:7); (Instead of Come, let us go down, etc.) “And Sarah laughed among her relatives” (ibid. 18:12); (Instead of And Sarah laughed within herself.) “For in their anger they slew an ox, and in their wrath they digged up a stall” (ibid. 49:6); (Instead of For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.) “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and made them ride on a carrier of men” (Exod. 4:20); (Instead of… and set them upon an ass.) “Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt, and in the land of Goshen and in Canaan was four hundred and thirty years” (ibid. 12:40); (Instead of Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, etc.) “And he sent the elect of the children of Israel” (ibid. 24:5); (Instead of And he sent the young men of the children of Israel.) “And against the elect of the children of Israel he put not forth his hand (ibid., v. 11); (Instead of And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand.) “Since the Lord thy God hath arranged to give light to all the peoples under the entire heavens” (Deut. 4:19); (The words “to give light” were added.) “Which I had not commanded the people to serve” (Deut. 17:3); (Instead of Which I have commanded not.) they wrote about “the slender-footed,” but they did not write the word ‘arnevet (“the hare”) (Lev. 11:5) because the name of Ptolemy’s wife was ‘Arnevet, (Actually, her name was Arsinoe.) and he might say: “The Jews are ridiculing me by writing my wife’s name in the Torah.”

Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth. They stand this day according to Thine ordinances (ibid.). It was according to Your ordinances that You created everything, as is said: In the beginning God created (Gen. 1:1). Another comment on They stand this day according to Thine ordinances. Even this day was brought forth according to Your ordinances, as it is said: Every morning, every morning doth He bring His ordinance to light (Zeph. 3:5). They stand this day according to Thine ordinances; they shall perish, but Thou shalt stand (Ps. 102:27), for You are the foundation of the world. Another explanation of But Thou shalt stand is that You shall cause others to stand. Another comment on And it standeth according to thine ordinances. That is, according to the words You spoke to Aaron (that) the priesthood would be firmly established through him.

Proof of the seriousness of the profanation of the Divine Name is contained in the following. Ben Azzai declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not mention His own name, as though that were possible, until He first spoke the words In the beginning He created (Gen. 1:1). Only then did He add the word God. And R. Simeon the son of Eleazar stated: Moses did not mention the Divine Name until he had spoken the twenty-one words Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak, etc. (Deut. 32:1). Only then did he say: For I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Since, as you know, He did not reveal His name to the patriarchs, why did he disclose it to Moses? He did so because he had been chosen to redeem Israel, as it is written above in reference to this matter: And Moses returned unto the Lord and said: “Lord, wherefore hast thou dealt ill with this people?” (Exod. 5:22).

"Hallelujah, sing to the Lord a new song," says Isaiah (Isaiah 43:18-19), "Do not remember the former things." (Isaiah 43:18-19) "The wild beasts will honor Me" (Isaiah 43:20). "This people have I formed for Myself" (Isaiah 43:21). The Almighty says: Just as I have made all things new, so shall you sing a new song to Me, as it is said: "Sing unto the Lord a new song." (Psalm 149:1) And who are these pious ones? They are the people of Israel. As it is written, "He raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David...to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father." (Psalms 148:14) Whenever Israel sees the Almighty, they become pious. They became pious when they saw Him at the Red Sea and sang a song, as it is said, "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord." (Exodus 15:1) They became righteous when they saw Him at Sinai, as it is said, "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright." (Proverbs 2:7) And what does it say there? "He kissed me," etc. They became righteous when they saw Him at the Tent of Meeting, as it is said, "And Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:23-24) As it is said, "Rejoice, O ye righteous," etc. When they see Him in the world to come, they become pious, as it is said, "Let the praises of God be in the congregation of the pious." (Psalm 149:1) And they rejoice and are exceedingly glad in His presence, in the fire, hail, snow, and smoke, as it is said, "Praise the Lord from the earth," etc. (Psalm 148:7-14) From here we learn that there is nothing evil in heaven, neither fire, hail, snow, nor smoke, but they are from the earth, as it is said, "Praise the Lord from the earth." (Psalm 148:7) And so it is said, "No evil shall befall you." (Psalm 91:10) There is no evil in His presence. All evil is on earth. But if so, why does it say, "And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven?" (Genesis 19:24) The Almighty said, a decree shall come from the heavens and below it shall be done with fire. A stormy wind does his bidding, and even the hills and all the high places tremble. David said, the mountains will be weighed down by him who knows their weight." As it says (Isaiah 40:12), "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens with a span." And so it says (Psalm 147:4), "He counts the number of the stars, He calls them all by their names." Therefore it is said, "The heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), to teach that God created everything. David said, "Everything praises God." If a person does not want to give thanks and praise to his Creator, even a crawling creature or a bird with wings thanks Him, and it is not fitting for him. And so it says (Isaiah 43:20), "The beasts of the field shall honor Me." Therefore it is said, "The wild beasts and all cattle" (Psalm 148:10). The kings of the earth and all nations, princes, and all judges of the earth should have said, "The dragons and all deeps" (Psalm 148:7) first, and afterward, "Kings of the earth and all people" (Psalm 148:11), up to "Young men and maidens" (Psalm 148:12). What are "young men"? They are the same as "young" and "youth." But the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "The elders who are youthful." As it says (Psalm 103:5), "Your youth is renewed like the eagle's," and (Isaiah 40:31), "But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." Therefore it says, "The elders with the young" (Psalm 148:12). "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted" (Psalm 148:13). But haven't we already said, "Let them praise the name of the Lord"? In the custom of the world, when a mortal king sits enthroned, he has chamberlains who accompany him in the procession of his reign, and when they sing, they also honor him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like this; He has no chamberlains or ministers. As it says (Deuteronomy 3:24), "Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" None other than He performs His work; He alone suspends the earth. As it says (Isaiah 44:24), "I, the Lord, am He that makes all things, that stretches forth the heavens alone, that spreads abroad the earth by Myself." Therefore He praises Himself alone, as it says, "Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted." As it is written, "He has raised up a horn for his people... Sing to the Lord a new song." And it says in the giving of the Torah (Psalm 138:4), "All the kings of the earth will praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed." Did they really hear and want to accept your Torah? No. Until Michah the Morashtite came and explained, as it says (Michah 5:14), "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations that have not hearkened." This teaches that they heard but did not accept. Then David came and gave thanks, as it says (Psalm 136:15), "You are the God who performs wonders..." David said, "I give thanks to you for the wonders you have done in the world, by making your Torah known to all the nations in the world, even though they did not want to accept it." This verse does not refer to strength, but to the Torah, as it says (Exodus 15:2), "The Lord is my strength and my song." Rabbi Abbahu said that it was revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, that the nations of the world would not accept the Torah. So why did He offer it to them? This is God's way: He offers His creations what they cannot accept, and only then removes it from them. For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come into conflict with His creations. Therefore it is said, "For high is His name alone is exalted."

"Say another thing and give me the shield of your salvation." Speaking of Abraham, who was sitting while the Shechinah (divine presence) was standing. Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "Abraham wanted to stand up, but the Holy One, blessed be He, told him to remain seated, for it is a good sign for your children that they will sit while I stand, as it is written (Psalms 82:1), 'God stands in the congregation of the mighty.'" Rabbi Samuel bar Chiya and Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Chanina that whenever the children of Israel praise the Holy One, blessed be He, He places His Shechinah upon them. Why is this so? As it is said (Psalms 22:4), "Yet You are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel." Rabbi Simon said that when the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to Abraham, He regretted His words. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angels, "Go to him, and the Shechinah will accompany you and delay him until you have gone," as it is said (Genesis 18:22), "And the men turned from there." Rabbi Simon said that this is the correction of the scribes: that the Shechinah stands and waits for him. "Your answer will increase me." Rabbi Chiya said, "When a disciple goes before his teacher at night, who lights his lamp? Not the disciple, but the Holy One, blessed be He, lights the lamp for Israel, as it is said (Exodus 13:21), 'And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud.'" "Your answer will increase me." Rabbi Lulianus said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael that in the custom of the world, the teacher speaks and the student answers. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so, as it is said (Exodus 19:19), "Moses will speak, and God will answer him with a voice." "Your answer will increase me." Ben Azai said, "A mortal king, when he mentions his name, first mentions his titles and only then his name. But the Holy One, blessed be He, first mentions His name and only then His titles, as it says, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1). Woe to you who does not understand this!" Rabbi Abba said, "Have you seen the difference between the conduct of the teacher and the student in the world? When the teacher is engrossed in Torah study and says to the student, 'You have wearied me with your questions,' the student goes and waits for him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, taught the Torah to Israel for forty days, and at the end said, 'You have wearied Me with your questions,' as it says, 'The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying...' (Deuteronomy 1:6). Rabbi Shimon said, 'In the practice of the world, the teacher and student stand together, and the teacher says to the student, 'Go and wait for me in such-and-such a place,' and the student goes and waits for him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Ezekiel, 'Arise, go to the valley, and there I will speak with you' (Ezekiel 3:22). And it is written, 'So I arose and went to the valley' (Ezekiel 3:23). Woe to you who does not understand this!" Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Hama, "In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will seat the Messiah King at His right hand, as it says, 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand"' (Psalm 110:1). And Abraham will be at His left, and his face will be confused, and he will say, 'The son of my son is sitting at Your right, and I am at Your left?' And the Holy One, blessed be He, will appease him and say, 'The son of your son is at My right, and you are at My right as well,' as it says, 'The Lord is at your right hand' (Psalm 110:5). Woe to you who does not understand this!"

"I have loved the Lord." This is equivalent to the creation of Your world. In the beginning, it is written (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And in the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 26:7) "And you shall make curtains of goats' hair." On the second day, let there be a firmament and let it divide. In the Tabernacle, it is the partition. On the third day, let the waters gather together. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 30:18) "And you shall make a bronze basin, and its base also of bronze, for washing." And water shall be put therein. On the fourth day, let there be luminaries. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 25:31) "And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold." On the fifth day, let the waters bring forth living creatures. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 25:18) "And you shall make two cherubim of gold." On the sixth day, let man be created. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 28:1) "And take unto yourself Aaron your brother." On the seventh day, they finished and consecrated it. And in the Tabernacle, it is written (Numbers 7:1) "And it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle." This is the meaning of what is written (Deuteronomy 4:26) "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day." To hear [this] in the voice of gratitude. Rabbi Avin said: This [Psalm] contains elements of the past and elements of the future. (Psalm 106:1) "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."

There is none like You among the gods, Lord. You are a King of flesh and blood who builds the lower world first, and then the upper world. But the Holy One, blessed be He, does not build the upper world first and then the lower world, as it is said, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Flesh and blood cannot make a form that creates a form, but the Holy One, blessed be He, makes His form create a form, as it is said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures" (Genesis 1:20). Man is made in the image of the Holy One, blessed be He, and makes a form that creates a form. The heavens and the earth are the form of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 2:4). There is none like You among the gods, Lord. All nations whom You have made shall come and bow down before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous things. Rabbi Tanchum said, "Flesh and blood insult him to his face and insult his descendants with him, but when they insult him, they take their load with him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, does not burden anyone with His load." Know that Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yochanan said that on Monday or on Thursday the angels were created in Psalm above.

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

THE SABBATH THE School of Shammai said: The heavens were created first, and the earth afterwards, as it is said, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). The School of Hillel said: The earth was created first, and the heavens afterwards, as it is said, "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands" (Ps. 102:25). The School of Shammai said: The heavens were created first, and the earth afterwards, as it is said, "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth" (Gen. 2:4). The School of Hillel said: The earth was created first, and the heavens afterwards, as it is said, "In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven" (ibid.). The School of Shammai said: The heavens were created first, because it is said, "And the heavens and the earth were finished" (Gen. 2:1). The School of Hillel said: The earth was created first, and the heavens afterwards, as it is said, "Yea, mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens" (Isa. 48:18). The School of Shammai said: The heavens were created first, and the earth afterwards, because it is said, "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isa. 66:1). Contention arose between them (i.e. the Schools) on this question, until the Holy Spirit rested between them, and they both agreed that both (heavens and earth) were created in one hour and at one moment.

Noah said to them: Turn from your ways and evil deeds, so that He bring not upon you the waters of the Flood, and destroy all the seed of the children of men. They said to him: Behold, we will restrain ourselves from multiplying and increasing, so as not to produce the offspring of the children of men. What did they do? When they came to their wives they spilled the issue of their seed upon the earth so as not to produce offspring of the children of men, as it is said, "And God saw the earth, and behold it was spilled" (Gen. 6:12). They said: If He bring from heaven the waters of the Flood upon us, behold, we are of high stature, and the waters will not reach || up to our necks; and if He bring the waters of the depths against us, behold, the soles of our feet can close up all the depths. What did they do? They put forth the soles of their feet, and closed up all the depths. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He heated the waters of the deep, and they arose and burnt their flesh, and peeled off their skin from them, as it is said, "What time they wax warm, they vanish; when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place" (Job 6:17). Do not read thus ("When it is hot," בחֻמו), but (read) "in his hot waters" (בחמימיו).

THE CREATION ON THE SECOND DAY ON the second day the Holy One, blessed be He, created the firmament, the angels, fire for flesh and blood, and the fire of Gehinnom. Were not heaven and earth created on the first day, as it is said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1)? Which firmament was created on the second day? Rabbi Eliezer said: || It was the firmament which is above the heads of the four Chajjôth (living creatures), (as it is said), "And over the head of the Chajjôth there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible crystal" (Ezek. 1:22). What is the meaning of (the expression), "like the colour of the terrible crystal"? It means like precious stones and pearls; it illuminates all the heavens like a lamp which is illuminating the whole house and like the sun which is shining with maximum intensity at noonday, as it is said, "The light dwelleth with him" (Dan. 2:22); and like this in the future will the righteous shed light, as it is said, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" (Dan. 12:3). Were it not for that firmament the world would be engulfed by the waters above it and below it; but (the firmament) divides the waters (above) from the waters (below), as it is said, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, (and let it divide the waters from the waters)" (Gen. 1:6), it illuminates between the waters above and the waters below.

Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile: (From Babylonia. Presumably, this is a way of stating that it is an ancient tradition.) Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, [it alludes to] trouble. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, it can serve [to allude to] either trouble or joy. If it is trouble, there is none like it. If it is joy, there is none like it. Rabbi Shmuel said: There are five [instances of] “during the days of [bimei].” “It was [vayhi] during the days of [bimei] Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1) – what was the trouble there? They waged a war. [It is analogous] to the friend of a king who was located in a certain province. Because of him, the king took care of the province. One time, barbarians came and beset him [the king’s friend]. They say: Woe for us, the king will no longer care for the province as he had done. Likewise, the entire world was created only due to the merit of Abraham our patriarch; that is what is written: “They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat, (Ein Mishpat literally means ‘eye of justice’.) which is [hi] Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Aḥa said: They came to beset the eyeball of the world. (Abraham.) The eye that overcame the attribute of justice in the world you seek to blind? (The midrash is rhetorically addressing the kings that attacked Abraham.) “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu Kadesh. (The word hi, meaning ‘which is,’ is spelled with a vav as the middle letter, which could be read as the masculine hu. The midrash is reading hi Kadesh as hu kidesh, he sanctified.) He [Abraham] sanctified [kidesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. (See Tanḥuma, Lekh Lekha 6.) When everyone saw that all the kings came to beset him, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “It was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11) – [it is analogous] to the son of a king who had a tutor who sought to kill him. He [the tutor] said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So did Aḥaz say: If there are no kids, there are no rams, and if there are no rams there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd. So Aḥaz thought to say: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, cannot rest His Divine Presence in the world. Therefore, I will seize all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Avin: Isaiah said: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as difficult for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face” (Deuteronomy 31:18) – in this world. But from that moment, “I hoped for Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Was it [this verse] fulfilled for him [Isaiah]? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me” (Isaiah 8:18) – were they his [Isaiah’s] children? Were they not his students? It teaches that they were as dear to him as his sons. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: that is, “It was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, and the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23) – [it is analogous] to a king who sent a proclamation to a province. What did the residents of the province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. They said: Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these matters. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), (This is the fifth verse of the first chapter of Lamentations.) immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the end of the scroll, upon the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [It was] “to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). [It is analogous] to a king who entered a vineyard and three enemies beset him: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third sought to uproot all the vines. Likewise, the wicked Pharaoh begin picking the unripe grapes; that is what is written: “[Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:] Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22). The wicked Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “[He exiled Yehoyakhin.…] and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:15–16). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All of them were one thousand. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars. Haman the wicked sought to uproot the entire egg; (Egg, in the sense of the very origins of Israel.) [as] they say buy [the hen] with the egg (A aphorism meaning that he sought to complete the task, leaving no future.) – “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) – [it is analogous] to a province that owed a tax to the king. What did the king do? He sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They took him, struck him, and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: What he sought to do to us we did to him. Likewise, during the days when the judges judged, an Israelite person would worship idols, and a judge would seek to bring him to trial, and he would come and flog the judge. He would say: What he sought to do to me, I did to him. Woe unto a generation whose judges are judged; (The midrash is reading the verse to mean that it was in the days that the judges were judged, i.e. punished.) that is, “It was during the days when the judges judged.” Shimon bar Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that it [“it was,” vayhi] is stated, [it alludes to] trouble or to joy; if trouble, there is no trouble like it, if joy, there is no joy like it in the world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a [different] distinction: Everywhere that it says, “it was [vayhi],” [it alludes to] trouble, everywhere that it says “it will be [vehaya],” joy. But it is written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light.” He said to them: Even that is not light of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When He perceived that the wicked were destined to appear, like the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion, (After the Tower of Babel.) and like the people of Sodom, He took it [the light] away. That is what is written: “From the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). He sequestered it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11). They objected to him: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as the heavens are destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6). They objected to him: Is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day.… third.… fourth.… fifth.… sixth” (Genesis 1:8–31). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., it is necessary to sweeten mustard, lupines must be sweetened, and wheat requires grinding. But it is written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written: “For they placed me in the pit” (Genesis 40:15). But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed [assembling the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built, as it is stated: “Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:35). (The verse does not seem to be related to the point. Perhaps it is brought to communicate that even on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the celebration was tempered by the fact that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when Joshua was [at Jericho]” (Joshua 5:13). He said to them: That too is not joy, as Joshua rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6). (After the setback at Ai.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1). (The day of the dedication of the Temple.) He said to them: That too is not joy, as on that day Nadav and Avihu died. (See Leviticus 10:1–2.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) dwelled in his house” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That too was not joy, as it was then that Natan the prophet came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours. (Prove that every place it says vehaya it is an expression of joy.) He said to them: It is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second time, [to recover the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep [a calf of the herd and two sheep] alive” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, [and they will come…and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that one who is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem [will be called holy]” (Isaiah 4:3). They objected to him: It is written: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Israel made complete penance for their iniquities, on the day that the Temple was destroyed. Conclusion of the prologue to Rut Rabba

Another interpretation: “This month shall be for you” – that is what is written: “He made the moon for festivals; the sun knows its setting” (Psalms 104:19). There are many [of God’s] deeds that Moses recorded in the Torah that are unclear and David arose and explained them. We find in the act of Creation, that when He created the heavens and the earth, He created light, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1), and afterward: “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). David explained it: After God created light, He created the heavens, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and then, “He stretches the heavens like a curtain” (Psalms 104:2). Here we have learned that after He created light He created the heavens. Three creations preceded the world: Water, air [ruaḥ], (The Hebrew word ruaḥ can mean air, wind, or spirit. ) and fire. Water became pregnant and gave birth to darkness. Fire became pregnant and gave birth to light. Air became pregnant and gave birth to wisdom. With these six creations the world is conducted, with spirit, with wisdom, with fire, with light, with darkness, and with water. That is why David said: “May my soul bless the Lord. Lord my God, You are very great” (Psalms 104:1). A person sees a beautiful pillar and says: Blessed is the quarry from which this was quarried. The world is beautiful; blessed is the Omnipresent who quarried it and created it with speech, happy are you O world, that the Holy One blessed be He reigns over you. [A person of] flesh and blood etches [tzar] his image on a wooden tablet, and the tablet is larger than his image. God, may His name be blessed, is great, and His image is great. The world is small, and He is greater than the world, as it is stated: “For the Lord is God, an everlasting Rock [tzur olamim]” (Isaiah 26:4). (In contrast to an image created by flesh and blood, where the image is necessarily smaller than the object upon which it is drawn, God’s image is greater than the world.) What is taught when Scripture states: Tzur olamim? Relative to Him, the two worlds [olamim] (This world and the World to Come.) are considered nothing. That is why it is stated: “Lord my God, You are very great.” After He covered Himself with light, He then created the world, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment; [He stretches the heavens like a curtain]” (Psalms 104:2). [A person of] flesh and blood, after he builds the house, he builds the upper story. God is not like that; after He built the roof, He built the upper story, and after He built the upper story, He positioned it on the atmosphere of the world, on nothing. Then He installed His chariots, clouds; and then His dais on the storm. Who informs you about all these matters? It is David, who explained the deeds of God to inform all humanity of His might, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot” (Psalms 104:3); not from copper, not from iron, but with balconies of water. Then He constructed the upper stories, not from stone and not from hewed stone, but from layers of water, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of Your upper chambers in the waters.” [A person of] flesh and blood makes his chariot strong to bear his entire burden, and he makes it from iron, bronze, silver, or gold. But God, may His name be blessed, a cloud has no substance, and He makes clouds His chariots, as it is stated: “He makes the clouds His chariot.” Flesh and blood, if there was a muddy path before him, he walks on stones that are hard. But God is not so; rather, He leaves the visible cloud and walks on the invisible wind, as it is stated: “Who walks upon the wings of the wind” (Psalms 104:3). Flesh and blood conscripts strong, powerful soldiers capable of wearing helmets, and armor, and weapons. But the Holy One blessed be He conscripted His soldiers that are invisible, as it is stated: “Who makes winds His messengers” (Psalms 104:4). The wind emerges, followed by lightning, as it is stated: “The flaming fire His servants” (Psalms 104:4). After He created the sky, He created angels on the second day, and on that same day He created Gehenna, as “that it was good,” is not written about it [the second day]. Like [a person of] flesh and blood who acquires slaves and says [to his associates]: ‘Make swords.’ They say to him: ‘Why?’ He says to them: ‘So if they rebel, they will receive a death sentence.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said: I created Gehenna [on the second day], about which “that it was good” is not written, so if people sin, they will descend into it. From where is it derived that Gehenna was created on the second day? It is as the prophet explains: “For Hell has been prepared from yesterday” (Isaiah 30:33), from the day that a person could say yesterday. When would a person be able to say yesterday? It is on the second day, as the first day of the week precedes it. Afterward, He created dry land on the third day, as it is stated: “He established the earth upon its foundations” (Psalms 104:5). At that moment, one was naked and one was clothed, like [a person of] flesh and blood who has two servants; he stripped the garment off of one and clothed the other with it. So, God said: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9) – He exposed the earth and covered the depths. So said David: “You covered the depths as with a garment” (Psalms 104:6). “From Your rebuke they flee” (Psalms 104:7) – like flesh and blood who saw his winepress filled with grapes and a vineyard to harvest. People said to him: ‘Where will you put the rest of the grapes, since the winepress is small?’ He said to them: ‘I will make a winepress that will hold all the grapes in the vineyard.’ What did he do? He trampled the grapes and trod on one [pile] after another, and then brought the grapes that were in the vineyard, and the winepress held all the grapes. (The winepress could not contain all the grapes at once but could contain all the juice. ) So, the entire world was filled with water, and the earth was immersed in the water. The Holy One blessed be He said: “Let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). The waters said: ‘We fill the world, and until now it is crowded for us; where will we go?’ May His name be blessed, He kicked Ocean and killed it, as it is stated: “With His power, He calmed the sea, and with His understanding, He crushed [maḥatz] Rahav” (Job 26:12). Maḥatz means nothing other than killing, as it is stated: “She crushed [maḥatza] and pierced his temple” (Judges 5:26). (This is a description of how Yael killed Sisera.) When he killed it, some say that it is crying until today, as it is stated: “Have you entered into the springs of [nivkhei] (The midrash reads nivkhei as though it derives from the term bekhi, weeping.) the sea?” (Job 38:16). Why did He kill them? It is because a house that holds one hundred living people holds one thousand dead. That is why Ocean is called the Dead Sea; but the Holy One blessed be He is destined to heal it, as it is stated: “To the sea it will flow, and the water will be healed” (Ezekiel 47:8). When the rest of the waters saw that He kicked Ocean, its fellows fled at the sound of its scream. It is like a donkey driver of flesh and blood who was walking and there were two servants in front of him; [when the donkey driver whips the donkeys], those [servants] in front [of the donkeys] run and flee. So, the rest of the water in the world fled at the sound of the scream of Ocean, as it is stated: “From Your rebuke they flee.” They fled, but they did not know to where they were fleeing, as it is stated: “They rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys, to this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8). It is like a servant of flesh and blood to whom his master said: ‘Wait for me in the marketplace,’ but did not tell him where to wait. The servant began saying: Perhaps he told me to wait for him near the basilica, perhaps he told me near the bathhouse, or perhaps he told me alongside the platform. He [the master] entered [the city], found him and slapped him. He said to him: ‘I sent you to the gate of the prefect’s palace.’ So, the waters were wandering, when they heard that He said to them: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” (Genesis 1:9). He did not say to them to the north or to the south, but rather they scattered, “they rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys.” The Holy One blessed be He slapped them. He said to them: ‘I said to you to go to the place of the leviathan.’ From where that it is so? It is as it is stated: “To this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8), and that is the place of leviathan, as it is stated: “This leviathan, whom You created to frolic in it [the sea]” (Psalms 104:26). “You set a boundary that they may not cross” (Psalms 104:9). Like flesh and blood that put his animal into a pen and locked the gate before it so it would not go out and graze on the grain. So, the Holy One blessed be He locked the sea with sand and administered an oath to it that it would not go beyond the sand, as it is stated: “That I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22). “Who sends springs through the ravines” (Psalms 104:10) – like [a person of] flesh and blood who has baskets [for the pressing] of olives. He pressed the beam onto them, and the oil came out from above and oil descended below. So, the mountain from this side and the mountain from that side press on the springs and they burst forth and emerge from between the mountains. That is why it is written: “Who sends springs through the ravines.” Afterward, what did David say? “He made the moon for festivals” (Psalms 104:19) – the Holy One blessed be He created three hundred and sixty-five windows in the firmament; one hundred and eighty-three in the east and one hundred and eighty-two in the west; some of them He created for the sun and some of them He created for the moon, so that the world would follow it. The sun goes through all of them, as does the moon except for eleven windows that the moon does not enter any of them. This is like a prefect and a duke who were receiving gifts. The prefect took commensurate with his honor and the duke commensurate with his honor. So, the sun is called great and the moon is called small. This is why the sun is called great, because it is eleven days greater than the moon. (The solar year is roughly eleven days longer than twelve lunar months.) This is why He created the moon for the festivals, so that Israel would increase and decrease like the moon [waxes and wanes]. But this [waxing and waning] is not harmful to it [the moon], but it is for the setting of the festivals. (Similarly, though Israel’s fortunes increase and diminish, it will ultimately prevail.) All the years are counted by the sun [by the solar calendar], the years of the world and the years of [the lives of] people, and it [the sun] knows the span of every person, how long he saw the sun. All this to say that He created the moon for the festivals? David rose and explained: “He made the moon for the festivals.” They said to David: ‘While we were in Egypt, we received [the consecration of] the month by the moon’; that is what is written: “This month shall be for you” (Exodus 12:2).

Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you from the heavens,” that is what is written: “There is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours” (Psalms 86:8). Why is there none like You among the gods? Because there are none who can perform Your deeds. How so? The way of the world is that flesh and blood make a path on the way; is he, perhaps, able to make a path in the sea? But for the Holy One blessed be He it is not so, but rather, He makes for Himself a path in the midst of the sea, as it is stated: “Your way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters, Your footprints left no trace” (Psalms 77:20). Flesh and blood examine their documents. If someone finds that people owe him, he will produce the document and collect from them, but if he finds that he is in debt to a person, he will suppress it and not produce it. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so. If He finds that we are in debt to Him He suppresses it, as it is stated: “He will again have mercy upon us; He will suppress our iniquities” (Micah 7:19). But if He finds merit for us, He produces it, as it is stated: “The Lord has produced our righteousness” (Jeremiah 51:10). Flesh and blood, when he seeks to build a palace, he builds the lower levels and afterward builds the upper levels. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so; after He created the upper levels, He created the lower levels, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens,” and only afterward, “and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Flesh and blood, when he seeks to purchase a slave, if there are claimants, (Individuals who claim that the slave belongs to them rather than to the individual seeking to sell the slave.) he does not purchase him, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather He says: “Or has a god sought to come and take for himself a nation from the midst of a nation?” (Deuteronomy 4:34). Flesh and blood, the disciple holds the torch before his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so: “The Lord was going before them by day [in a pillar of cloud, to guide them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to illuminate for them]” (Exodus 13:21). Flesh and blood, the servant bathes the master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I will bathe you in water” (Ezekiel 16:9). Flesh and blood would dress his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I clothed you in embroidery” (Ezekiel 16:10). Flesh and blood places shoes on the feet of his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “and shod you with taḥash” (Ezekiel 16:10). Flesh and blood bears his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I have borne you on the wings of eagles” (Exodus 19:4). Flesh and blood, the master sleeps and the servant stands over him, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, the Holy One blessed be He protects Israel, as it is stated: “Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalms 121:4). For flesh and blood, water is from above them and bread is from below them, (Rain falls from the sky and wheat grows from the ground. ) but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, water is from below them, this is the well, (The well that miraculously accompanied Israel through the wilderness and provided them with water. ) as it is stated: “Rise, well…” (Numbers 21:17), and the bread is from above: “Behold, I will rain down [bread] for you [from the heavens].” That is, “there is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours” (Psalms 86:8).

Another matter, “these are the ordinances,” that is what is written: “A king upholds the land with justice” (Proverbs 29:4), this is the Holy One blessed be He, who created His world with justice, as it is stated: “In the beginning, God created” (Genesis 1:1). “The Lord created” is not stated, but rather “God created.” It does not say: ‘The Lord said: Let there be a firmament,’ but rather, “God” (Genesis 1:6). The same is true of all of them. (In each stage of creation, the verses refer to “God” rather than “the Lord.” According to the midrash, verses employ the name “God” when He acts with the attribute of justice, and “the Lord” when He acts with the attribute of mercy (see, e.g., Bereishit Rabba 12:16). ) Likewise, David said: “For God is Judge” (Psalms 50:6), to teach you that the world was created with justice. “But a man of donations [terumot] will destroy it” (Proverbs 29:4); this is Adam. Just as it is the way of a woman when she seeks to separate her ḥalla, she kneads the flour and then takes ḥalla, so God did. He kneaded the world and then took Adam, as it is stated: “Mist would ascend from the earth” (Genesis 2:6), and then: “[The Lord God] formed [man of the dust of the ground]” (Genesis 2:7). (The comparison here is based on the fact that ḥalla is also referred to as teruma; see Numbers 15:20).) When he sinned, God said to him: “The land is cursed because of you” (Genesis 3:17). That is why it is stated: “But a man of donations [will destroy it].” Another matter, “a king upholds the land with justice,” this is Yehoshafat, as it is stated: “Yehoshafat said to the judges: Consider what you are doing” (II Chronicles 19:6). “But a man of donations will destroy it,” this is a Sage who knows halakhot, midrash, and agadot, and an orphan and a widow go to him so that he will implement justice for them, and he says to them: ‘I am preoccupied with my studies, I am not available.’ God says to him: ‘I consider it as though you destroyed the world.’ That is why it says: “But a man of donations [terumot] will destroy it.” (Such a Sage is referred to as a man of terumot because he is involved in endeavors that are sacred, just as teruma is sacred, and he removes [merim] himself from involvement in justice. ) Another matter, “a king upholds the land with justice,” this is Israel, as it is stated: “You shall be for Me a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). “But a man of donations [terumot] will destroy it,” this is the generation of the flood, which did not implement justice. (They separated [herimu] themselves from justice. ) See what is written in their regard: “They drive the donkey of orphans…. They turn the indigent from the way” (Job 24:3–4). Rabbi Aḥa said: The Holy One blessed be He sought to give them four matters: Torah, suffering, the rite of offerings, and prayer, but they did not seek it, as it is stated: “They say to God: Turn away from us” (Job 21:14), this is the suffering. “We do not desire the knowledge of Your ways” (Job 21:14), this is Torah. “What is the Almighty that we should worship Him?” (Job 21:15), these are the offerings. “What good will it do if we encounter Him?” (Job 21:15), this is prayer. The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘What caused you to be eliminated from the evening of this world and from the morning of the World to Come? (This world is compared to evening or night, and the World to Come is compared to morning. ) It is because you did not accept the Torah in which there is justice,’ as it is stated: “From morning to evening they are broken” (Job 4:20). Why? “Forever unaware [mesim], they perish” (Job 4:20), and mesim is nothing other than justice, as it is stated: “These are the ordinances that you shall place [tasim] before them.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa says: The yod in Sarai ascended and prostrated itself before the Holy One blessed be He and said: ‘Master of the universe, You eradicated me from the name of this righteous woman, the wife of this righteous individual, Abraham our patriarch, and You called her name Sarah.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to it: ‘Go. At first, you were at the end of the letters and in the name of a female. Now, I am placing you in the name of a male and at the beginning of the letters, and in [the name] of one of the most righteous people in the world.’ That is what is written: “Moses called Hoshe’a bin Nun, Joshua [Yehoshua]” (Numbers 13:16). Rabbi Elazar bar Avuna [said] in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: For twenty-six generations alef was objecting before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, You placed me at the head of the letters, but You created the world not with me but with bet, as it is stated: “In the beginning [bereshit], God created the heavens and the earth”’ (Genesis 1:1). The Holy One blessed be He said to it: ‘My world and all its contents were created only due to the merit of the Torah, as it is stated: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom” (Proverbs 3:19). Tomorrow, I will reveal Myself and give the Torah to Israel, and I will place you in the first of the commandments, and I will begin with you first, as it is stated: “I [anokhi] am the Lord your God”’ (Exodus 20:2). Bar Ḥota said: Why is it called alef? Because it endures for one thousand [elef] generations, as it is stated: “He commanded the matter for one thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). (God planned to give the Torah, and to start it with the letter alef, for the one thousand generations before it was given (see Bereshit Rabba 28:4; Kohelet Rabba 7:28).)

“I will remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, also My covenant with Abraham I will remember, and the land I will remember” (Leviticus 26:42). “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” That is what is written: “You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork” (Psalms 102:26). Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and then the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning, [God] created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). Beit Hillel say: The earth was created first and then the heavens. These and those cite a rationale for their statements. The rationale for Beit Shammai, who say the heavens were created first and then the earth, is that it is analogous to a king who crafted a throne for himself. After he crafted it, he crafted its footstool. Likewise, “so said the Lord: The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). The rationale for Beit Hillel, who said the earth was created first and then the heavens, is that it is analogous to a king who built a palace; after he built the lower story, he then built the upper story. Likewise it is written: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Tanḥuma said: And I cited a source: (This supports the opinion of Beit Hillel.) “You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork.” Rabbi Ḥanina said: From the place where the verse supports Beit Shammai, from there Beit Hillel refutes it. According to the opinion of Beit Shammai, who said that the heavens were created first and then the earth, it is from that which is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). According to the opinion of Beit Hillel, who said that the earth was created first and then the heavens, it is from that which is written: “The earth was emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2), [which indicates that] the earth had already been created. (This is before God created in the heavens, as detailed in Genesis 1:6–8. ) Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of the Sages: Regarding creation, the heavens were first, but regarding completion, the earth was first; “on the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: I wonder, how is it that the fathers of the world disagreed regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth, as I say that the heavens and the earth were created like a stew pot and its lid. (The pots of that time were created from clay. At first the craftsman would create a closed box and then he would separate the top part from the bottom, thereby creating the pot and the lid. ) That is what is written: “My hand also laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand measured the heavens” (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: According to the opinion that my father said, [it can be explained why it is that] in every place it mentions the heavens before the earth, and in one place it says: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens.” It teaches that the two of them are equal, equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions young pigeons before doves, and in one place it says: “And a dove or a young pigeon” (Leviticus 12:6). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions Moses before Aaron, and in one place it says: “It is Aaron and Moses” (Exodus 6:26). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions Joshua before Caleb, and in one place it says: “except Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite, and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 32:12). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions honor of one’s father before honor of one’s mother, and in one place it says: “Each of you shall fear his mother and his father” (Leviticus 19:3). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another. But the Sages said: The father is mentioned before the mother in every place, because [a child] and his mother are obligated in the honor of his father. In every place, it mentions Abraham before the [other] patriarchs, and here it says: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” It teaches that the three of them are equivalent to one another.

Another matter, “I will remember My covenant with Jacob” – that is what is written: “Now, so said the Lord, your Creator, Jacob, and your Fashioner, Israel” (Isaiah 43:1). Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Reuven: The Holy One blessed be He said to His world: ‘My world, My world, I will tell you who created you and who fashioned you. Jacob created you and Jacob fashioned you,’ as it is written: “Your Creator, Jacob, and your Fashioner, Israel.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Behemoth (A huge animal that will be served at the feast of the righteous in the World to Come. See Vayikra Rabba 13:3. ) was created only due to the merit of Jacob. That is what is written: “Behold now the behemoth that I made with you” (Job 40:15). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Rabbi Neḥemya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Rabbi Yitzḥak: Heavens and earth were created only due to the merit of Jacob, as it is written: “He set a testimony in Jacob” (Psalms 78:5), and the testimony that is stated here is nothing other than heavens and earth, just as it says: “I call today to the heavens and the earth to bear witness to you” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Rabbi Berekhya said: Heavens and earth were created only due to the merit of Israel, as it is written: “In the beginning [bereshit], the Lord created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1), and reshit is nothing other than Israel, as it is stated: “Israel is sacred to the Lord, the first [reshit] of His crop” (Jeremiah 2:3). Rabbi Aḥa said: Heavens and earth were created only due to the merit of Moses, as it is stated: “He saw the first [reshit] for himself [as there the lawgiver’s portion is hidden]” (Deuteronomy 33:21). Rabbi Abbahu said: Everything was created only due to the merit of Jacob. That is what is written: “Not like these is the Portion of Jacob; for He is the fashioner of everything” (Jeremiah 10:16); for the sake of Jacob, He fashioned everything. Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Abraham was rescued from the fiery furnace only due to the merit of Jacob. This is analogous to one who was standing in judgment before the ruler and he was sentenced by the ruler to be burned. The ruler gazed by means of astrology, and saw that he was destined to beget a daughter who would marry the king. He said: ‘He is worthy to be spared due to the merit of the daughter that he is destined to beget.’ So, Abraham was sentenced by Nimrod to be burned. The Holy One blessed be He foresaw that Jacob was destined to emerge from him. He said: ‘He is worthy to be spared due to the merit of Jacob.’ That is what is written: “Therefore, so says the Lord to the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham” (Isaiah 29:22). The Rabbis say: Abraham himself was created only due to the merit of Jacob. That is what is written: “For I know him, so that he shall command his children and his household after him, and they will observe the way of the Lord, to perform righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18:19), and there is no “righteousness and justice” other than from Jacob, as it is stated: “You wrought justice and righteousness in Jacob” (Psalms 99:4). (Among the descendants of Abraham, only those from Jacob perform justice and righteousness, through the fulfillment of the Torah. )

Rabbi Aḥa said: This is analogous to a ruler who entered a province and many groups of bandits were with him. (The bandits had been apprehended and were in chains.) One [citizen] said to another: ‘How fearsome is this ruler!’ That one said to him: ‘Your loyalty is good, so you have nothing to fear from him.’ So too, when Israel heard the portion of the offerings, they were afraid. (There were offerings for many sins, particularly for those violated unwittingly.) Moses said to them: ‘Fear not. Engage in Torah study and you need not fear any of these.’ That is what is written: “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, [and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering]” (Leviticus 7:37). Why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types. Rabbi Simon said: This dish of mixed fruits and nuts is served last. Why? It is because it has many types. So too, why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types: Blood and fats to the altar, the breast and the thigh to the priest, the hide and the flesh to the owners. Rabbi Shimon says: One who is complete [shalem] brings a peace offering [shelamim], but one in acute mourning (This is one whose relative died that day but has not yet been buried.) does not bring a peace offering.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Great is peace, as all blessings are included in it. “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace” (Psalms 29:11). Ḥizkiya said two [statements]. Ḥizkiya said: Peace is great, as in the regard of all the mitzvot, it is written: “If you see…if you encounter” (Exodus 23:4–5); “if…will happen” (Deuteronomy 22:6). If a mitzva happens to present itself to you, you are obligated to perform it, and if not, you are not obligated to perform it. However, here, “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), seek it in your place and pursue it elsewhere. Ḥizkiya said another: Peace is great, as regarding all the journeys it is written: “They traveled…they encamped” (Numbers 33:5); (Both verbs are written in the plural: Vayisu, vayaḥanu.) they traveled in dispute and they encamped in dispute. When they all came before Mount Sinai, they all became a single encampment. That is what is written: “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there” (Exodus 19:2). It is not written here “Israel encamped [vayaḥanu] there,” but rather “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there.” (The verb is singular rather than plural. ) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘This is the moment that I am giving the Torah to My children.’ Bar Kappara said three. Bar Kappara said: Great is peace, as the verses presented matters of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Abraham and Sarah. That is what is written: “After my withering, will I have youth, and my lord is old?” (Genesis 18:12). But to Abraham He did not say so, but rather: “And I have grown old” (Genesis 18:13). (When God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, He did not tell him that she had said that he was old, but rather that she had said she was old. ) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace, as the verse employed expressions of falsehood in the prophets in order to institute peace between a man and his wife, as it is stated: “Behold now, you are barren and have not given birth; but you will conceive, and you will give birth to a son” (Judges 13:3). But to Mano’aḥ, he did not say so, but rather, “The angel of the Lord said to Mano'ah: From everything that I said to the woman let her beware” (Judges 13:13). In any case, she requires medicine. (He did not refer to her as barren, which might have resulted in her husband looking down on her, but merely said that she required treatment in order to conceive, and therefore she should follow his instructions.) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace. If the supernal beings who do not have jealousy, hatred, rivalry, strife, quarrels, dispute, or the evil eye require peace – that is what is written: “He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2); the earthly beings, who have all these traits, all the more so. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Great is peace, as the verses employed expressions of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Joseph and his brothers. That is what is written: “So say to Joseph: Please, forgive [the transgression of your brothers and their sin as they did evil to you]” (Genesis 50:17), (Joseph’s brothers sent a message to him in the name of their father Jacob asking that he forgive them, although the verses never state that Jacob actually said this. ) and we do not find that Jacob commanded anything. Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said: Great is peace as, even in times of war, one opens only with peace. That is what is written: “When you approach a city to wage war against it, [you shall call to it for peace]” (Deuteronomy 20:10). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Yosei said: Great is peace, as the name of the Holy One blessed be He is called peace. That is what is written: “He called it: The Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24). Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yudan said: From here [it may be derived] that it is prohibited for a person to ask after the welfare of another (While employing the term “peace”, which has been established to be a name of God. ) in a filthy place. Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife. (The reference is to the ritual of the sota (see Numbers 5:11–31), which involves erasing the name of God. The purpose of the ritual is to restore trust and peace between man and wife. ) Rabbi Meir would sit and lecture on Shabbat at night. There was a certain woman who would stand there and listen to him teaching the lecture, and she would wait until he concluded the lecture. [Once,] she went home and found the lamps extinguished. Her husband said to her: ‘Where were you?’ She said to him: ‘I was sitting and listening to the voice of the lecturer.’ He said to her: ‘Such and such shall befall me; you will not enter here until you go and spit in the face of that lecturer.’ She remained outside the first, second, and third weeks. Her neighbors said to her: ‘Are you still angry with one another? We will come with you to the lecturer.’ When Rabbi Meir saw them, he saw through the Divine Spirit. He said to them: ‘Is there a woman among you who is proficient in chanting to heal the eye?’ (It was common for people to utter incantations to treat certain medical conditions. The individual employing the incantation would also spit. ) Her neighbors said to her: ‘Go now and spit in his face and release your husband of his vow.’ When she sat before him, she feared him. She said to him: ‘Rabbi, I am not proficient in chanting to heal the eye.’ He said to her: ‘Even so, spit in my face seven times, and I will be relieved.’ She did so. He said to her: ‘Go say to your husband: You said one time, but I spat seven times.’ His students said to him: ‘Rabbi, should the Torah be demeaned in this way? Should you not have said to one of us to chant for you?’ He said to them: ‘Is it not sufficient for Meir to be like his Maker, as Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: Great is peace, as when the Holy One blessed be He created His world He made peace between the supernal and the earthly. On the first day, He created part of the supernal and part of the earthly [realms]. That is what is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second, He created from the supernal [realm]. That is what is written: “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third, He created from the earthly [realm]. That is what is written: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). On the fourth, from the supernal [realm]: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth, He created from the earthly [realm]: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth, He came to create man. He said: If I create him from the supernal, the supernal will be more numerous than the earthly by one creation. If I create him from the earthly, the earthly will be more numerous than the supernal by one creation. What did He do? He created him from the supernal and from the earthly. That is what is written: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7); from the earthly, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7); from the supernal. Rabbi Mani of She’av and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Great is peace, as all the blessings, goodness, and consolations that the Holy One blessed be He brings upon Israel conclude with peace. In the recitation of Shema: Who spreads a canopy of peace; in prayer: He who makes peace; in the Priestly Benediction: “And grant you peace” (Numbers 6:26). (In the blessings surrounding the recitation of Shema, in the Amida prayer, and in the Priestly Benediction, the theme of the final blessing is peace. ) I have [provided sources] only in blessings; from where is it derived regarding offerings? “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:37). I have only regarding the general; where is it derived in specific? (The previous source cited regarding offerings is a verse that mentions all of the offerings. Where is this expressed within the particular discussions of each offering? ) “This is the law of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “This is the law of the meal offering” (Leviticus 6:7); “This is the law of the sin offering” (Leviticus 6:18); “This is the law of the guilt offering” (Leviticus 7:1); “This is the law of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11). (The particular laws of peace offerings are discussed after those of the other types of offerings. ) I have [provided a source] only regarding individual offerings; from where is it derived regarding communal offerings? The verse states: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times” (Numbers 29:39), and it concludes with peace offerings. (The full text of the verse is: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times, aside from your vows and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your meal offerings and for your libations and for your peace offerings.” ) And I have [provided a source] only in this world; from where is it derived regarding the World to Come? “I will extend peace to it like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). The Rabbis say: Great is peace, as when the messianic king comes, he will open only with peace, as it is stated: “How pleasant are the feet of the herald on the mountains, announcing peace” (Isaiah 52:7).

Another thing is why in the house, according to the fact that she has two poles up and one below, behind him he says to the Creator, "Who created you in the world?" . Rabbi Elazar bar Avina says 26 generations was a challenging challenge before God Almighty said before him, Master of the Universe I am the first of letters and you did not create your world in me God told him the world and its entirety were created only thanks to the Torah says God with wisdom founded I am destined to rest in the Sinai, and I will not open it except to you, as I say, I am the Lord your God. Bar Chunya said why his name is called Aleph that the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees to give the Torah to a thousand generations, as it is commanded by a thousand generations. Rabbi Hoshayah Rabbah I will be the master of the art of God, in the manner in which a king of flesh and blood builds Palatrin and does not build him from his own knowledge but from the knowledge of the artist and the artist does not build from his own knowledge, but rather he is hypocritical and has a knowledge of how he makes rooms And how does he do such a thing? The Holy One, blessed be He, looked at the Torah and created the world. And there is no beginning but Torah as to how the Lord said, "I will begin his journey." Rabbi Brachya says in the merit of Moses that the world was created, as it is stated in the beginning and the writing, and Rabbi Huna saw it first in the name of Rabbi Menahem because of three things the world was created in the merit of Challah and the merit of the tithes. And there is no beginning, but there is a certain portion that says the beginning of your cradles applies. And there is no beginning but a tenth of what you have said, the beginning of your fish. And there is no beginning but the firstborns. How many are the firstborn of your land? Tanna Debi Rabbi Yishmael Do not read Bereshit, but rather, by the beginning of Shitin from the six days of creation, it is said: "My thighs are like those wreaths that will flow from the hollow and descend to the abyss. Made by an artist The work of God's art: Shimon ben Azzai says and your answer is Rabbinic. Flesh and blood mentions his name and then praises Pelan Agusta flan fratata but God is not so but the needs of his world and then mentioned his name is said Genesis God then created:

One may not expound the topic of forbidden sexual relations before three or more individuals; nor may one expound the act of Creation and the secrets of the beginning of the world before two or more individuals; nor may one expound by oneself the Design of the Divine Chariot, a mystical teaching with regard to the ways God conducts the world, unless he is wise and understands most matters on his own. The mishna continues in the same vein: Whoever looks at four matters, it would have been better for him had he never entered the world: Anyone who reflects upon what is above the firmament and what is below the earth, what was before Creation, and what will be after the end of the world. And anyone who has no concern for the honor of his Maker, who inquires into and deals with matters not permitted to him, deserves to have never come to the world.

This should awaken a person to watch over his children carefully and to teach them Torah and guide them in awe of Hashem because a son can bring his father merit. By the same token, one whose father or mother has passed away must be scrupulous in reciting the Kaddish and responding, Amein, yehei shemeih raba, with all his might. For through this he elevates his father’s soul to the upper Gan Eden. Let him not emulate those who take the Kaddish lightly, treating it as a kind of joke and actually making sport of its recital. They do not realize that Heaven and earth depend on the Kaddish. The response, Amein, yehei shemeih raba, contains twenty-eight letters, corresponding to the twenty-eight letters in the first verse of the Torah, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” (Bereishis 1:1). This is an allusion to what is stated in Tehillim, “The power of His deeds He has declared to His people” (111:6). For the numerical value of the word “power” — koach — is twenty-eight. The first verse of the Ten Commandments also contains twenty-eight letters: “And God spoke all these things, saying” (Shemos 20:1). Therefore our teacher Rabbi Yehudah Chassid used to instruct the congregation to recite the first verse of Bereishis, followed by the one from the Ten Commandments and afterwards, Amein, yehei shemeih raba. The esoteric meaning of this custom is explained in Megaleh Amukos (Ofen 212).

At the outset of creation the Holy One Blessed is He saw that the world could not survive on the basis of strict judgment. So what did the Holy One Blessed is He do? He appended the name of mercy [יהו"ה] and created the world (Bereishis Rabbah 12:15; Pesikta Rabbasi, 41). Thus it states, “In the beginning God [Elokim] created” (Bereishis 1:1) — that is, with strict judgment because the name Elokim indicates the attribute of judgment. But afterwards it states, “On the day that Hashem God [יֱהֹוִ"ה Elokim] made earth and Heaven” (Bereishis 2:4).

Now that it has been made clear that the world was not created for any need of God, we can say that the world was created for a great reason and that that reason is the service of the Creator, blessed be He. For just as a king is not called king until he has a people, as it is said (Proverbs 14:28), “In the multitude of people is the king’s glory”, so similarly the name “Creator” cannot be applied to one unless there is something that He has created. He is not called “God’ until He has a people, as it is said (Leviticus 26:12), “And I will be your God and ye shall be My people.” Even though the Divine name does not lack anything (See Psalms 10:16, "The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations are perished out of His land." M. L. Malbim in his commentary on the Psalms Kitbe Kodesh Psalms, (Vilna: Romm. 1911), p. 21 observed "although the nations are absent from His land, God is God with or without people.") because of the lack of men nor does It gain by them , nevertheless, in the creation of the world, it was fitting that the name of the Creator should be “God.” For example, the smiter can smite, but he is not called “the smiter” until he has smitten something. Even if there is no smitten object, there may be nothing lacking in the strength of the smiter, yet only when there is a smitten object is it proper to call the smiter by that name. Thus with the Creator, nothing was lacking in His power before the world was created, but in the creation of the world His perfection increased. This is the cause for which the world was created. Thus we know and understand that the Creation of the world was the perfection of God’s name.

Let us turn our attention to the statement of Rabbi Yitzchak quoted by Rashi in his first commentary on the first verse. Rabbi Yitzchak says that the Torah did not really have to commence prior to the twelfth chapter of Exodus when the commandment to sanctify the New Moon is given to the people of Israel. He goes on: "ומה טעם פתח בבראשית, משום כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו, לתת להם נחלת גוים, "what is the reason that G–d commenced the written Torah with the story of Bereshit?, It is to tell us that G–d revealed to His people His powerful works, in giving them the heritage of nations." (Psalms 111,6) The commentator elaborates that if the nations of the world would challenge Israel's right to the land of Israel accusing Israel as having illegally dispossessed its seven Canaanite nations, Israel could reply that since the earth belongs to G–d seeing He has created it, He is free to give any part of it to anyone He chooses. Since Israel found favor in His eyes, G–d gave that land to Israel. This premise raises a major question, as do the repeated words "when He wanted to, He gave it to them, and when He wanted to, He gave it to us." What kind of justice is it to give someone a gift only to revoke the gift at a later stage, especially when such gift has become a נחלה, an inheritance, i.e. something inviolable?

[The author continues in this vein quoting extensively from the ספר יצירה. Since this is a complicated subject for the uninitiated, I have limited myself to small parts of his commentary. Ed.]

In this portion the Torah discusses matters that help perfect one's body. The body viewed as the sheath of the soul, has also been created in the image of G–d (Genesis 1,27). This is why if someone kills another creature created in G–d's image he himself will be killed as an appropriate act of retribution. By his deed he has separated a soul from its body, (sheath), hence his own soul will be separated from its sheath. The act of murder is viewed as if the murderer had also severed the life of the soul in the Celestial Regions from its "body" in those regions. Although such separation would have occurred sooner or later anyways [by the natural death of the victim. Ed.], the murderer is punished for having brought this about prematurely. Hence his own soul will not find its resting place until the murder has been avenged. This principle explains the strange story related in Kings I chapter 21 of the judicial murder of Navot through Jezebel and king Achav. We are told in Kings I 22,21, that the "spirit" of the slain Navot volunteered to seduce king Achav into sinning by listening to his false prophets and that the Heavenly Tribunal concurred in this act of deviousness by the "spirit" of Navot. As a result, Achav was killed in a battle with Aram which served the ostensibly patriotic purpose of recapturing the city of Yavesh Gilead (which the Aramites had wrested from the Jewish state some considerable period earlier). Clearly, the soul, i.e. רוח, of Navot had not been able to come to rest due to the premature death of its body, and this may be why the רוח was permitted to act in its own personal interest. Avenging the murdered person is the only means to restore the harmony that existed between body and soul prior to the murder. We can now understand why, even if the family of the victim or the court were to agree to it, payment of a ransom would not restore the equilibrium which had been upset previously.. As long as the victim of the murder has not been appeased, there can be no question of the deed having been atoned for. When the death of the victim is due to an unintentional act however, the Torah does not consider him guilty of bloodshed. Clearly, the death of the victim was an act of G–d, i.e. the attribute of Justice chose as its instrument someone who had committed some other undetected offense. The killer had unconsciously carried out G–d's design in all those cases where he had not planned to kill the victim with a lethal instrument. The killer has to flee to the city of refuge, one of the cities of the Levites. Those cities are regarded as sites of judgment. The Levites themselves represent the emanation גבורה in the pattern חסד-גבורה-תפארת, a pattern that corresponds to the respective levels of כהן-לוי-ישראל. This unintentional killer must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest (35,25). This is because when the body of the victim was slain, also his soul was taken from him and had to remain in exile until a time when G–d is in a favorable frame of mind. At the time the High Priest dies, when his soul ascends to the Celestial Regions, the soul of the murder victim is then also allowed to proceed to those regions.

All our sages agree that the Tabernacle was a microcosm of the macrocosm, that it reflected to the extent possible, structures and concepts and their development prevalent in the Celestial Regions, though those "structures" and concepts are, of course, abstract. Midrash Rabbah Terumah 33,4 commenting on Chronicles I 29,11: "Yours, O Lord are greatness, might, splendour, triumph, and majesty-- yes all that is in Heaven and earth," quotes Rabbi Berechyah; he sees this as proof that G–d transferred His residence to the Tabernacle. There is also a Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Pekudey which quotes Psalms 26,8: "O Lord, I love Your temple abode, the dwelling-place of Your glory," as proof that the residence of G–d on earth corresponds to the one He has in the Celestial Regions. Its construction was also a repetition of the process of creation. This is derived from the text of the Bible in Genesis 1,1: "At the beginning G–d created the heaven and the earth," whereas we read in Psalms 104,2: "You spread the heavens like a tent cloth." The Tabernacle was also covered by tent cloth as per Exodus 26,1: "You shall make the Tabernacle from ten strips of tent cloth." When describing what happened on the second day of creation, the Torah speaks about a firmament which is to separate the "upper" waters from the "lower" waters (Genesis 1,6), whereas when giving the instructions for building the Tabernacle the Torah directs that the "curtain shall divide between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies" (Exodus 26,33). The Torah, relating the work G–d performed on the third day of creation, mentions that the waters are to be gathered into one area (Genesis 1,9), whereas during the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah commands the construction of a copper basin into which all the water is to be poured (Exodus 30,18). On the fourth day of creation the Torah reports the construction of the great luminaries (Genesis 1,14), whereas the Torah commands the construction of a lampstand as part of the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25,31). On the fifth day of creation G–d created the birds, etc. (Genesis 1,20), whereas in the Tabernacle the Torah commands that the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark be equipped with wings, bird-like (Exodus 25,20). Sacrifices of birds are also prescribed to be offered up in the Tabernacle. On the sixth day of creation G–d created man in His own image to reflect the glory of his Creator (Genesis 1,27), whereas in the Tabernacle a human being, the High Priest, was to be anointed and consecrated to parallel in this microcosm the function of man in the macrocosm in this microcosm. On the seventh day of creation, the universe is described as having been completed (Genesis 2,1); we find a similar expression when the Torah describes the construction of the Tabernacle as having been completed (Exodus 39,32). When the universe was completed G–d blessed it (Genesis 1,28-2,3), whereas when the Tabernacle was completed Moses blessed it (Exodus 39,43). When the universe was completed the Torah uses the term ויכל to describe the completion (Genesis 2,2); when the Tabernacle was completed the Torah uses the same expression (Exodus 40,33 and Numbers 7,1). When the universe was completed G–d sanctified it (Genesis 2,3); when the construction of the Tabernacle was completed the Torah also relates that Moses anointed and sanctified it (Numbers 7,1).

Prior to the creation of the universe there existed only G–d and His name in total and absolute secrecy, a concept which I have explained elsewhere at length. Once it had become His will to bring into existence a universe, the Torah firsts speaks about בראשית ברא אלוקים (Genesis 1,1), and afterwards the Torah refers to: ביום עשות ה' אלוקים (Genesis 2,4). This shows that the four-lettered name of G–d remained secret and only the name אל-הים which has the same numerical value as the word for nature, i.e. הטבע (86), was revealed. I have already mentioned that the creation of the universe proved that G–d existed before the universe. G–d's existence is manifest only through His activities. The essence of G–d, by definition, remains hidden. Anything revealed must by definition have previously been concealed. The very name of G–d, which alludes to היה, הוה ויהיה, "something that was, is, and will forever be," is the cause of any existence and enables all that exists to continue doing so. This is why the verse quoted from Genesis 2,4 does not merely describe G–d as having created the universe in the past, עשה, but also as an ongoing process, עשות.

וידבר אלהים אל משה ויאמר אליו אני השם. I have expounded at length in my treatise on Passover, as well as in my commentary on the Haggadah shel Pessach on the opening lines in our portion, commencing with Exodus 6,2 until the words לא נודעתי להם in verse 3. All the miracles performed by G–d in Egypt which defied all known laws of nature, were invoked by the Ineffable Four- lettered Name י-ה-ו-ה which symbolises G–d as היה, הוה, יהיה the One who created the world ex nihilo and who is eternal.

To come back to the words: ראה נתתיך in 7,1, which we questioned on page 413. We must compare it to Deut. 2,24: ראה נתתי בידך את סיחון מלך חשבון האמורי, "See I have given into your hand Sichon the king of Cheshbon the Emorite." G–d humbled the spiritual שר of that king before the feet of Moses. The adversaries of the Jewish people are first defeated in the Celestial Regions, before the Israelites on earth execute a similar judgment on their proteges on earth. The words: ראה נתתיך, refer to what had transpired already in the Celestial Regions. The Zohar (Sullam edition Shemot page 26), commenting on Exodus 1,8: ויקם מלךם חדש על מצרים, "A new king ascended the throne in Egypt," explains that Egypt's predominance in the world only began after the Jewish people had been exiled there. In fact, the stability of any kingdom on earth is only due to Israel. This is why Moses ascended to G–d in order to humble that nation. Simultaneously, the people of Israel ascended to a loftier position to become the "armies" of G–d and to receive the Torah. Bereshit Rabbah 1,1 explains that the universe was only created for the sake of Israel and the Torah, and that the Torah is called ראשית דרכו, based on Proverbs 8,22: השם קנני ראשית דרכו, "The Lord created me at the beginning of His way." Israel is called ראשית תבואה, "first harvest," based on Proverbs 8,19. The Midrash there also mentions that Moses is called ראשית, based on Deut. 33,21.

I saw that in RaShY's commentary, his commentary to the Torah began with an Alef (on Genesis 1:1) and completed it with the letter Tav (on Deuteronomy 34:12), and this was not for nought.

ה' אלוקיך, “the Lord your G-d,” (two separate attributes of G-d) the author refers the reader to his commentary on Genesis 1,1 where he had pointed out that the “plural” ending in the word אלוהים, is not a plural ending at all.

ה' אלוקי השמים, “the Lord, the G-d of heaven;” Rashi comments that Avraham did not add that this “G-d” was also the “G-d” of the earth. The reason was that the time frame Avraham spoke about was before he had preached monotheism to his peers, none of whom had until then recognised Him as their G-d. If that approach to G-d’s stature were correct, we would have to ask how G-d could have been referred to as the G-d of heaven in Genesis 1,1, when, according to tradition the heaven as we understand it was created only on the second day of the six days of creation? [In our daily prayers, אדון עולם, we commence by stating that that the Master of the universe was “king” before any creature had been created? In other words, the title “King” is not dependent on this King already having subjects over whom to rule. Ed.] The same point has been made by Isaiah 43,10: “before Me no god was formed and after Me none shall exist.” The point that the prophet makes is that G-d’s existence is dependent on His having loyal subjects. Only He is eternal. This is also the reason why the first blessing in our thrice daily amidah, שמונה עשרה, does not contain a reference to G-d as “king,” as do other blessings. It would be inappropriate to commence with the sequence: מלך העולם אלוקי אברהם וגו', “the King of the universe, the G-d of Avraham, etc.” seeing that in the chapter of the Torah whereAvraham is introduced He could not truthfully have been described as the “King” of the whole universe. When Avraham in our verse credited G-d with having taken him out of his father’s house, etc., he thereby “crowned” G-d as “king” also on earth, he being His first subject. Nonetheless this was a far cry from being recognised as king of mankind.

God is, above all, the Creator (Genesis 1:1), and therefore the image of the divine in humanity demands that one live a creative life, make constructive efforts, and attempt to discover the unknown within one's self and within the world. Those who live only an imitative, routine life sin against the image of the divine within themselves.

We cannot be sure of the explanation. Here, as so often in the Torah, the narrative is undetermined, leaving it to us, the reader, to flesh out the details. In the rabbis’ wonderful phrase: “the text itself cries out: Expound me!” (.Solomon Buber, comp., Tanḥuma, Vayeshev 13; see Rashi to Bereshit 1:1; 37:20.)

Introduction The Talmud now shows how the Greek elders translated the Torah. The central idea here is that the elders changed the verses to avoid various interpretive or theological problems. Due to the nature of this passage I have lined it up in a table. The middle column is what is written in the Talmud. On the left is the translation of the purported Septuagint. The right side is the actual Hebrew text. I have not translated the Hebrew original but you should be able to understand it from my explanation below. Genesis 1:1: Here they changed the order of the words around. According to Rashi the original order might give the impression that an entity named “Bereshit” created God. The change in order might also serve to emphasize that God preexisted the world. Genesis 1:26: The plural form, which gives the impression of a multitude of gods, was changed into singular. Genesis 2:2: The original is confusing—did God complete creation on the sixth day or on the seventh day? The revised version makes more sense. Genesis 5:2: In the original it sounds like two humans were originally created. The emendation changes the word to the singular. Genesis 11:7: The original is plural and has been emended to the singular. Genesis 18:12: In the Torah, both Abraham and Sarah laugh when told that they will have a child, but God gets angry only with Sarah. This is puzzling. To fix this problem, the translation reads that Sarah laughed in front of her relatives. Abraham laughed only to himself, and that is why God was not angry with him. Genesis 49:6: In the original, Shimon and Levi are accused of killing a person. This is emended so that they only killed an ox. Exodus 4:20: It is a bit dishonorable that Moses has no better vehicle for his wife and kids than a donkey. No horse, no camel! Therefore, the verse is emended. Exodus 12:40: 430 years is emended to 400 years. Exodus 24:5, 11: These verses are problematic because one verse says “the youth” and the other verse says “the nobility.” Therefore, both have been emended to read “the elect” a group more appropriate to be sent to greet God. Numbers 16:15: In the original Moses says he did not take a single “donkey.” This could imply that he did take other objects. To correct this, the emendation reads “valuable item. Deuteronomy 4:19: The original makes it sound like God created the sun, moon and stars so that non-Jews could worship them. The emended version says that they are just for light. Deuteronomy 17:3: The original makes it sound like God didn’t command that the sun and stars should even be created. This would give the impression that they were created on their own or by another god. The emended version clarifies that God didn’t command that people should worship them.

Answer Number Two - The Triumph of Rachamim over Din Alternatively, we may explain that Hashem does not want Din, and therefore Yonah as the personification of Din, eradicated from the world. If He did, then Yonah would never have received the Nevuah and the world would not have been created with Din in the first place. Rather, Hashem wants Yonah’s sense of Din to be transformed into a better balance of Din and Rachamim (see Rashi to Bereishit 1:1 s.v. Bara Elokim). Hashem’s wants Yonah to change his mind, not to die.

Nonetheless, compassion is the order of the day for someone who is upset to the extent that he wishes to die. The withholding of compassion in such circumstances is indeed cruel. Hashem’s withholding compassion is intended to demonstrate to Yonah that acting in accordance with strict justice is not always appropriate. Although in theory correct, it is unkind and should not be done. In this manner, Hashem seeks to impart to Yonah that at times the administration of strict justice is simply inappropriate. By giving Yonah a small (The full dose would be Mitah Bedei Shamayim (death inflicted by heaven) which Yonah deserves as a Navi who is Koveish Nevuato (refuses to communicate his prophecy) (Rambam Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 9:3). ) dose of Middat HaDin when he was in great need of Middat HaRachamim (Attribute of Mercy), Hashem hoped Yonah would learn his lesson and relent. Hashem seeks to communicate the idea expressed by Rashi (Bereishit 1:1 s.v. Bara Elokim, citing Bereishit Rabbah 12:15)

And that which the questioner [in the mishnah] does not ask, "Couldn't He have created the world without any utterance at all - as behold, 'In the beginning,' is an utterance, yet it is not an utterance at all" - this matter is not difficult. For the intention [of the question that was asked] is only that it was not necessary to create each and every creation on its own, but [it could have] rather all [been created] together. But certainly the heavens and the earth were also created from God's decree, may He be blessed. And that is the meaning of that which [the Gemara] (Megillah 21b) answered, "'In the beginning' (Genesis 1:1) is also an utterance," as above (Paragraph 2).

With ten utterances, etc.: In the chapter [entitled] HaKoreh (Megillah 21b), it asks, "These are nine, etc.?" And it answers, "'In the beginning' (Genesis 1:1) is also an utterance, as it is stated (Psalms 33:6), 'By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.'" And we can ask - since, "In the beginning," is also an utterance, why was it not written, "And God said, 'Let there be the heavens and the earth?'" And it appears it is because it is forbidden to tell what happened before the world was created (Chagigah 11b); and this utterance was before the world was created. So that is why it is written, "In the beginning (Bereshit), God created," beginning with creation [as the first word of the Torah].

And we can also answer that even though, "In the beginning," is also an utterance, the utterance of "In the beginning" is dissimilar to the other utterances. For the expression, "utterance (amirah)," appears about speech that is specific - when one is speaking about [a specific] thing. But when He created the heavens and the earth, all of the world was included in it. And that is not a specific thing, since everything was created on the first day (the opinion of the Rabbis in Chagigah 12a and Rabbi Nechemiah in Bereshit Rabbah 23:4). And so, utterance is not applicable - as its explanation is that the heavens and the earth were created with this [particular] statement and will that He expressed. As, in every place, utterance only appears about a specific thing. And it would imply that there is another utterance in the matter of creation, as there is in the other [cases of], "And He said" - meaning to say, with this utterance he created this thing; and with another utterance, He created another thing. But when He created the heavens and the earth - which is the totality of the world - there was no other utterance. And so the expression, "and He said," is not applicable. For the heavens and the earth are everything, since [the participles in the phrase], "et the heavens and et the earth," are to include their multitudes.

And the Sages certainly did not have in mind - not in this mishnah and not in the words of the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 5:5) - that God, may He be blessed, placed into the creation on the six days of creation that a miracle would occur at its time because this would [otherwise] be a change of [God's] will. For these things do not have a basis or foundation at all. As how can we explain this mishnah - given that behold, it said, "Ten things were created at twilight": For why were these miracles not done like the other miracles that He placed into the nature of things when He created them, such that the miracle would occur with them at their time? And when He created water on the second day, he put into its nature that it would split when Israel would come to the Sea, and likewise with the other miracles. So too would it have been appropriate on the day that He created the earth (Genesis 1:1), that there be an opening made for when Korach would argue about the priesthood (Numbers 16:32). And likewise, the other things that were mentioned here that were created on the eve of Shabbat at twilight. And likewise, should the words of the Midrash not be understood like this at all - that this is why the Holy One, blessed be He, made a condition with the sea that it should split: Because the Sages, may their memory be blessed, found it difficult that there be a change in nature or a change in [His] will. This is not so. For if it were that a change in [His] will was what was difficult for them, they would not have said this about miracles alone. Rather [they] would also have said this about what was not a miracle - that the Holy One, blessed be He, ordered it from the creation, so that there would not be a change here, but rather that the Holy One, blessed be He, had wanted to do it from the six days of creation. But according to this, that which it is written (Exodus 32:14), "And the Lord renounced the punishment He had said to bring upon His people," would be nullified. For God, may He be blessed, changed His will.

And in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 1:4): "The world was created in the merit of three things: In the merit of the dough [offering]; in the merit of the tithes; and in the merit of the first fruits. As it is written (Genesis 1:1), 'In the beginning God created.' And 'beginning' is nothing but the dough, as it written (Numbers 15:20), 'The beginning of your doughs.' And 'beginning' is nothing but the tithe, as it is written (Deuteronomy 18:4), 'The beginning of your grains.' And 'beginning' is nothing but the first fruits, as it is written (Deuteronomy 26:2), 'From the beginning of the fruits of the land.'" And we can wonder [about] that which they mentioned these three things and did not also mention the priestly tithe; as it [too] is called, "beginning," in several places! And another difficulty - why was the world created in the merit of these three things? And the understanding of this is that God, may He be blessed, created the world, and benefited the creatures with what they needed. And if it were not that there would also be people in the world that would benefit others from their goods, it would not have been appropriate for Him to create the world and to benefit [people] with what they need. For this trait is connected to the trait of kindness, such that it is only appropriate to do kindness to one who is kind. As so did the Sages, may their memory be blessed, say (Ketuvot 72a), "He who buries [someone, others] will bury him; he who carries [someone, others] will carry him." The understanding [of this] is that [regarding] all of the acts of kindness that a person does, it is appropriate that it also be done to him. And this thing will be explained in its place (Netivot Olam, Netiv Gemillat Chassadim 3) - how it is appropriate that it be done to someone who does acts of kindness according to the kindness that he does. And therefore if there were not to be people who do acts of kindness in the world and benefit [others] from their goods, it would not have been appropriate for God, may He be blessed, to create the world and benefit the world with what it needs. And this thing is explained above (Derekh Chayim 1:18) in the chapter [entitled] Moshe Kibbel Torah, on, "The world stands on three things, etc."

And behold you will find that all of these five things are called, beginning. As from this you will understand that because of this stature, they are separated from the rest of existence and enter into the domain of the Holy One, blessed be He - like all beginnings. For the Torah is called, beginning, as it is written (Proverbs 8:22), “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way”; and the Torah is the beginning of all the commandments. Heaven and earth are a beginning, as it is written (Genesis 1:1), “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”; and they are the beginning of this material world. There is no doubt that Avraham was a start and a beginning, because Avraham was considered the beginning of the world. For until Avraham, everything was chaos (Avodah Zarah 9a), and he was the start and beginning of existence. And on account of Avraham, the world was created, as we said above (Derekh Chayim 5:2, 22): "'These were the generations of the heavens and the earth in their being created (behibaram)' (Genesis 2:4) - in Avraham (beAvraham, meaning with the letters, of “in Avraham”), the world was created" (Bereshit Rabbah 12:9). Behold that Avraham was the beginning of the world. And it has already been explained that the beginning is separated by its stature from the [rest], in that it is the beginning and the start. Israel is called beginning, as it is written (Jeremiah 2:3), “Israel was holy to the Lord, the first-fruits of His harvest”; and they are the first of all the nations. And through this, they are separated from the rest, in accordance with the nature of every beginning. The Temple is called first, as it is written (Jeremiah 17:12), “O Throne of Glory exalted from first, the place of our Sanctuary.” For the Temple is the first and beginning of all places and inhabitation of the earth. And on account of its being first, it is separated from the rest and enters the domain of the Holy One, blessed be He. And because of that, it is called the possession of the Holy One, blessed be He. As every possession is taken from another for the owner of the possession. Hence these five are appropriate to be called, possessions of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And it said, “I have created him, have formed him, I have even made him": It mentioned three expressions, creation, formation and making. And it may be asked, “What are these three things?” But when you analyze the creation story, you will find these three expressions are [found] with the creations: You will find an expression of creation with heaven and earth, “God created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1); “And God created the giant sea-creatures” (Genesis 1:21). And likewise with man is it written (Genesis 1:27), “And God created man.” In these three, an expression of creation is mentioned. And an expression of formation is said with the [domesticated] beasts and [wild] animals - “And [...] God formed [... every] animal (of the earth according to its species)“ (Genesis 2:19). And an expression of formation is also said about man, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7). But no more are found. And the expression of making is found with the firmament, as it stated (Genesis 1:7), “And God made the firmament”; with the luminaries, as it is written (Genesis 1:16), “And God made the two luminaries”; with the animals of the earth, “And God made the animals of the earth” (Genesis 1:25); and with man, “Let us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26).

The Sages taught: This chapter is not [made up] of mishnahs, for there are only five chapters of mishnahs: The chapter [entitled], Moshe Kibbel (Avot 1); the chapter [entitled], Rabbi Omer (Avot 2); the chapter [entitled], Akavia ben Mehalalel (Avot 3); the chapter [entitled], Ben Zoma (Avot 4); and the chapter [entitled], BeAsarah (Avot 5). And you should know that the teacher put down these five chapters corresponding to the five [books] of the Torah. For just as the Torah has five [books], so too are there five chapters of derekh erets (proper conduct, literally, the way of the world) - which are words of ethical teaching. For, 'if there is no Torah, there is no derekh erets; and if there is no derekh erets, there is no Torah. And therefore they depend upon one another; and it is appropriate that two things that depend upon one another be considered like one another. And he hence put down five chapters of derekh erets as well; just as there are five [books] of the Torah. And just like the Torah began with the order of descendance from Genesis and ordered the story of the generations, one after the other; this correspondingly began (Avot 1:1), "Moshe received the Torah," and the continuation of the chapter tells the continuation of the transmission of the words of ethical teaching until the end of the chapter - and there are therefore five chapters. And the words of all of the five chapters only relate to ethical teachings. So, even if in a few places, they spoke with regard to Torah [study], is it not that this thing is not at all that which is central [in these teachings], but rather just dragged along (tangentially)?

Why so? Why must there be justice as well as compassion, ­punishment as well as forgiveness? The sages said that “when God created the universe He did so under the attribute of justice, but then saw it could not survive. What did He do? He added compassion to justice and created the world” (Rashi, Gen. 1:1). This statement prompts the same question: Why did God not abandon justice altogether? Why is forgiveness alone not enough?

Thus Scripture states, His banner of love was over me, alluding to the camp of the shekhinah located in the midst of the four tribal ensigns, as it is written: “Then, midway between the divisions, the Tent of Meeting, the division of the Levites, shall move” [Num. 2:17]. And we have similarly found that the figures of the Tabernacle constitute a symbol of the Holy One, blessed be He, and of the world. So our sages have said: “R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: ‘When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses “Make Me a sanctuary that I might dwell among you,” he was to erect four poles and stretch out the tabernacle upon them. This teaches that the Holy One showed him red fire, green fire, black fire, and white fire. He said to him: “follow the patterns … that are being shown to you on the mountain” [Exod. 25:40].’ “R. Berechyah said: ‘This can be likened in a parable to a king who had a wonderful garment made of pearls. He said to his retainer: “Make me another like this one.” The retainer said to him: “My lord king, can I really make one like it?” The king said: “I in accord with my glory, you in accord with your own material.” Similarly, our teacher Moses said to God: “Can I construct something like these?” God said: “In accord with their patterns, using blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen.’” “Thus is the entire world included within the construction of the sanctuary. Concerning the world it is written: ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ [Gen. 1:1] and ‘He stretches the heavens out like a curtain’ [Ps. 104:2]. The Tabernacle contained goat skins for its tent. On the second day it is written: ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, separating water from water’ [Gen. 1:6]. Concerning the tabernacle it states: ‘the curtain shall serve as a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies’ [Exod. 26:33]. On the third day of creation, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one area …’ [Gen. 1:9]. Concerning the sanctuary: ‘You shall make a brass basin’ [Exod. 30:18]. On the fourth day: ‘Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the sky’ [Gen. 1:14] while in the tabernacle there was the candelabrum of pure gold. On the fifth day of creation: ‘… and birds that fly above the earth’ [Gen. 1:20] while in the Sanctuary: ‘Let there be cherubim with outstretched wings’ [Exod. 25:20]. Humanity was created on the sixth day. Concerning the sanctuary it states: ‘Bring forward Aaron your brother’ [Exod. 28:1]. On the seventh day: ‘The heaven and the earth were completed’ [Gen. 2:1]. Concerning the tabernacle: ‘Thus was completed all of the work of the Tabernacle …’ [Exod. 39:32]. Concerning the work of Creation, it is written: ‘God blessed them’ [Gen. 1:33] and concerning the construction of the tabernacle: ‘Moses blessed them …’ [Exod. 39:43]. On the seventh day it states: ‘On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing’ [Gen. 2:2], concerning the tabernacle: ‘On the day which Moses completed …’ [Num. 7:1]. On the seventh day: ‘God sanctified it’ [Gen. 2:3]; concerning the tabernacle: ‘Moses consecrated it …’ [Num. 7:1].” (Midrash Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1.) All of the above alludes to the fact that this world draws its life and is connected and adheres to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. So too the ark and its utensils are symbolic allusions. Above “seraphim stand” [Isa. 6:2]; below “acacia wood stands” [Exod. 26:16]. Above “He sits upon the cherubim” [Ps. 80:2]; below “cherubim of outstretched wing” [Exod. 37:9]. Above are the holy wheels (of Ezekiel’s vision); below “the structure of the wheels was like the structure of the wheel of the heavenly chariot-throne” [I Kings 7:33].

However, since the main theme of Koheles is the investigation of the natural sciences, this is why all [of Koheles’s] warnings [in this Book] are associated with [the name] Elohim, as the creations of the universe, i.e., the nature of the world, was written with the name Elohim. (See for example Gen. 1:1.) An additional [reason for using Elohim in Koheles] is because the nations of the world do not know of any of [His] names other than Elohim. This is stated in Tractate Sanhedrin 60a, [where R. Hiya says that one who hears a Divine Name being blasphemed nowadays is not obligated to rend his garment. The Talmud derives that R. Hiya is speaking of hearing an idol worshiper blaspheming God’s name, Elohim, and not the Specific Name. (The name Elohim (unlike the Tetragrammaton) is subordinate because it can be used to identify other things such as a court, such as in Ex. 21:6.) As the Talmud notes]: “If [R. Hiya’s statement] refers [to an idol worshipper] blaspheming the Specific Name, [we must object] – are idolaters familiar with that Name?” Since [Solomon] also taught wisdom to the scholars of the nations of the world, [he needed to use the name Elohim]. It is because of this [theme] the book is entitled Koheles, (This means “gathering.”) in the feminine. (According to the Netziv, the feminine form, usually consisting of the addition of the letter tav, denotes a form of comparative diminishment. The word, Koheles, meaning “one who gathers,” possesses the tav, and denotes a diminishment of the power or teaching associated with the gathering of people with Solomon. Since this gathering involved transmitting knowledge to the non-Jews as well, it is not the more powerful gathering that consists of the transmission of Torah, but rather the gathering associated with Solomon transmitting worldly knowledge.) As explained later in chapter 9, when comparing the sciences to the Torah, the feminine form is used. (A secular scholar is represented by bas, “daughter,” possessing the letter tav, whereas a Torah Scholar is referred to as beni.) Here too, [regarding Koheles], the gathering [of scholars] to investigate the natural sciences is called Koheles rather than Hikahel. (See Koheles Rabbah: “[Why was Solomon] called Koheles? Because his words were uttered be-hikahel [in public assembly], as it is written, ‘Solomon yakhel, assembled’” (I Kings 8:1). It would thus be more appropriate for Solomon to be called hikahel.)

GOD OF GODS. I have already explained this. (See I.E. on Gen. 1:1 (Vol. 1, p. 26). According to I.E. the term elohim means angels. Elohe elohim means God who is above the angels [the hosts].)

IT WAS SHOWN. Horeta (it was shown) is a hofal. The meaning of our clause is, God showed you all this so that you will know that He alone is God.

THE VOICE OF THE LIVING GOD. Elohim (God), as I have explained, (See I.E. on Gen. 1:1 (Vol. 1, p. 24).) is in the plural.

PHARAOH WAS WROTH WITH HIS SERVANTS. I believe that Pharaoh is an adjective (What I.E. means by “adjective” is an adjectival noun, a descriptive term like melekh (king). Cf. I.E.’s comments on Gen. 1:1 and the notes thereto.) and not a proper name. It is an Egyptian word. It is a title as Hiram in Tyre. (According to I.E., Hiram is not a proper noun. It is a term like Pharaoh or melekh. We thus find a Hiram in the days of David (II Sam. 5:11) and in the days of Solomon (I Kings 5:15) (Krinsky).) Similarly in our day all great Arab kings are called “prince of the believers.” Hence we find a Pharaoh in the days of Abraham and a Pharaoh in the days of Joseph. (They obviously were not the same person.) We also read that a Pharaoh died and a new Pharaoh arose. (Ex. 1:8.) Similarly we find a Pharaoh in the days of Jeremiah. (Jer. 44:30.) Do you not see that Scripture itself explains that Pharaoh is a term for the king of Egypt, (The Bible in a number of places explains that Pharaoh is a king of Egypt. Cf. Ex. 6:13, 29; Jer. 44:30. Filwarg questions this reading and suggests emending it. According to Filwarg we should translate, “Do you not see that Scripture does not explain the term Pharaoh. It does not do so because Pharaoh is a title for the kings of Egypt.” According to Filwarg, I.E.’s point is that the Bible usually does not identify the Pharaoh because it is known to be a title for the king of Egypt. If Pharaoh was a proper name, king of Egypt would follow it.) as evidenced by the terms Pharaoh Hophra and Pharaoh Neco, (Jer. 44:30; 46:2.) wherein Hophra and Neco are proper nouns. (Therefore Pharaoh must be an adjective.) Do not raise any objection from the Midrash concerning Solomon’s throne, (According to the Midrash, Va-yikra Rabbah 20, Pharaoh Neco means Pharaoh the lame. Thus Neco is an adjective. According to the Midrash this Pharaoh tried to sit on Solomon’s throne, which had been brought to Egypt by an earlier Pharaoh named Shishak, and had his leg bitten and broken by a lion, hence the name Pharaoh Neco, Pharaoh the lame.) for the king of Egypt did not take it to Egypt. (King Solomon’s throne was never brought to Egypt as it is not included among the spoil taken by Shishak. Cf. I Kings 14:25, 26.) Additional proof (That Pharaoh is not a proper noun.) is found in the statement of the chief butler, Pharaoh was wroth, and in Joseph’s statements, God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace (v. 16); He hath shown unto Pharaoh (v. 28); and Let Pharaoh do this (v. 34). (Thus these verses prove that Pharaoh is not a proper noun.) It is not in keeping with proper etiquette to mention the king by name.

בליל In the night of. (A. V., In the night.) ליל is in the construct state. It is an elliptical expression for in the night of such and such a day of the week. (An ellipsis, as supposed here by I. E. would be very unnatural; the qualified word may easily be omitted, but not the qualifying; we omit, e.g the house, but not the qualifying genitive. If לֵיל could only be the construct state, the whole sentence, שדד ער מואב, should be taken as the genitive; comp. Gen. 1:1, Hos. 1:1. See I. E. on Is. 21:11, and Moznaim, On the elliptical phrases in the Bible.)

where David hath dwelt; or the city, where David dwelt, since the whole sentence, with the past tense of a verb, can in this case be considered as a noun in the genitive governed by a preceding substantive; comp. בראשית ברא in the beginning, when God created, etc. (Gen. 1:1); תחלת דבר וגו׳ the beginning of the Lord’s speaking to Hosea (Hos. 1:1).

בורא Creator. I have explained already (Gen. 1:1), that ברא literally means to cut. (I. E. repeatedly remarks, that ברא means (1) to shape, to produce a thing from a given substance (2) : (להוציא יש מיש) to decree, or to decide: both meanings he derives from גזר=ברא to cut. Most of the commentators explain ברא to mean הוציא יש מאין to produce a thing from nothing. According to I. E. God created first the indefinite substance, and in the six days of creation he shaped it, as described in the first chapter of Genesis. Comp. Philo De mundi opificio.) The ends of the earth. The horizon, which is, according to the opinion of scientific men, no real line. Since God is eternal,—the earth can testify it, which he keeps continually in the midst of the spheres, although it rests on nothing (בלימה is a compound, consisting of בלי and מה without anything, and is exclusively used in this connection. Comp. חולה ארץ על בליטה and hangeth the earth upon nothing (Job 26:7).) —

בּוֹעֲלַיִךְ ,עשַׁׂיִךְ Thine husband, thy Maker. As to the use of the plural, (בּוֹעֲלַיִךְ ,עשַֹׁיִךְ instead of בּוֹעֲלֵךְ ,עוֹשֵֹךְ.) comp. בְּעשׇׁיו in Him that made him (Ps. 149:2); אלהים God; אדונים Lord; I have explained this in my commentary on Genesis (1:1). (I. E. calls this form דרך כבוד (pluralis majestatis), and compares it with the use of the plural in modern languages in addressing one person, and with the plural used by sovereigns when speaking in their edicts of themselves.) בועליך Thine husband is here used for מלכך thy King. and עשיך thy Maker for אלהיך thy God. (The Hebrew text has the words והנה טעם בועליך כמו מלכך ואלהיך כמו. Lit. The meaning of thy husband is thy king and thy God, as e.g.; in his remark on בעולה (ver. 1), I. E. says that the king is the husband of the country; we separate therefore ואלהיך from מלכך, and consider it as the explanation of ועשיך, which is to be supplied; the emended text would be ועשיך כמו ואלהיך.)

בורא The Creator. It is generally explained to refer to God, and the verb אמר said is supplied. Were it allowed to depart from the common explanation, I should suggest to take בורא in the sense of decreeing; comp. ובורא חשך (45:7). (Comp. I. E. on 45:7, 40:28, Note 61, and on Gen. 1:1.)

Your heart The soul is meant, which has its principal seat in the heart. (Comp. I. E. on Gen. 1:1, where more instances of similar kinds of metonymy are given.)

BUT IF THE LORD MAKE A NEW THING. Some say that the word beri’ah (a new thing) refers to the bringing forth of something that was never in existence.I have already explained that the word beri’ah is related to the word u-vara (hack) in and hack them (Ezek. 23:47). (See I.E. on Gen. 1:1 (Vol. 1, pp. 22,23).) Many cities (Or countries. The text reads medinot.) have been split open, and those who dwelt in them have gone down to the pit. (The reference is apparently to earthquakes.) The meaning of bara is to cut. (Thus according to I.E., ve-im beri’ah yivra Adonai (But if the Lord make a new thing) should be interpreted, but if God shall certainly split. An alternative interpretation of I.E. is: The meaning of bara is to decree. According to this interpretation I.E. renders ve-im beri’ah yivra Adonai (but if the Lord make a new thing) as, but if God shall decree.)

AND THE GROUND OPEN HER MOUTH. The word u-fatzetah means and opened. Compare, yiftzeh (doth open) in doth open his mouth (Job 35:16).I have already hinted (See I.E. on Gen. 1:26 (Vol. 1, p. 45).) that man’s highest soul, (The rational soul. See I.E. on Gen. 1:1 (Vol. 1, p. 25). I.E. believes that man has three souls, a vegetable, an animal and a rational soul. I.E. refers to the soul as “her” for the Hebrew word for soul is neshamah, which is a feminine noun.) which comes from the intermediary world, (For the three worlds, see I.E. on Ex. 3:15 (Vol. 2, pp. 86-90).) employs human language when speaking of things above her, (Such as when speaking of God.) for the body is its palace. (Here on earth. Hence it must employ corporeal metaphors. It is philosophically significant that I.E. refers to the body as a palace for the soul.) It similarly employs human language when speaking of things below her. (Such as the earth. Hence Scripture reads, and the ground open her mouth.) It does so in order that people understand her.

Contemporary Game Theory – the study of decision making – suggests the same. Martin Nowak’s strategy, “Generous Tit-for-Tat,” is a winning approach to the scenario known as the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma, an example created for the study of cooperation of two individuals. Tit-for-Tat says: start by being nice to your opponent, then do to him what he does to you (in Hebrew, midda keneged midda). ­Generous Tit-for-Tat says, do not always do to him what he does to you or you may find yourself locked into a mutually destructive cycle of retaliation. Every so often, ignore (i.e., forgive) your opponent’s last harmful move. That, roughly speaking, is what the sages meant when they said that God originally created the world under the attribute of strict justice but saw that it could not survive. Therefore He built into it the principle of compassion (see Rashi to Gen. 1:1, s.v. bara).

2 Masekhet Soferim has different definitions: a petuha is anything which does not start at the head of the line. A setuma is anything that stops in the middle of the line. How much must be left at the beginning of the line for it to be called a petuha? Enough to write a word of three letters. How much must be left in the middle of the line for it to be called a setuma? Enough to write a word of three letters. [End Masekhet Soferim quote.] Suppose he finished a paragraph at the edge of the page and started a new line, and left enough space at the beginning of that line to write three letters, and then started to write? Come and learn from the two sources; the baraita gives the essence of the issue. The baraita reasons that the beginning of the line is what determines a petuha, not the end of the line [so the example case is a petuha according to the baraita]; if one leaves a gap at the beginning and also at the end of the line, it is still a petuha. But the old siddur reasons that it is the end of the line that determines a petuha, not the beginning of the line [so the example case is a setuma according to the baraita]. [To avoid ambiguity, therefore...] if he makes a petuha with space both at the end of the line and at the beginning of the line it is good for both of them. This is correct. There is also another order of petuhot and setumot which seems entirely unconvincing. And these are the tagin of a sefer Torah and the petuhot and setumot according to the masoretic tradition. ביה שמו: the following words should be placed at the beginning of a line and the top of a column: Bereshit (Gen. 1:1); Yehudah ata yodukha (Gen. 49:8); Haba-im ahareihem bayam (Ex. 14:28); Shemor ve-shamarta (Deut. 12:28); Motza sefateikha (Deut. 23:24); Ve-a'ida bam (Deut. 31:28).

A kabbalistic approach: These two verses contain allusions to the entire history of this terrestrial universe, i.e. its existence of a total of 7,000 years. The hint consists of the seven times the letter א which is equivalent to אלף, 1,000, appears in these two verses. This is parallel to the very first verse in the Torah (Genesis 1,1) in which the letter א also appears seven times. [Actually in Genesis the letter א appears only 6 times in that verse, giving rise to the statement of the sages that the universe G’d created at that time was to endure in its present form for 6,000 years. (Compare Rosh Hashanah 31)]. After these 6,000 years there will be another 1,000 years during which the universe will be in ruins. We have to understand that seeing the entire Torah is built on the premise of creation ex nihilo, that just as the universe came into existence, had a beginning, it will also have an end. This is what is meant by Isaiah 44,6 quoting G’d as saying: “I am the first and therefore I am the last.” The prophet meant that just as G’d was first, i.e. before any creatures, so He will survive all creatures. This verse in Isaiah is proof that the terrestrial universe as we know it will have an end. If there would be a single surviving creature in the universe, how could G’d describe Himself as being the last? David explained this in greater detail when he said (Psalms 102, 26-27): “of old You established the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands. They shall perish but You shall endure; they shall all wear out like a garment; You change them like clothing and they pass away. But You are the same and Your years never end.” The letter relating to the sixth millennium is the letter א in the word אלפי of the sequence רבבות אלפי ישראל. This is the sixth word in that verse. The seventh word, i.e. ישראל, in this instance alludes to a withdrawal of the forces which had kept the universe a going concern during the previous six thousand years, and a hint that during that millennium there would be ruin. This millennium is the one of which the Talmud said חד חריב, “one which is desolation.” We also find an interesting anomaly in Hoseah 9,12 where the prophet writes the word בשורי מהם spelling the word with the letter sin instead of with the shin. The idea is that the “turning away by G’d from Israel” will not be total. Seeing that the wordישראל can depict the absence of positive forces or the presence of positive forces depending on the context in which the word appears, it is possible that just as on occasion that word alludes to destruction, it may allude to reconstruction on occasion, i.e. a marshaling of positive, constructive forces. The word in our verse would therefore also allude to a rebuilding of the universe including the people of Israel. This is the mystical dimension of Psalms 24,2 על נהרות יכוננה, “He founded it on subterranean streams.” The psalmist did not write כוננה, “He founded it,” in the past, parallel to the word יסדה, in the same line where we read: “for He founded it on the oceans,” כי הוא על ימים יסדה, but יכוננה, “He will found it,” in the future. This reflects that at the beginning of this psalm David spoke about the fact that eventually the whole universe would return to the state it was in before the Creator created light. All of this proves that G’d had originated the universe not merely improved it or expanded it. You will also find that in the hymn dedicated to the Sabbath (Psalms 92,1) David said in verse 13: “the righteous bloom like the date-palm,” an allusion to an existence after the Sabbath (the seventh millennium). This is the mystical dimension of the verse in Genesis 2,3. I have already mentioned this concept when commenting on that verse commencing with the words ויכלו השמים והארץ, a verse which concludes with אשר ברא אלו-הים לעשות, “which the Lord had created in order to continue to perfect it.” The time when this will occur is “after the Sabbath,” i.e. after the seventh millennium. When David said in Psalms 72,7 that יפרח צדיק בימיו ורב שלום עד בלי ירח, “the righteous will bloom in his days and there will be much peace (well-being) until the cessation of the moon,” the meaning is that the world as we know it will continue until the great Yovel at which time the forces of nature as we know them will cease to exist. This cessation of the forces of nature will include the function of the sun and the moon. At that time the earth will revert to its state of Tohu Vavohu prior to G’d having given the directive: “let there be light.” As to the verse in Genesis 8,22: “as long as the earth will exist, seed-time, harvest-time, cold and heat, summer and winter, shall not cease” is concerned, this is merely confirmation that there is a time limit to the phenomena mentioned in that verse. The time set for these phenomena expires during the great Yovel, i.e. the seventh millennium. This is also the opinion of Solomon who said in Kohelet 1,4 “and the universe continues forever.” The word עולם used by Solomon in that verse is the עולם היובל, the “world” as perceived of as a cycle of seven Shemittah cycles followed by a year of Yovel as spelled out in Leviticus 25,8-10, where the microcosm is discussed, whereas Solomon referred to the macrocosm. All of this is due to the principle that things which have a beginning must be perceived to have an end. Solomon’s father David was of the same opinion as his son when he wrote about G’d’s handiwork perishing in Psalm 102, 26-7 whereas G’d Himself would endure. There are some verses in Psalms which at first glance appear to contradict the concept we have outlined, such as Psalms 145,1, 65-6 or Psalm 104,5 When the psalmist speaks about the phenomena mentioned enduring forever, he does not mean that they will actually endure forever but that they have been so constructed that they would not disintegrate on their own unless by an act of G’d. Seeing that we cannot perceive of the sequence of Shemittah cycles followed by the Yovel as being something which continues indefinitely, this small paragraph is encapsulated in the inverted letters נ, to indicate that such a progression as we experience will come to an end after 50 cycles. The great Yovel occurs at the end of 1,000 generations at which time the earth will revert to a state of chaos. The reason why the letter נ has been reversed is that just as when letters are written in the normal manner this is an indication of matters described by these letters continuing to exist, when you turn the letter upside down you are giving notice that what had been perceived as continuing indefinitely does in fact come to an end. In order to reinforce our appreciation of what these inverted letters mean the Torah wrote two of them in order to drive home the point, as well as in order to hint that not only earth as we know it will undergo the metamorphosis described but heaven will too. [‎After all, heaven was created on the second day, after the light. Ed.] The reason that the Torah wrote the word ויהי “it came to pass,” each time after one of these inverted letters נ appears is to convince us that there will be a new existence after the great Yovel during which this metamorphosis will occur. The Torah wanted us to appreciate these concepts. In order for this to become easier for us it legislated in the microcosm, i.e. in our life cycles the Shemittah and Yovel legislation concerning the sale of slaves, return of land which had been sold as the result of the owner’s distress, etc., etc. Once concepts such as Shemittah and Yovel, both of which represent different degrees of reversals of natural processes have become part of our daily lives, the macrocosmic principles which we described are much easier to visualize. Let me now try and explain to you the underlying reason for these cataclysmic events which will occur at the end of each cycle of 6,000 years and again at the end of 49,000 years. It is generally known that six of the ten emanations were active during the six days of creation. The first day was under the aegis of the emanation בינה, whereas the second day was under the aegis of the emanation חסד. The third day was associated with the emanation גבורה, and so on until the seventh day, the Sabbath, was under the aegis of the emanation יסוד. This emanation commenced its work which was to provide עונג ומנוחה, Sabbath entertainment and creative rest. The rest provided by this emanation was both in respect of the Sabbath itself and in respect of the preceding six days. When the emanation יסוד was at rest on the Sabbath, all the other emanations were at rest also. This is the meaning of Exodus 20,11 כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ וינח ביום השביעי, “for during (a unit of) six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day He rested.” The words ששת ימים describe the six emanations which G’d created and employed to do His work; the “rest” occurred on the seventh day by means of the emanation יסוד. Something similar will occur at the end of the six thousand years when the cycle will repeat itself with the interval being a period corresponding to the rest of the original Sabbath. Each millennium will be under the aegis of the respective six emanations we already referred to. Seeing that every emanation has completed its work at the end of one thousand years, it follows that the world will then become chaotic seeing all the emanations are inactive. This means that in our terrestrial, or “lower” world, a world governed by the relatively low emanation בינה, continuity has come to an end, all the “lower” emanations striving to return to the emanation בינה, their immediate origin. Once this has occurred the cycle renews itself; this whole cycle of 6,000 plus 1,000 years repeats itself six times until at the end of the seventh such cycle we come to the “great” Yovel. One of the reasons that during the first six such cycles there was a relative חורבן at the end of each 6,000 years is that the emanations תפארת and כבוד which govern the orbits of sun and moon respectively, return to their immediate origin the emanation בינה, and terrestrial earth cannot function unless both sun and moon are active in their orbits. Nonetheless the seventh millennium during these six cycles does not mean total chaos, i.e. תהו ובהו, seeing that these forces will rejuvenate themselves forthwith after having received input from the emanation בינה. At the end of the seventh such cycle all emanations including the ones above בינה revert to the אין סוף, G’d’s essence, necessitating a return to total תהו ובהו in the process. This is what Isaiah referred to when he wrote: “all the host of heaven shall molder, the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll and all their host shall wither like leaf withering on a vine, etc”. Another verse in Isaiah 51,6 describes something similar happening to earth. The reason for these phenomena is the withdrawal of sun and moon, i.e. the emanation תפארת and כבוד. This subject was revealed to David in Psalm 24 where he speaks about “the earth being the Lord’s as well as all that it contains, the world and its inhabitants.” The author proceeds to show that verses 7 and 9 in that hymn describe the developments which we have been describing. [Since the author himself imposes restrictions upon himself in going into details, I will also refrain from translating the remainder of his comments on that psalm. Ed.]

Seeing the principle called קל וחומר, an inference arrived at by means of simple logic, is one of the thirteen methods of valid exegesis and it is the first one mentioned in the famous list by Rabbi Yishmael which we recite in our prayers daily, I have decided to list all thirteen principles at this point. The principle of the קל וחומר is derived from our verse here as well as from Exodus 23,5 where the Torah commands us to assist our enemy whose beast has collapsed under its load in unloading it. If we are to do this for our enemy, the Torah implies that we most certainly have to do this when the animal in question is the property of a friend of ours. The second principle which is a legitimate vehicle for arriving at a valid interpretation of Torah legislation is called גזרה שוה, and is almost the precise opposite of the former, seeing that it is based on similar expressions in matters which have no conceptual relation to each other; the words used for comparison are words which the text could have done without, hence they are perceived as alerting our attention to such legislation. In Leviticus 18,10 the Torah writes ערות בת בנך או בת בתך לא תגלה ערותן כי ערותך הנה; “do not uncover the nakedness of either the daughter of your son or the nakedness of the daughter of your daughter, for they are the same as your own nakedness. There is a pointed absence of mentioning that uncovering the nakedness of your daughter is prohibited. In Leviticus 18,17 the Torah writes: ערות אשה ובתה לא תגלה, את בת בנה ואת בת בתה לא תקח לגלות ערותה שארה הנה זמה היא, “you must not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; you must not marry either the daughter of her son or the daughter of her daughter as they are close relatives, it is a depraved plot to do so.” In either instance no mention is made of not sleeping with, i.e. marrying one’s daughter. The words הנה “they are,” are superfluous in each verse. The sages therefore derive the prohibition of marrying or sleeping with one’s daughter from these superfluous identical words. These two words made it unnecessary for the Torah to write a verse prohibiting marrying one’s daughter (or one’s son). The third category of valid exegetical tools is called בנין אב and implies that if the Torah permitted a particular procedure or prohibited it, say on one festival, then, unless there was a verse disallowing such a conclusion the rule applying to the first procedure mentioned also applies to similar procedures on other festivals. If, say, the Torah permitted using fire on the Passover in order to prepare food, then it is presumed that on other festivals where a general work prohibition exists also the preparation of food is excluded from such a prohibition. An example of such an exegetical tool is Exodus 12,16 אך אשר יאכל לכל נפש הוא לבדו יעשה לכם, “except that which must be eaten by any person-- only that may be done for you.” Our sages considered this verse as a precedent, בנין אב, for all the festivals. Another example for something similar is Leviticus 20,9 where the Torah discusses the penalty for cursing father and mother, concluding with the words דמיו בו, “his blood is upon himself.” Our sages in Sanhedrin 54 state that wherever this wording appears either in the singular or in the plural, i.e. דמיהם בם, this means that the applicable death penalty is סקילה, “stoning to death of the guilty party.” They use as the precedent the word in Leviticus 20,27 (where sorcery etc. is discussed) מות ימותו באבן ירגמו אותם דמיהם בם, “they shall die by execution, they shall pelt them with stones, their blood is upon themselves.” This method of exegesis is known as בנין אב מכתוב אחד, “a textural precedent based on a single verse.” There is a similar principle where the same rule is derived by the Torah having employed two verses to teach us the precedent, a sub-category of what we just explained. The example is found in connection with blemishes of human beings which disqualify a priest afflicted by them from functioning in the Temple or Tabernacle. In Leviticus 21,20 the Torah lists או גבן או דק או תלול בעינו או גרב או ילפת או מרוח אשך, “or who has abnormally long eyebrows, or a membrane in his eye, or a blemish in his eye, or a dry skin eruption, or a moist skin eruption, or has crushed testicles.” In that context a blemish known as יבלת (split eyelid) is omitted although that blemish is listed as disqualifying a sacrificial animal from being offered on the altar (compare Leviticus 22,22). Our sages concluded that wherever a blemish is mentioned in the Torah, be it in connection with an animal or a human being, such blemish is disqualifying regardless of whether it is written in connection with animals or humans. This exegetical method is known as a בנין אב משני כתובים, ”precedent based on two verses.” A fourth exegetical method in the list by Rabbi Yishmael is called כלל ופרט, a general rule mentioned in the Torah followed by an example illustrating that rule. The Torah writes in Deut. 22,11: לא תלבש שעטנז, “do not wear a garment made of two different kinds of materials.” It proceeds to give an example, i.e. a mixture of wool and linen. The reason the Torah gave us this example is that this is the only combination of the principle not to wear a mixture which is forbidden, i.e. subject to the principle enunciated in the general rule. Whenever the Torah first writes a general rule followed by such a detailed example, the rule applies only when it also corresponds to what is mentioned in the detailed example which followed the rule. The fifth exegetical rule is the reverse of that which we just described, i.e. the Torah lists a specific item as being either forbidden or permitted, and then follows that example by a general rule. We find this rule illustrated in connection with the legislation to restore lost property (which one has found) to its owner. In that connection the Torah writes in Deut. 22,3: “thus you shall do to all the lost property of your brother.” It is understood, based on the wording of this verse, that only items which correspond to the example mentioned by the Torah first are subject to the general rule of restoring lost property to the owner. The words: “thus you shall do to all” are understood as the general rule, whereas the words: “lost property of your brother,” are the specific detail. In all such instances the general rule determines the application of the legislation contained in the detailed example. A sixth rule is known as כלל ופרט וכלל, “a legislation couched in general terms, followed by an example, followed by a reiteration of the general principle mentioned first. In such instances the general rule is applicable only when it corresponds to the main features present in the detailed example mentioned by the Torah. We read in Exodus 22,8: על כל דבר פשע, “concerning all matters involving misappropriation, etc.” This is a general principle involving any wrongdoing. The Torah follows this by citing examples such as oxen, sheep, etc., which are the subject of theft or other kinds of misappropriation. The Torah concludes by repeating once more ”concerning any lost object, etc.,” that disputes like this must be adjudged before a judge. The examples cited all have the following common denominators: they are portable, are chattels. This excludes a slave and landed property both of which are not considered as chattels from the legislation described in that paragraph. We have a special verse in the Torah comparing the status of slaves to that of landed property (compare Leviticus 25,46) “you may bequeath them to your children” (the slaves) [just like you bequeath property]. Due to such considerations documents which though they declare that something belongs to someone are not comparable to chattels as the documents have no inherent value other than the paper they are written on. Another instance of the principle of כלל ופרט וכלל, occurs in Deut. 14,27 in connection with מעשר שני, the second tithe. Concerning what may be done with the money which was realized in redeeming the produce of the second tithe which was too bulky to transport to Jerusalem, the Torah wrote in verse 26 that “you may spend this money (in Jerusalem) for all that your heart desires.” It proceeds to give examples of what your heart desires such as “beef, sheep, wine, alcoholic drink,” repeating once more “and all that your heart desires.” In such a situation where the general rule is followed by examples only to be followed again by the general rule, the substance of the items cited as the examples is the guideline for what is included in the general rule. In this case, the examples are all edibles, produce of the ground (animals which feed on produce of the ground are considered as in the same class). It follows that any other edibles which are produce of the ground are included in the general rule though they have not been enumerated here in detail. Synthetic foods might not qualify as matters for which money from the proceeds of the second tithe may be spent. The seventh rule is known as כלל שצריך לפרט, “a general rule which is indispensable for understanding the detailed examples.” We find an example of this principle in Numbers 3,40 פקוד כל בכור זכר לבני ישראל, “count every male firstborn of the Children of Israel.” Had the Torah written the word “male” without also writing the word “firstborn” would have assumed that all the males whether firstborn or not have to be included in that census. Had the Torah only written the word “firstborn”, I would have thought that female firstborn are also included in that legislation. Therefore the word בכור in that verse is a general rule which is indispensable for understanding what is included in the detailed example. Rule number eight is described as כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא מן הכלל ללמד לא ללמד על עצמו יצא אלא ללמד על הכלל כולו יצא, “any matter which was included in a general rule but is singled out to teach something pertaining to this legislation does not teach only regarding this specific example but teaches something regarding the general rule from which it was singled out.” In connection with the prohibition of sacrificing children to the Moloch cult the Torah writes in Leviticus 20,2 “if any man (person) from among the Children of Israel or from a resident stranger (proselyte) hand over any of his children to that idol, such a man shall be executed. The common people shall pelt him to death with stones.” Up until the appearance of this verse the Moloch cult was just one of many forms of idolatry and the death penalty had already been provided for anyone serving idols. In this verse this particular form of idolatry (abomination) was singled out by the Torah. Why was the penalty spelled out in detail here? [the kind of death penalty]. Rabbi Yishmael teaches that the Torah did not mean that only this particular form of abomination qualifies for the most severe death penalty; rather, it was singled out as an example of the kind of death penalty applicable to people guilty of performing other abominations. Rule number nine: כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא לטעון טען אחר שלא כענינו יצא להקל ולהחמיר, “any matter which had already been included in a general rule but was singled out in order to teach something out of the context in which it had appeared, does so in order to either reveal an advantage or a disadvantage as the case may be.” In Exodus 21,2 the Torah writes: כי תקנה עבד עברי שש שנים יעבד ובשביעית יצא לחפשי חנם, “when you purchase the services (labor) of a Jewish servant he will serve with you for six years and will leave in the seventh year free of charge.” It is clear that a female Jewish servant was not included in this legislation as the Torah details rules applicable to the release of female Jewish servants when it writes in verse seven of the same chapter what the rules are when a father sold the labor of his daughter while she was a minor. Why was the word אמה mentioned in verse 7 seeing that a Jewish girl was already included in the general legislation mentioned in Deut. 5,12 when the Torah spoke about a Jewish servant with these words: “if your brother a Jewish man or Jewish woman is sold to you, etc. etc.?” The only reason the Jewish maid servant was singled out from the general rule governing both male and female Jewish servants is to legislate certain advantages she enjoys vis-a-vis her male counterpart. Whereas a male Jewish servant does not leave the service of his master merely by displaying signs of puberty, his counterpart the female Jewish servant does so. A male Jewish servant does not leave the employ of his master when the master dies but only at the end of six years service. In other words, one reason the Torah singled out the female once more was to reveal certain advantages she enjoys as compared to the general rules pertaining to the service of Jews who have been acquired by Jewish masters. At the same time there is also an aspect which is to the disadvantage of such a maid servant in that her master can marry her against her consent while she is in his service, seeing that at the time she was sold this was the understanding with her father. Rule number 10. כל דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא לטעון דבר אחר שהוא כענינו יצא להקל ולא להחמיר, “any legislation which was part of a general rule and has been singled out to describe an example pertaining to the context of that legislation, has been singled out only in order to introduce an ameliorating circumstance, not the reverse.” In Deut. 19,5 where the Torah discusses the law about involuntary manslaughter, we read: “or who will come with his fellow into the forest to chop down trees and his hand swings the ax to cut the tree and the iron slips from the handle, etc.,” such a person has to seek refuge in the city of refuge to protect him from the avenger of the slain party. Nonetheless, the Torah makes it clear that such involuntary manslaughter is under the general heading of “murderer,” seeing the Torah wrote in Leviticus 24,21 (without mentioning an exception) ‘anyone striking dead a human being is to be executed.’” The example cited in Deut. 19 then teaches that there are exceptions to the death penalty, namely when the killing was under the heading of involuntary manslaughter. Both verses speak of the same subject, i.e. killing; however the involuntary killer is exempt from the death penalty seeing his situation was singled out by the Torah which provided cities of refuge. Rule number 11: When a matter which had been subject to legislation of a general rule had been singled out by the Torah to provide a totally new perspective, it will not again become part of the original general rule unless the Torah writes so specifically. An example is Leviticus 22,11: “when a priest acquires a slave who becomes his physical property he may eat (terumah) just as may someone born in his house, etc.” In the verse following the Torah writes that such a priest’s daughter cannot eat such terumah anymore once she marries a husband who is not a priest. Seeing that up until her marriage she had been part of her father’s household, the Torah had to inform us that her status changes drastically upon her marriage. Once she has forfeited the right to eat terumah there is no way she can regain this right unless the Torah legislates so specifically. This is why in verse 13 the Torah writes that if this daughter who had forfeited her right to eat terumah through marriage to a non-priest had become widowed or divorced she may again eat terumah in her father’s house. Rule number 12. דבר הלמד מענינו ודבר הלמד מסופו, “A legislative matter derived through study of its context or from its subsequent passage.” We find an illustration of this principle in connection with the laws of the Sabbath. The Torah writes (Exodus 16,29) שבו איש תחתיו, “let every man remain in his place;” this does not mean that one is not to move for the entire period of the Sabbath but that one must not distance himself from one’s home (starting from the city’s boundary) for a distance of more than 2,000 cubits (1300 yards approx.) in any one direction. This is an example of deriving something from the context in which the passage is written. Seeing that the Israelites had to walk up to that distance to collect the manna during the week days and there was no manna on the Sabbath, it is reasonable to interpret the word ממקומו, “from his place,” as meaning the distance he had to move in a certain direction on days other than the Sabbath. We now have to show an example of deriving legislation by studying a passage in conjunction with the passage following it. In Leviticus 18,6 the Torah writes: איש איש אל כל שאר בשרו לא תקרבו לגלות ערוה, “any man shall not approach his close relative to uncover nakedness;” on the face of it this is a prohibition against sexual contact with any blood relative. Later on, in verses 7-18, the Torah spells out the list of blood-relations which are covered by the general statement in verse 6. This list enables us to derive which blood-relations are permitted as marriage partners, i.e. any not included in the verses 7-18. This is an example of what Rabbi Yishmael means when he says that deriving something from the end of a passage is a legitimate exegetical tool. Rule number 13 deals with two verses in the Torah which appear to contradict each other and which require a third verse for clarification. The Torah writes in Genesis 1,1 that “G’d created heaven and earth.” From this verse it appears as if the creation of the heaven preceded the creation of the earth. On the other hand, we read in Genesis 2,4: “these are the products of ....on the day the Lord G’d created earth and heaven.” This verse creates the impression that earth preceded heaven at the time of creation. We therefore need a third verse in Scripture which resolves this apparent contradiction. This verse is found in Isaiah 48,13: ”My own hand founded the earth, My right hand spread out the skies. I call upon them, let them stand up.” Another example of apparently contradictory statements in the Torah occurs in Exodus 20,22: “You have seen that I spoke to you out of the heaven.” This verse gives the impression that G’d’s voice at that time did not emanate from Mount Sinai but from the celestial regions. On the other hand, in Deut. 5,4 the Torah writes: “face to face the Lord spoke to you at the Mountain out of the fire.” The third verse which resolves the apparent contradiction is found in Deut. 4,36: “From the heaven He let you hear His voice to discipline you; on earth He let you see His great fire; and from amidst that fire you heard His words.” A third example of such a need for a third verse reconciling two apparently contradictory ones is the subject of consumption of fat and blood. In Leviticus 3,17 the Torah writes: “you must not eat any fat or blood.” This verse gives the impression that the prohibition applies equally to free-roaming beasts and to domesticated animals. On the other hand, in Deut 12,22 we read that the free-roaming beasts may be consumed (apparently without restriction). In Leviticus 7,23 the Torah writes that “all the fat of ox sheep or goat you must not eat.” This verse indicates that it is in order to consume the fat of free-roaming animals.

ואעשך לגוי גדול, “and I will make you into a great nation.” Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 39,15) explain that being a traveler, a nomad, brings in its wake three negative phenomena. It results 1) in a decrease of one’s fertility; 2) a decrease of one’s financial resources; and 3) in a decrease of one’s standing amongst one’s peers. G-d promised Avraham that he would not suffer from these negative phenomena. By saying: “I will make you into a great nation,” G-d told Avraham that his ability to procreate would not only not suffer but would be enhanced. By adding: “I will bless you,” G-d hinted that Avraham would prosper financially. By further adding “I will make your name great,” He countered Avraham’s concern that his standing amongst his peers would decline due to his becoming a nomad. It is noteworthy that G-d did not use the customary expression ואשימך לגוי גדול, “I will let you become a great nation,” but He said ואעשך לגוי גדול, “I will make you into a great nation.” This is equivalent to G-d saying: “I will make you into an entirely new phenomenon.” The expression G-d used is comparable to when the Torah said (1,7) ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, “G-d made the sky.” The deeper meaning of the words לגוי גדול, “to a great nation,” is a reference to the Jewish nation which is described in Deut. 4,8 as ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים, “and who else is a great nation which has righteous decrees and ordinances?” The words: “I will make you into a great nation,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as the G-d of Avraham,” the words “I will bless you,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as “the G-d of Yitzchak;” the words “and I will make your name great,” are alluded to when we speak of G-d as “the G-d of Yaakov.” The words והיה ברכה “and be a blessing,” prompted our sages when they formulated the first benediction in the principal עמידה prayer to conclude with reference to Avraham only when we say מגן אברהם, “the shield of Avraham” at the conclusion of that benediction. The deeper meaning of these words והיה ברכה, “and be a blessing,” is that G-d had said: ”up until now when I created My universe and it needed My blessing in order to endure I blessed Adam and Chavah as we read (1,28) ‘G-d blessed them.’” This was repeated when Noach and his family required G-d’s blessing after the deluge in order to rebuild mankind. At that point (9,1) the Torah wrote: “G-d blessed Noach and his sons, etc.” From here on is the power to bless was entrusted to Avraham who could use it to bless whomever he saw fit to qualify for a blessing.

From an homiletical point of view, the words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ are understood to mean "on account of three merits the universe was created, the merit of חלה i.e. giving the priest the first portion of a woman's dough, the merit of מעשרות i.e. the various tithes given to the Levite or the priest, and the merit of בכורים, bringing part of the first ripe produce to the Temple as a gesture of thanksgiving. This statement is based on all of these three commandments being described in the Torah at one place or another as ראשית"the first of something." (Numbers 16,2; Deut. 18,4; Exodus 23,19). Furthermore, our sages said (Bereshit Rabbah 1,6) "the universe was created for the sake of Moses who has been described as ראשיתin Deut. 33,21 וירא ראשית לו 'He regarded him as His .ראשיתThese three commandments called ראשיתnot only have a common denominator, but each one of them is also an allusion to "wisdom," something called ראשית. The word is translated as חוכמא , wisdom, by the Jerusalem Targum on Genesis 1,1. This is all because the letters in the commandment בכוריםthe first ripe fruit, allude to the Unity of G'd (according to Rabbi Chavell, the author means the three letters in the word ב-כ-ר allude to בינה insight, כתר crown, and ב=ראשית חכמה respectively). Similarly, the commandment of ,מעשרות tithing, is a reference to such superior wisdom as the number 10 is reminiscent of the Power of the One and only Creator. The commandment of חלה by its very definition represents the very first of a woman's productive activity, making bread and donating its first part to representatives of the spiritual leaders of the people, the priests. As to the Midrash stating that the merit of Moses accounted for the creation of the universe, this is not only because we have seen that he is associated with ראשית but also because it was he who was found worthy to give the Torah to the Jewish people. If you examine the word בראשית more closely you will observe that it contains an allusion to the building of the first Temple which stood for 410 years, corresponding to the word בזאת in the verse בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקד “equipped with this (410) Aaron will enter the Temple" (Leviticus 16,3). You are no doubt aware that our sages in Pesachim 54 have stated that the Temple was created before haven and earth. [the reference is to the plan for the eventual site of the Temple on earth, or to its counterpart in heaven. Ed.] This is the reason the Torah first wrote בראשית ברא"first G'd created something," and only afterwards to alert the reader that some things preceded the creation of heaven and earth. Seeing that according to Bereshit Rabbah (end of second chapter) G'd is reported as having envisaged the Temple as being destroyed and being rebuilt, the Torah wrote that to hint that there would come a time when G'd's presence would be withdrawn from the Jewish people.

Another possible approach to these words: There are basically three categories of idolatry (compare author on Yitro 20,3). One of them is the believing in certain philosophies, even if one does not worship something physical. We have been warned against such idolatry by the first words of the second Commandment: לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים. The second category of idolatry is the worship of reproductions in a cast form or other three-dimensional form, of celestial phenomena, the assumption being that one thereby wants to “catch” the power of these phenomena and put them to work on one’s behalf. The Torah warns against this with the words: “do not make for yourselves, etc.” (Exodus 20,4) The third category of idolatry consists of serving demons, something we have been warned against by the words אשר במים מתחת לארץ, “which are in the water beneath the earth” (Exodus 20,4). These are the demons that dwell in the תהום, “the empty space” mentioned in Genesis 1,1. This is why, at this point, Moses warns against serving these demons, saying we must not slaughter for them seeing they do not possess any power, not even that attributed to the celestial phenomena commonly known as horoscopes. Moses adds the apparently gratuitous words: אלוהים אשר לא ידעום, to emphasize that not only are these phenomena not deities, not equipped with any powers, but they have never even been acknowledged by idolaters a having any power. They are phenomena of such recent origin that they were not even perceived as threatening by their forefathers. The forefathers Moses referred to were Terach and Nachor, Avraham’s father and grandfather, who did worship hewn images of celestial phenomena. Even they were not so foolish as to imagine that cults involving demons could be of any use.

כי בחוזק יד הוציא ה' אתכם מזה ולא יאכל חמץ, “for with a strong hand G’d removed you from this (place) and therefore chametz may not be eaten.” What does the eating of חמץ have to do with the “strong hand” which G’d employed at the time of the Exodus? The verse simply wants to tell us that חמץ is a symbol of the attribute of Justice. Seeing that it was necessary for Israel to invoke G’d’s attribute of Justice against the Egyptians in order for themt to be redeemed, G’d forbade them the consumption of חמץ at the time when we commemorate the Exodus so that we would steer clear of putting our faith in the attribute of Justice as an attribute which acts on its own. Were we to do this we would be guilty of heresy. It would have been easy to conclude that G’d invoked only the attribute of Justice as both He and His heavenly tribunal co-operated in the downfall of the Egyptians. Compare Rashi (based on ancient manuscript of Tanchuma Bo 17). This is also why when G’d created the world the Torah first writes: “at the beginning G’d created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1,1), whereas later (Genesis 2,4) the Torah speaks of: “on the day the Lord G’d made earth and heaven.” [The second formulation includes G’d’s heavenly tribunal. Ed.] This is also the deeper meaning of Isaiah 48,13: “also My hand founded earth, and My right hand spread out the skies.” G’d’s “hand” and G’d’s “right hand” are mentioned separately. Also the word אף is an indication that some other force cooperated with G’d at a certain stage after the beginning. It indicates that not only the “hand” was involved in the creation. It was therefore necessary at this juncture for the Torah to tell us that also ה' was involved in the Exodus, not only the יד, i.e. the attribute of Justice. To remind us of this for all future time, the consumption of חמץ is forbidden on these seven days on which we commemorate the Exodus and the fact that it involved the downfall of our oppressors. This is the mystical dimension of the prohibition of eating חמץ. This explains why the Torah reserves the karet penalty for anyone who deliberately violates this commandment. Eating חמץ on Passover is equivalent to a serious act of heresy, denial of Jewish history; as such the person who does so has read himself out of his people, so to speak. This is why G’d removes him from the Jewish people at death, (12,15) i.e. in compliance with the sinner’s wishes

There is a single verse in Psalms 127,2 which sums it all up: “He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep.” The psalmist teaches that what all the people who rise early and stay up late (beginning of same verse) achieve only after expending much energy and not even enjoying the bread they eat, the Jewish people (who observe G’d’s commandments) find that G’d provides for them without any effort on their part. In other words, those people’s toil and fatigue was really all in vain. What is the meaning of the words ועינו כעין הבדולח “its appearance was like the color of bedolach” in Numbers 11,7 where we are given another aspect of the appearance of the manna? This is an indication that the color of the manna was of an extraordinary nature, similar to the diamond known as perla as described in Exodus 28,18. It is a derivative of a supernatural light described by Ezekiel 1,24. On the breastplate of the High Priest the precious stone called יהלום had the name of the tribe Zevulun engraved upon it. This stone emitted this light. It is recorded in a book by R' David Kimchi called Sefer Michlol under the root בדולח. The manna descended in the form of a fine drizzle, similar to what is meant by Psalms 147,16-17: “He scatters frost like ashes, He tosses down hail like crumbs.” This is why David explained in Psalms 78,23: “He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and rained manna upon them to eat, giving them heavenly grain.” This teaches that the origin of the (color) light of the manna was supernatural which prompted David to describe it as “heavenly grain.” David mentioned further that G’d opened the doors of heaven in order to cause it to rain down from those regions because concerning this supernatural light we have been told in Ezekiel 1,1: “the heavens opened and I beheld visions of the Divine.” You will note that this paragraph which acquaints us with the manna contains the word מן five times. This corresponds to the five occasions that the word אור, “light,” is mentioned in the first paragraph of the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1,1-5). This teaches that the manna is a derivative of G’d’s first physical creation, of the original light which was withdrawn after Adam sinned. Just as the light was created on the first day, so the manna was released on the first day (compare what we wrote on verse 1). In interpreting the meaning of Psalms 78,25 לחם אבירים אכל איש, “each man ate a hero’s meal,” our sages (Yuma 75) comment that the reference is to the kind of food which the angels consume (view of Rabbi Akiva). Rabbi Yishmael countered saying that the angels do not consume any material food at all. He based himself on Moses who had said that during the forty days he had been in heaven, in the domain of the angels, he had neither eaten bread nor drunk water. The idea was that when in celestial regions one conducts oneself like celestial beings whereas when the angels visited earth, i.e. Avraham or Lot, the Torah reports them as partaking of the food offered to them by earthly beings (compare Deut. 9,9 and Genesis 18,8 as well as 19,3). Rabbi Yishmael understood the meaning of the word אבירים as food which was totally absorbed by the organs of those who ate it, there being no need to excrete any of it. [The word אבירים is equated with אברים, organs, human tissue.] As a result of this discussion our sages in Yuma found that the numerical value of the word מחספס is 248, i.e. the number of bones in the human skeleton. This is the background to the claim that people eating an exclusive manna diet did not ever have to excrete any of their food intake. We have a further comment in Bamidbar Rabbah 7,4 on Numbers 14,11 “how long will this people spurn Me and how long will they not have faith in Me after the all the miracles I have performed ‘within them?’” The word בקרבו, “inside it” is a reference to all the manna dissolving in their tissue instead of in their entrails.

כי לי כל הארץ, “for the whole earth is Mine,” and I have not chosen any other nation except you. A kabbalistic approach: I have already discussed that the word כל is reference to an attribute of G’d in Genesis 1,1 where the terms השמים and הארץ have been discussed.

Rabbi Hai Gaon points out that though there are thirteen attributes and we have said that they parallel the ten emanations, and the expression “emanation” and “attribute” appears to be used interchangeably, the fact is that they are clearly interrelated deriving from the same source although their numbers do not coincide. The reason for this apparent discrepancy is the fact hat he three levels of the עולם האצילות “regions” beyond the “highest” emanation כתר have no clearly defined beginnings as they are so closely interwoven with the root of roots. Rabbi Hai Gaon, if pressed, named these three “super-emanations” אור קדמון, אור מצוחצח, אור צח — the three nuances of the original light. Our sages sometimes referred to this as the קוצו של יוד, something alluded to in our world by the little point-like tip of the letter י. I have referred to this already in my commentary on Genesis 1,1 “a kabbalistic approach.” May the Lord pardon us and enlighten us with ever more insights when we apply ourselves to the study of the Torah.

כל העושה בו מלאכה יומת, “anyone performing (forbidden) work on it will be executed.” This line is immediately followed by the prohibition of lighting a fire on the Sabbath. It is possible to interpret these two verses as examples of forbidden work on the Sabbath. First the Torah prohibits the performance of certain categories of activities called מלאכה; the Torah describes the lighting of fire as an example of such a forbidden category of activity. The expression מלאכה applies primarily to activities connected to the building of the Tabernacle which are forbidden to be performed on the Sabbath. This is the reason the Torah does not speak here of כל מלאכה, “any manner of work,” as it does on other occasions when the work-prohibition on the Sabbath is mentioned (compare Exodus 20,10). Following the prohibition to perform such work on the Sabbaths during which the construction of the Tabernacle was in progress, the Torah goes on to prohibit such activities on the Sabbath for all future generations also. This is the meaning of the additional words בכל מושבותיכם, “in all your dwellings” (as opposed to G’d’s “dwelling’). The example of lighting a fire is merely representative of all the other categories of activity which are prohibited on the Sabbath. Making fire is an appropriate example of basic human activity seeing that most of the principal activities we are engaged in cannot be performed satisfactorily if one were not able or allowed to make fire. This is the reason that the sages instituted the benediction over fire during the הבדלה ritual at the end of the Sabbath to signify that this crucial activity (as well as other activities) which was prohibited on the Sabbath is once again permitted. Fire, i.e. light, was the first of the activities G’d engaged in when creating the universe (Genesis 1,2). The ritual known as הבדלה comprises a total of four benedictions (wine, fragrances, fire/light, and the benediction reminding us of the difference between the holy and the profane). This number corresponds to the letters in the holy name of the Lord, the tetragrammaton. The benediction over wine is alluded to in Genesis 1,1 in the word הארץ, a reference to Gan Eden. The grape vine was one of the trees in that garden. The benediction over the fragrances is also alluded to in the word רוח אלו-הים, “the spirit (whiff) of the Lord” in the same verse. Fragrance is central to wind, i.e. the wind carries the fragrance, the odor. It represents the air man breathes through his nostrils, the organ of smell. Finally, fire is represented in that same verse we quoted from Genesis 1,2 where the word “light” has a dual connotation, also meaning “fire,” i.e. the source of warmth. In the ritual of the הבדלה we refer to the whole concept of fire and light as a separation between light and dark.

הוא אהרן ומשה, “the same Aaron and Moses, etc.” Aaron was mentioned here ahead of Moses seeing he was the older of the two brothers. In verse 27, the Torah lists Moses ahead of Aaron seeing that he was greater than his brother in stature as prophet. We find that the Torah sometimes mentions Joshua ahead of Calev (Numbers 14,38), whereas at other times it mentions Calev ahead of Joshua (Numbers 14,30). Joshua was greater than Calev seeing he was a prophet. Calev was greater than Joshua by genealogy, seeing he was from the tribe of Yehudah. We also find something similar when the Torah mentions heaven and earth. In Genesis 1,1 the Torah mentions heaven ahead of earth seeing that disembodied celestial beings are more distinguished than creatures who require a body in order to be functional. They also enjoy infinite life as distinct from creatures on earth. On the other hand, in Genesis 2,4 the Torah lists the earth ahead of the heaven. The reason is that the Holy Temple and the Shechinah are at home on earth rather than in the heaven. The reason the Torah repeats (verse 28) “it was on the day that G’d spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,” is because earlier (verse 13) it sounded as if the command to release the Israelites from Egypt was addressed to both Moses and Aaron. The Torah wants to clarify that the verbal instructions for this were issued by G’d only to Moses. Moses relayed them to Aaron.

ורחץ במים את כל בשרו, “he must wash his entire body with water.” This is the only time in connection with the legislation of ritual impurity that the Torah speaks of washing “the entire body.” Even when purification from more severe levels of ritual impurity is discussed, such as the person suffering a discharge, the Torah did not demand that “the whole body” be washed. The reason for all this may have to do with the four basic raw materials man is made of, i.e. fire, spirit (wind), water and dust. This was not the order in which these elements appear in the report of the creation in Genesis where the first element mentioned is the spirit (רוח) in Genesis 1,1, followed by water and fire and dust (earth).

A kabbalistic approach to the words יובל היא: The word יובל is derived from the expression ועל יבל ישלח שרשיו, “sending forth its roots by a stream” (Jeremiah 17,8), a hint that all the succeeding generations are traced back to their original roots, to the prime cause which determined their development. This is the reason why the Yovel is called דרור, “freedom,” a reminder of when man was free from sin. All of mankind originated with the pool of souls at G’d’s disposal and eventually this is where the souls will return to. Each one of the seven times periods of a cycle of 7000 years will perform the tasks assigned to the respective day of creation making a total of 49,000 years. When they have completed these 49,000 years the universe will revert to the Tohu Vavohu which preceded the words בראשית ברא (Genesis 1,1). The meaning of the words בשנת היובל הזאת תשובו איש אל אחוזתו, then is literal, i.e. that each person will return to his origin in the year described as Yovel. Philosophers have understood the paragraph as meaning that just as all phenomena in the universe date back to a single original cause, they will again revert to that original cause. If you are fortunate enough to understand the mystical dimension of the legislation of the Shemittah and the Yovel concepts you will not fail to notice the significance of such words in the text as שדך כרמך, ספיח קצירך, ענבי נזירך all of which are in direct speech, i.e. ‘your field, your vineyard, etc.” Prior to the occurrence of the year called שבת לה', “the Sabbath of the Lord,” the Torah had mentioned the suffix “your” only as an afterthought, i.e. תזרע שדך, whereas after that Sabbath the Torah emphasises the fact that it is your field, etc. by writing: שדך לא תזרע, as if to emphasise that you have acquired an inalienable right to that field through the observance of that Sabbath. The Torah emphasises that just as these fields, etc., were yours prior to the “Sabbath,” they are even more so yours after you have observed this “Sabbath.” In Psalm 92,1 the hymn dedicated to the Sabbath, the psalmist reiterates that after the Sabbath has been observed the righteous will flourish like the palm tree (verse 13). In another Psalm (72,7) the author describes the righteous as “flourishing in his time, at which time there will be an abundance of peace until there is no more moon.” Such a vision is already forecast in the opening paragraph of the second chapter of Genesis where the Torah writes that G’d blessed the seventh day (verse 3). The verse which we understood as the conclusion of the act of G’d’s creative activity, concludes (quite unexpectedly) with the word לעשות, “to do, or to keep on doing;” In other words, G’d’s active role in shaping the universe did not conclude at the end of the sixth day of creation. With this verse G’d gave notice that He is planning what is going to happen to the various generations even at that stage. You will therefore observe that whereas for the periods prior to this “great” Yovel at the end of 49,000 years no more mention is made of any parts of the terrestrial earth being “yours,” i.e. man’s, up until that time it is described as “man’s” in varying degrees. In connection with what happens after the Yovel the Torah speaks of ספיחיה, נזריה, “its aftergrowth”, “its set aside residual grapes.” This is a clear hint that due to the arrival of the Yovel (the great and ultimate Yovel) everything had reverted to the original cause, i.e. to G’d. I have already drawn attention to this in my commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus 21,6 in connection with the words ועבדו לעולם. This may be the reason why the Torah writes in Leviticus 27,24 לאשר לו אחזת הארץ, “to the one who had possession of the land,” instead of writing: “who had inherited the land, i.e. נחלת הארץ. The term נחלה is applicable only if the property in question came into one’s possession from someone who owned it previously, whereas the word אחוזה refers to the “original” owner. Solomon alluded to this when he wrote in Kohelet 5,7 כי גבוה מעל גבוה שומר, וגבוהים עליהם, “for high above the high ones is someone who keeps watch, and above them are those who tower above them.” [The thrust of Solomon’s words which are addressed to the oppressors who feel all-powerful, as well as the thrust of the hidden message in our text, is that there are forces at work beyond those that meet the eye when we merely look at the text of the written Torah superficially. Ed.]

A kabbalistic approach to the words: “I will grant peace in your land, etc.” This was a promise that the foundation of the universe (עולם) (known as the emanation יסוד) will remain connected to the ארץ of which the Torah spoke in Genesis 1,1 when mention of earth first occurs. That verse alluded to the mystical dimension of the ten emanations. It is this kind of “peace” with which the Jewish people residing in the land of Israel will be blessed as a consequence of keeping the laws of the Torah. This is the meaning of Solomon in Kohelet 3,11 גם את העולם נתן בלבם, “He also put the world into their heart.” The heart is another word for the earth in the universe, i.e. it is like a wheel within a wheel (Ezekiel 1,16) and the emanation known as כל suffuses everything, i.e. is בכל. Seeing that the abundance (of G’d’s blessings) emanates from the emanations נצח והוד to earth via the emanation יסוד, and the two emanations נצח והוד symbolise the למודי ה', the learned people who have intimate knowledge of the Lord, the sages (Berachot 64) stated that these Torah scholars help increase the peace which is found on earth. They proved this from a verse in Isaiah 54,13: וכל בניך למודי ה' ורב שלום בניך, “when all your children are imbued with knowledge of the Lord, there will be abundant peace among your children.”

ויראו בני האלוהים את בנות האדם כי טובות הנה, ויקחו להם נשים מכל אשר בחרו. We have already explained that the noun אלוהים is a noun which is sometimes applied to G’d, and sometimes to certain people, and sometimes to phenomena which some people worship even though they have nothing divine about them, In Genesis 1,1 בראשית ברא אלוקים, it is clearly a reference to G’d. In Genesis 20,3 ויבא אלוהים אל אבימלך, it is a reference to an angel, seeing that he carried out a mission on behalf of G’d. In Exodus 22,8 עד האלוהים יבא דבר שניהם, it is a reference to a judge, a human being. The term is also applied to select human beings of a spiritually high level, such as when David quotes G’d in Psalms 82,6 אני אמרתי אלהים אתם, I used to say that you (man) are “divine,” (until you sinned). In our verse here, the Torah in speaking of בני האלוהים, refers to the elite of the human species at the time. In our verse it is a reference to the male elite, the judges.

With ten utterances the world was created. And what is learned: "And He said" is written nine times from "In the beginning" (Genesis 1:1) to "And completed" (Genesis 2:1). And "In the beginning" is also an utterance, as it is stated (Psalms 33:6), "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made" - as it is impossible that the heavens and the earth were created without an utterance.

The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; The world and they that dwell therein: – And although the earth is the Lord's, this mountain is called the mountain of the Lord and His Holy Place (specifically), because it is His Holy Place in truth, for it is a habitation (in the earth) corresponding to the Throne of Glory (in heaven). And the expression הארץ (the. earth) includes the whole of the earth, as (Gen. i. i) "the heavens and the earth"; and the expression תבל (world) is equivalent to the inhabited parts; therefore, in connexion with earth, he uses the phrase its fulness, and with world (he uses) and those that dwell therein.

IF THOU BUY A HEBREW SERVANT. G-d began the first ordinance with the subject of a Hebrew servant, because the liberation of the servant in the seventh year contains a rememberance of the departure from Egypt which is mentioned in the first commandment, just as He said on it, And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Eternal thy G-d redeemed thee; therefore I command thee this thing today. (Deuteronomy 15:15.) It also contains a remembrance of the creation, just as the Sabbath does, for the seventh year signals to a servant a complete rest from the work of his master, just as the seventh day of the week does. There is in addition a ‘seventh’ amongst the years, which is the jubilee, for seven is the chosen of the days [to be the Sabbath], and of the years [to be the Sabbatical year], and of the [seven] Sabbaticals [to be the jubilee]; and they all point to one subject, namely, the secret of the days of the world — from bereshith (in the beginning) till vayechulu (and they were finished). (Genesis 2:1. See Ramban Vol. I, pp. 61-64.) Therefore this commandment deserved to be mentioned first, because of its extreme importance, alluding as it does to great things in the process of creation. (Ramban’s reticent and challenging language is illuminated in an essay by I. Weinstock (B’maglei Haniglah V’hanistar, pp. 151-241) where he traces the development of this Cabalistic doctrine: The universe is subject to cycles of seven thousand years; after each six thousand years of growth and activity the seventh thousand is one of “rest” — destruction. This process repeats itself seven times — representing a total of forty-nine thousand years, the fiftieth thousand being the jubilee when all existence returns to its beginnings. This phenomenon applies to the planet on which we live as well as to the worlds above us. One can thus get a glimpse into the meaning of Ramban’s words before us, that this commandment “alludes to great things in the process of creation.”) This is why the prophet Jeremiah was very stringent about it and said, Thus saith the Eternal, the G-d of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers; (Jeremiah 34:13.) At the end of the seven years ye shall let go every one his manservant, and every one his maidservant. (Ibid., Verses 14 and 10 (Ramban combined here parts of these verses).) And on account of its violation, G-d decreed the exile, (Ibid., Verses 17-22.) just as the Torah decreed exile for the Sabbatical rest of the land which was not observed, (Leviticus 26:34-35.) as I will yet write, (Ibid., 25:2.) with the help of the Rock. When He finished stating the ordinance of this [first] commandment as it applies to Hebrew servants, He began the ordinance of the commandment, Thou shalt not murder, (Above, 20:13.) since it is the worst [sin] and then [He stated the ordinances of the commandments] to honor one’s parents, and of Thou shalt not steal, (Above, 20:13.) and then He went back to the ordinance of one who smites his fellow-man but did not kill him, (Further, Verses 18-19.) and then to the murder of a bondman, which is worse than the killing of an offspring, (See further Verse 22 — that for killing an unborn child a fine is paid, while in the case of the bondman, if he did not survive for twenty-four hours after he was struck by the master, the master is liable to death (Verses 20-21).) and after that to [injury to] the limbs of Israelites and bondmen, (Ibid., Verses 24-27.) and then to cases of death inflicted by cattle which cause injury. (Ibid., Verses 28-32.) All the sections are thus arranged in logical sequence and in proper order.

AND G-D CREATED THE GREAT SEA-MONSTERS. Because of the great size of these creatures, some consisting of many Persian miles — the Greeks in their books even relate that they knew some of them to be 500 Persian miles long, and our Rabbi likewise spoke of them in magnifying terms (Baba Bathra 73b.) — on account of that, Scripture explicitly ascribes their creation to G-d for He brought them forth from nought from the beginning, as I have explained the expression b’riyah (creation). Similarly, Scripture does so in the case of man (Verse 27: And G-d created man in His own image.) on account of his exaltedness, thus informing us that man, with his mind and reason, also came forth from nought. I wonder why it does not say “and it was so” on this day? Perhaps it would not have been possible to mention And He created after saying, “and it was so,” since it refers to the preceding. (If Verse 20 (Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, etc.) would have concluded with the expression and it was so, it would have implied the creation of the sea-monster, since they also swarm in the waters. How then could it say in the following verse, And G-d created the sea-monster, as if it were another act of creation? To say, and it was so after vayibra (And He created) is also not possible for this would be redundant. Hence on the fifth day, the expression and it was so does not appear in Scripture.) Our Rabbis have said (Baba Bathra 74b.) that the great sea-monsters are the Leviathan and its mate which He created male and female. He then slew the female and preserved it in salt for the benefit of the righteous in the hereafter. It is possible that on account of this it would not have been appropriate to say concerning their creation, “and it was so,” since they did not continue to exist [in the form in which they were created].

AND G-D SAID: ‘LET US MAKE MAN.’ There was a special command dedicated to the making of man because of his great superiority since his nature is unlike that of beasts and cattle which were created with the preceding command. The correct explanation of na’aseh (let us make) [which is in the plural form when it should have been in the singular] is as follows: It has been shown to you that G-d created something from nothing only on the first day, and afterwards He formed and made things from those created elements. (Fire, wind, water, and earth.) Thus when He gave the waters the power of bringing forth a living soul, (Verse 20.) the command concerning them was Let the waters swarm. (Verse 20.) The command concerning cattle was Let the earth bring forth. (Verse 24.) But in the case of man He said, Let us make, that is, I and the aforementioned earth, let us make man, the earth to bring forth the body from its elements as it did with cattle and beasts, as it is written, And the Eternal G-d formed man of the dust of the ground, (Genesis 2:7.) and He, blessed be He, to give the spirit from His mouth, the Supreme One, as it is written, And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Genesis 2:7.) And He said, In our image, and after our likeness, as man will then be similar to both. In the capacity of his body, he will be similar to the earth from which he was taken, and in spirit he will be similar to the higher beings, because it [the spirit] is not a body and will not die. In the second verse, He says, In the image of G-d He created him, (Verse 27.) in order to relate the distinction by which man is distinguished from the rest of created beings. The explanation of this verse I have found ascribed to Rabbi Joseph the Kimchite, (The father of Rabbi David Kimchi (R’dak, the famous grammarian and commentator of the Bible). The explanation is found in R’dak’s commentary to the Torah here as well as in his Sefer Hamichlal. In his works on Hebrew grammar and Bible, R’dak often mentions the interpretation of his father. Moses Kimchi, a second son to Joseph, also continued the tradition of the family.) and is the most acceptable of all interpretations that have been advanced concerning it. The meaning of tzelem is as the word to’ar (appearance), as in ‘Vetzelem’ (And the appearance) of his face was changed; (Daniel 3:19.) similarly, Surely ‘b’tzelem’ (as a mere appearance) man walketh; (Psalms 39:7.) When Thou arousest Thyself ‘tzalmam’ (their appearance) Thou wilt despise, (Ibid., 73:20.) that is, the appearance of their countenance. And the meaning of the word d’muth is similarity in form and deed, as things that are akin in a certain matter are called similar to each other. Thus man is similar both to the lower and higher beings in appearance and honor, as it is written, And Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, (Ibid., 8:6.) meaning that the goal before him is wisdom, knowledge, and skill of deed. (Ecclesiastes 2:21;4:4.) In real likeness his body thus compares to the earth while his soul is similar to the higher beings.

A SABBATH UNTO THE ETERNAL, “[This means] in honor of the Eternal [and that it is not primarily intended for man’s benefit], (In other words, we are to observe the Sabbatical year primarily as a mark of honor to G-d, and not for our benefit, in that by lying fallow for a year the land will improve. The same applies to the weekly Sabbath, which we celebrate in honor of the Creator of the world, and not primarily because we benefit physically from a day of rest. (Mizrachi).) in the same sense as this expression is used in the case of the Sabbath of Creation” [i.e., the weekly Sabbath, of which it is also said, a Sabbath unto the Eternal]. (Exodus 20:10. See note above.) This is the language of Rashi. But this was not the intention of the Rabbis in their interpretation, (In other words, it is true that in the Torath Kohanim (Behar 1:2) there is such an interpretation of the Rabbis, likening the expression a Sabbath unto the Eternal stated here in the case of the Sabbatical year to that mentioned in the law of the weekly Sabbath. But the intent thereof is not as Rashi presented it, for etc. The full text of the Beraitha of the Torath Kohanim will be mentioned further on by Ramban.) for all [weekly] Sabbaths, and also the festivals, are in honor of the Eternal, and yet in not one of them [i.e., the festivals] does Scripture say that they are “unto the Eternal.” Instead, it says it shall be a solemn rest unto you, (Above, 23:24.) and in the case of the Day of Atonement it states, It shall be unto you a Sabbath of solemn rest. (Ibid., Verse 32.) The text of the Beraitha in the Torah Kohanim [quoted by Rashi] is as follows: (Torath Kohanim, Behar 1:2.) “A Sabbath unto the Eternal. Just as it says with reference to the Sabbath of Creation, so is it said regarding the Sabbatical year, a Sabbath unto the Eternal.” But the meaning of a Sabbath unto the Eternal thy G-d (Exodus 20:10. See note above.) stated in connection with the Sabbath of Creation, is that on it He ceased from work and rested (Exodus 31:17.) and therefore thou shalt not do any manner of work. (Exodus 20:10. See note above.) It was with reference to that idea that the Sages, of blessed memory, said that the same expression is also stated in the case of the Sabbatical year, since it is the seventh in [the cycle of] the years [just as the weekly Sabbath is the seventh day in the cycle of days; and the meaning thereof here is that since the seventh year is a Sabbath to the Eternal, as will be explained, we are to desist from working the land]. Now here [in the Torath Kohanim mentioned above, the Rabbis] have roused our attention to one of the great secrets of the Torah. (See in Exodus (Vol. II, p. 341, Note 23).) Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has already given us a hint of it when he wrote: “The meaning of a Sabbath unto the Eternal is like that of the Sabbath-day. (For just as the Sabbath was given for the purpose of contemplating G-d’s deeds and meditating upon His Torah, so also is the purport of the Sabbatical year, since it is the seventh of the years (Mekor Chayim in his commentary to Ibn Ezra).) The secret of the years of the world is alluded to in this place.” [Thus far is Ibn Ezra’s comment.] Bend now your ear to understand that which I am permitted to inform you about it in the words that I will cause you to hear, and if you will be worthy, you will contemplate them [and understand them]. I have already written in Seder Bereshith (Genesis 2:3 (Vol. I, pp. 61-64).) that the six days of creation represent [all] the days of the world, and the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Eternal thy G-d, (Exodus 20:10. See note above.) for on it will be the Sabbath to the Great Name, just as we have been taught [in a Mishnah]: (Tamid 7:4.) “On the seventh day what psalm did the Levites sing [in the Sanctuary? They sang] A Psalm, a Song. For the Sabbath-day (Psalms 92:1.) — [a song] for the World to Come, which will be wholly a Sabbath, and rest for life everlasting.” Thus the [seven] days [of the week] allude to that which He created in the process of creation, and the [seven] years [of the Sabbatical cycle] refer to that which will occur during the creation of all “the days” of the world. It is for this reason that Scripture was more stringent regarding [the transgression of the laws of] the Sabbatical year than with respect to those guilty of transgressing all other negative commandments, and made it punishable with exile, just as He was stringent with respect to forbidden sexual relations [for which the punishment of the people, as opposed to that of the individual, is also exile]; (Above, 18:28.) as it is said, Then shall the Land be paid her Sabbaths, (Further, 26:34.) and He repeated this matter many times: As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, (Ibid., Verse 35.) and it is further said, And the Land shall lie forsaken without them, and shall be paid her Sabbaths. (Ibid., Verse 43.) “And so we have been taught [in a Mishnah]: (Aboth 5:9. Our text of the Mishnah has a variant reading. See my Hebrew commentary p. 167, Note 55.) “Exile comes for the delaying of justice, and for the perversion of justice, and for [the neglect of] the year of rest for the Land.” [This stringency of punishment is] because whoever denies it [i.e., the law of the Sabbatical year], does not acknowledge the work of creation and [life in] the World to Come. Similarly the prophet [Jeremiah] was stringent, and decreed exile for neglecting to send [Hebrew] servants to freedom in the seventh year [of their service], as it is said, I made a covenant with your fathers … At the beginning of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother etc., (Jeremiah 34:13-14. — The verse there reads ‘mikeitz sheva shanim’, which is normally translated as “at the end of seven years” (so also in the J.P.S. translation). Ramban in Deuteronomy 15:1, however, brings proofs that the correct meaning in this context is “at the end-year of the seven years”, i.e., at the beginning of seventh year, rather than “at the end of the seventh year.” Thus the Hebrew servant goes free at the beginning of the seventh year [the end-year of the cycle of seven years], and this is indeed the accepted law (Rambam, Hilchoth Avadim 2:1) that he serves for six years. See, however, Yonathan ben Uziel in Jeremiah.) for in the case of a servant the seventh year is also like a [complete] Jubilee; and the Jubilee is known also [at the very beginning of the Torah] — from ‘Bereshith’ (In the beginning) to ‘Vayechulu’ (And there were finished) (In other words, in the Scriptural account of the creation — commencing with the verse, In the beginning … and concluding with ‘Vayechulu’ (And there were finished) (2:1) — the secret of the Jubilee is already hinted at, namely, “that all things, that came into existence in the beginning of time will be finished in the era of the Jubilee (Beiur Ha’lvush to Ricanti who quotes the language of Ramban).) — intimating that in the Jubilee everything is to return [to its origin], every man unto his possession, and every man unto his family. (Further, Verse 10.) For it is a sure foundation, and he that believeth (Isaiah 28:16. The verse reads: He that believeth will not ‘yachish’ (make haste). Ramban brings out ingeniously a different meaning by saying: he that believeth ‘yacharish’ (will keep silence), suggesting that the student of Cabala must be reticent and careful not to disclose the secrets he has learned. Cf. the phrase in Amos 5:13 — ‘Therefore ‘hamaskil yidom’. (he who understands will keep quiet)!) shall keep silence. This is what is meant in saying, ‘v’shavtah ha’aretz shabbath’ (and ‘the land’ shall keep a Sabbath); (In Verse 2 before us. The word ha’aretz is here understood as “the earth” in its entirety [not merely one particular part of it], the same interpretation applying to the next verses quoted. See further, Note 194.) and ye shall proclaim liberty ‘ba’aretz’ (throughout ‘the land’), (Further, Verse 10.) for the reference here is to “the land of eternal life” which is alluded to in the first verse [of the Torah], (In the beginning G-d created the heavens ‘v’eth ha’aretz’, which means “the land of eternal life.”) and of which it is said, ‘v’ha’aretz ezkor’ (and I will remember ‘the land’). (Further, 26:42.) I have already mentioned this several times. (See Vol. I, pp. 110, and 120.) Perhaps it is to this that our Rabbis alluded in saying: (Rosh Hashanah 21 b. See also Vol. I, pp. 9-10.) “Fifty gates [degrees] of understanding were created in the world, and all were transmitted to Moses with one exception.” For each cycle of seven years constitutes “the gate of one house” [creation], and thus He informed him of all existence from beginning to end, with the exception of the holy Jubilee.

THEN WILL I GIVE YOUR RAINS IN THEIR SEASON. He mentioned the matter of rains first [of all the blessings] because if they come in their proper season, the air is pure and good and the springs and rivers are good [clear], and thus it [the rain] is a [prime] cause of physical health, and all produce will increase and be blessed by it, just as He said, and the Land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (In Verse 4 before us.) Thus because of this [pure state of the environment] people do not become sick, and none shall miscarry, nor be barren, (Exodus 23:26.) even among their cattle, (See Deuteronomy 7:14.) and they will live out [the full extent of] their days. (See II Samuel 7:12.) For when the material frame [of human beings] is large and healthy, they can continue [in health] as in the days of Adam. (Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years (Genesis 5:5). See Ramban ibid., on Verse 4, (Vol. I pp. 98-99).) Thus this [blessing — the rains in their seasons] is the greatest of all blessings [and therefore it is given first place]. Now He said that the heavens will respond to the earth (See Hosea 2:23.) with rains in their seasons, and the earth shall respond (See ibid., Verse 24.) with its “produce”, which includes vegetation and all moving creatures — cattle, beasts, creeping things and fowl, as well as fish — for the term ha’aretz [“the earth” or “the land,” in and ‘the land’ shall yield her produce] includes the whole of the lower sphere [i.e., everything under the sphere of the moon], just as [in the verses]: In the beginning G-d created the heaven and ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth); (Genesis 1:1. See Ramban ibid., Verse 3 (Vol. I, p. 25) where he discusses this topic fully, and mentions also the verses cited in the following text.) And the heaven and ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth) were finished; (Ibid., 2:1.) and similarly, Praise the Eternal from ‘ha’aretz’ (the earth), ye sea-monsters and all deeps, (Psalms 148:7.) and so also in most verses in Scripture [where this word occurs]. Thus all things created in the lower spheres are “the produce of the earth.”

V. 6. über die Bedeutung האלהים als Richter siehe Bereschit 1, 1. Wir haben dort die Verwandtschaft des Wortes mit dem Grundbegriff אלה als Pron. Demonstr. plur. nachgewiesen, demzufolge das Recht als das eine Vielheit unter die Einheit eines alle gemeinsam beherrschenden Prinzips bringende Moment und das Gericht als dessen Handhaber und Vertreter begriffen wird. Die durch אלהים bezeichneten Richter müssen מומחין und סמוכין sein, d. h. ihre Rechtskunde muss erprobt und anerkannt und ihnen die Befugnis zur Vertretung des Rechts durch Vertreter des Rechts erteilt worden sein. Diese Befugniserteilung (סמיכה) muss in Übertragung bis zum ersten Vertreter des jüdischen Rechtes, bis zu Mosche, hinaufreichen, und kann nur im jüdischen Lande auf dem Boden des jüdischen Gesetzes, wo eben "die Vielheit aller sichtbaren Verhältnisse der Herrschaft des einen Gottesrechtes unterstellt und zu unterstellen sind", geschehen (siehe רמב׳׳ם IV סנהדרין הל׳).

ויעש...ויתן...להאיר...ולמשול..ולהבדיל..כי טוב, all of these expressions refer to the luminaries and the other stars. The Torah first writes: ויעש, seeing that up until that point sun and moon had simply been part of all the other celestial bodies which had been created on the second day, or of “heaven,” whose creation had already been reported in verse 1. This is the reason why at this stage the Torah does not call the development of these luminaries an act of creation, ויברא or something similar, but merely writes ויעש, which describes the completion of a process that had already been begun previously. At this stage, G’d singled out these two luminaries from among all the planets and assigned them their function

In the territory of Sichon and Og, which was foremost in the conquest, etc. Rashi adds the word conquest so that ראשית (foremost) [which serves as an adjective] is connected with the word after it, because there is no case where ראשית is not connected with the word after it. Rashi explains so explicitly at the beginning of parshas Bereishis (1:1).

Elohim refers only to Judge. . . Although it says: “In the beginning Elohim created” (Bereishis 1:1), and: “Elohim said to Noach” (ibid. 8:15), and: “Elohim called to him from the midst of the thorn-bush” (Shemos 3:4), see Re”m here and in 6:2 [for an explanation of these verses].

16. “Rabbi Shimon said etc.” Rabbi Shimon said: Therefore, the heavens and their hosts were created with Ma, which is Malkhut, as it is stated: “When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers etc.” (Psalms 8:4), and it is earlier written: “How [Ma] glorious is Your name in all the earth, whose majesty is rehearsed above the heavens” (Psalms 8:2). Thus, the heavens were created with the name Ma, which is Malkhut, and the phrase “above the heavens” – referring to Bina, called Mi, which is above Ze’er Anpin, termed heavens – means that it ascends through the name Elohim. That is, Ma, which is Malkhut, ascends and is incorporated in Bina, which is called Elohim, after He created light for its light, i.e., after He created the light of giving as a precious garment for the light of Ḥokhma in the name Mi (as stated in section 14, above). Then they were enclothed in one another and the Malkhut ascended through the supernal name of Elohim, which is the name of Bina, in which Malkhut is incorporated. Therefore [it states]: “In the beginning, Elohim created” (Genesis 1:1), which is the supernal Elohim, i.e., Bina rather than Malkhut. For Ma, which is Malkhut, is not so, and was not constructed in the mystical meaning of Mi eleh, as we have said.

This is why [Rabbi Shimon] says that it is “the gate to enter faith,” for it is impossible to attain complete faith other than through one’s fear of God. Commensurate with the measure of [a person’s] fear [of God], is the measure of [that person’s] faith. Thus, “the entire world is sustained by this commandment,” for the world is sustained only through the Torah and [its] commandments, as it is stated: “If not for My covenant of day and night, I would not have placed the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25). Since fear is the beginning and the gate to every commandment, in that it is the gate to [reach] faith, it follows that fear sustains the entire world. This is the meaning of the verse: “In the beginning [bereshit] God created the heavens and the earth” [Genesis 1:1], i. e., with fear, which is called reshit, in which all the commandments are incorporated, God created the heavens and the earth. Were it not for [this] fear, God would not have created anything.

“When God began to create Heaven and Earth” [1:1]. In the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, the earth was desolate, empty and darkness was over the void. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:1. Rashi calls this the plain meaning of these words.) The Holy One’s Throne of Glory hovered in the air over the water. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:2.) Why did the Torah begin with [the letter] bet? It teaches us that the world is similar to the bet that has three sides and the fourth is open. So too is the world. The Holy One closed three sides and on the north side, the Holy One did not make a heaven. Why? The Holy One wanted to say to the nations of world, let your false gods come and let them close the fourth wall. Since you have chosen them as gods, let them see what they can do. (Hizkuni, Genesis, 1:1.)

Rabbi Isaac said: Why did the Torah write about how the world was created? Since the Torah is nothing but the Holy One’s commandments, and the Torah should only have discussed the Holy One’s commandments. However, the nations of the world will say later to Israel, why are you conquering and stealing the land of Israel? Then Israel will answer, the Holy One created the world and he can give it to whomever he wishes. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:1.)

For on the first day He created the heavens which are above and the earth and the waters and all the spirits which serve before Him

The Constitution of the World, and the Disposition of the Elements. 1. IN THE beginning God created the heaven and the earth; but when the earth did not come into sight, but was covered with thick darkness, and a wind moved upon its surface, God commanded that there should be light; and when that was made, he considered the whole mass, and separated the light and the darkness; and the name he gave to one was Night, and the other he called Day; and he named the beginning of light and the time of rest, The Evening and The Morning; and this was indeed the first day: but Moses said it was one day,—the cause of which I am able to give even now; but because I have promised to give such reasons for all things in a treatise by itself, I shall put off its exposition till that time. After this, on the second day, he placed the heaven over the whole world, and separated it from the other parts; and he determined it should stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] round it, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture and rain and for affording the advantage of dews. On the third day he appointed dry land to appear, with the sea itself round about it; and on this very same day he made the plants and the seeds to spring out of the earth. On the fourth day he adorned the heaven with the sun, the moon, and the other stars, and appointed them their motions and courses, that the vicissitudes of the seasons might be clearly signified. And on the fifth day he produced the living creatures, both those that swim and those that fly, the former in the sea, the latter in the air: he also sorted them as to society and mixture, for procreation, and that their kinds might increase and multiply. On the sixth day he created the four-footed beasts, and made them male and female: on the same day he also formed man. Accordingly Moses says, That in just six days the world and all that is therein was made; and that the seventh day was a rest, and a release from the labour of such operations;—whence it is that we celebrate a rest from our labours on that day, and call it the Sabbath, which word denotes rest in the Hebrew tongue.

[122] Still more clearly indeed does Moses acknowledge that beginnings and ends are willed by God, when he says in the creation-story, “In the beginning He made”(Gen. 1:1), and afterwards, “God finished the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 2:1, 2).

The beginning of tractate Berakhot, the first tractate in the first of the six orders of Mishna, opens with a discussion of the recitation of Shema, as the recitation of Shema encompasses an acceptance of the yoke of Heaven and of the mitzvot, and as such, forms the basis for all subsequent teachings. The Mishna opens with the laws regarding the appropriate time to recite Shema: MISHNA: From when, that is, from what time, does one recite Shema in the evening? From the time when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. Until when does the time for the recitation of the evening Shema extend? Until the end of the first watch. The term used in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:7) to indicate the time for the recitation of the evening Shema is beshokhbekha, when you lie down, which refers to the time in which individuals go to sleep. Therefore, the time for the recitation of Shema is the first portion of the night, when individuals typically prepare for sleep. That is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. The Rabbis say: The time for the recitation of the evening Shema is until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: One may recite Shema until dawn, indicating that beshokhbekha is to be understood as a reference to the entire time people sleep in their beds, the whole night. The mishna relates that Rabban Gamliel practiced in accordance with his ruling. There was an incident where Rabban Gamliel’s sons returned very late from a wedding hall. They said to him, as they had been preoccupied with celebrating with the groom and bride: We did not recite Shema. He said to them: If the dawn has not yet arrived, you are obligated to recite Shema. Since Rabban Gamliel’s opinion disagreed with that of the Rabbis, he explained to his sons that the Rabbis actually agree with him, and that it is not only with regard to the halakha of the recitation of Shema, but rather, wherever the Sages say until midnight, the mitzva may be performed until dawn. Rabban Gamliel cites several cases in support of his claim, such as the burning of fats and limbs on the altar. Due to the quantity of offerings each day, the priests were often unable to complete the burning of all of the fats and limbs, so they continued to be burned into the night, as it is written: “This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall remain upon the pyre on the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar burns it” (Leviticus 6:2). And, with regard to all sacrifices, such as the sin-offerings and the guilt-offerings that are eaten for one day and night; although the Sages state that they may be eaten only until midnight, by Torah law they may be eaten until dawn. This is in accordance with the verse: “On the day on which it is offered must you eat. Do not leave it until the morning” (Leviticus 7:15). If so, why did the Sages say that they may be eaten only until midnight? This is in order to distance a person from transgression, as if one believes that he has until dawn to perform the mitzva, he might be negligent and postpone it until the opportunity to perform the mitzva has passed.

§ Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel dispute the order of Creation, as the Sages taught: Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and afterward the earth was created, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), which indicates that heaven came first. And Beit Hillel say: The earth was created first, and heaven after it, as it is stated: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven” (Genesis 2:4).

§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva a question when they were walking along the way. He said to him: You who served Naḥum of Gam Zu for twenty-two years, who would expound and learn that every appearance of the word et in the Torah is meant to teach something, what would he expound from the phrase: “The heaven and the earth” [et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz] (Genesis 1:1)? He said to him: These words should be expounded as follows: Had it stated: In the beginning God created hashamayim veha’aretz, i.e., the heaven and the earth, without the word et, I would have said: Shamayim is the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the same goes for aretz, and the verse would sound as if it meant that God, whose name is Shamayim and Aretz, created the world. Since it states “et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz,” it is clear that these are created objects and that shamayim means the actual heaven and aretz is the actual earth. It is for this reason that the word et is necessary.

All of these are derived from the Torah: Heaven and earth, as it is written: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Tohu and vohu, as it is written: “And the earth was unformed and void [tohu vavohu]” (Genesis 1:2). Light and darkness; darkness, as it is written: “And darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2); light, as it is written: “And God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Wind and water, as it is written: “And the wind of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The length of day and the length of night, as it is written: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).

(Jewish) Christians asked Rebbi Simlai: How many aspects of divinity created the world? He answered them: Are you asking me? Go and ask the first Adam, as it is said (Deut. 4:32): “Please ask the first days etc (“Please ask the first days that were before you, starting from the day that God created man on the earth …”) .” It does not say there “when gods created man on the earth” but “from the day that God created man on the earth”. They said to him, but it is written (Gen. 1:1): “In the beginning, ĕlōhīm created …” He said to them: Is it written “they created” (plural)? It says “he created” (singular). Rebbi Simlai said, every place where the Christians read heretic meanings (That ĕlōhīm is a genuine plural, not one of majesty.) , their answer is at that place.

(Gen. rabba 1(21), Lev. rabba 36(1), Midrash Samuel 5[1]. The Midrashim seem to be the original source since they apply R. Eleazar ben R. Simeon’s final statement to other pairs of notions.) The House of Shammai are saying, heaven was created first and afterwards earth. But the House of Hillel are saying, earth was created first and afterwards heaven. These are bringing proof for their assertion, and those are bringing proof for their assertion. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1.) . {A parable} of a king who made a chair. After he had made it he made its footstool (Greek ‘υποπόδιον.) : the Heavens are My throne and the Earth My footstool (Is. 66:1.) . What is the reason of the House of Hillel? On the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven (Gen. 2:4.) {A parable} of a king who made a palace. After he built the foundations he built the upper structure: also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (Is. 48:13.) . Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi said, also the following supports the House of Hillel: in earlier times You founded the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands (Ps. 102:26.) . Rebbi Ḥanina said, from the place from where the House of Shammai prove their assertion, from there the House of Hillel remove them. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth. From there the House of Hillel remove them: and the earth was (Gen. 1:2.) , it already was. Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of the Sages: As for creation, the heaven preceded. As for perfecting, the earth preceded. As for creation, the heaven preceded, in the Beginning God created. As for perfecting, the earth preceded, on the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven. According to the House of Shammai, the heaven after the First waited three days, First, Second, Third, to have offspring. On the Fourth, there shall be lights (Gen. 1:14.) . According to the House of Shammai, the sea after the Second waited three days, Second, Third, Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem (Gen. 1:20.) . According to the House of Shammai, the earth after the Third waited three days, Third, Fourth, Fifth, to have offspring. On the Sixth, the earth shall produce (Gen. 1:24.) . According to the House of Hillel, the earth after the First waited two days, First and Second, to have offspring. On the Third, the earth shall be covered with grass. According to the House of Hillel, the sea after the Third waited two days, Third and Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem. Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said, I am wondering how the fathers of the world could disagree about the creation of the world. Heaven and earth were only created like a pan (Greek λοπάς.) and its cover. What is the reason? Also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (The argument is from the end of the verse, not quoted: I am calling to them, they shall stand together.) . Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon said, following this, my father’s opinion, sometimes heaven precedes earth, sometimes earth precedes heaven, which teaches that they are equivalent one to another.

Thirteen things they changed for King Ptolemy. They wrote for him, “God created the beginning (Gen. 1:1; change not found in LXX.) .” “I shall make man in stature and form (Gen. 1:26; change not found in LXX.) .” “Male and his openings He created them (Gen. 1:27; change not found in LXX.) .” “He finished on the Sixth and rested on the Seventh (Gen. 2:2; change found in LXX.) ” “Now I shall descend (Gen. 11:7; change found in LXX.) .” “Sarah laughed in her surroundings, saying. (Gen. 18:12; LXX: “in herself”.) ” “For in their rage they slew a bull and in their will uprooted a trough (Gen. 49:6; change not found in LXX.) .” “Moses took his wife and his sons and let them ride on people-carriers (Ex. 4:20. LXX: “beast of burden”.) .” “The dwelling of the Children of Israel, which they dwelled in Egypt and other lands, was 430 years. (Ex. 12:40. LXX: “In the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan.”) ” And the hare (Lev. 11:6 (in LXX 11:5). LXX: “rough-foot”, a designation of the hare.) , “and the young of foot.” King Ptolemy’s mother was called “hare (The dynasty of the Ptolemies was called the Lagides, after an ancestor Lagos “hare”.) ”. “Not one precious thing I took from them (Num. 16:15; change found in LXX.) ” “Which the Eternal, your God, distributed them to give light to all peoples under all the heavens. (Deut. 4:19; change not found in LXX.) ” “Which I did not command peoples to worship them. (Deut. 17:3; change not found in LXX. The comparisons with the LXX text was done on the basis of Rahlfs’s edition; the history of the text between the time of the Jewish translation in Alexandria and its adaptation by Christian editors in the Roman Empire is unknown. The same list is in the Babli 9a.) ”

HALAKHAH: (This is repeated (mostly by the corrector) from Ta`aniot 4:3, Notes 141–148.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses. Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments [But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed. One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse. But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split. Rebbi Philippos ben Protos objected before Rebbi Jonah, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day.] Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked, was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses. Should there not be 23? Three for ten, three for ten, and one three (He reads the statement of Rav Huna to mean that any time three people read in the Torah they together must read 10 verses. Then on a Sabbath, when 3+3+1 readers are called, they must read a minimum of 23 verses. Corresponding to this the reader from Prophets should have to read 23 verses. The fact that he has to read only 21 shows that we have to read Rav Huna’s remark as referring only to the weekday and Sabbath afternoon readings.) .

HALAKHAH: (This Halakhah is repeated in Megillah 4:2.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses (Each one may not read less than three verses but one has to read at least 4. Babli Megillah21b.) . Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments (Babli Megillah 21b, as one of two explanations.) . But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed (In Babli Megillah 22a, disagreement of Rav and Samuel.) . One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse (He splits it off from v. 5 and reads it as separate sentence. In contrast to the Babli which prescribes only one sentence to be repeated, the Yerushalmi has the three readers reading a total of 10 verses as required by Rav Ḥuna.) . But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split (Since “it was evening, it was morning, the third day” already is a separate verse.) . Rebbi Philippos ben Perita objected before Rebbi Ze`ira, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day (The reading for Purim, for which three readers are called on a weekday, is Ex.17:8–16. The reading is not connected to the text before or after, it cannot be augmented. Since there are 9 verses and the Mishnaic requirement can be satisfied without problems, there is no need to change anything to satisfy the additional Amoraic rule. Tosaphot Megillah 21b s.v. אין.) . Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked before Rebbi Jonah; was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses (Babli Megillah 23a. The question would be that since we require that one reader at least read 4 verses, should there not be at least 22 verses? The question needs no answer since there is no reading from Prophets on weekdays; the number 21 refers to the seven people called to read on a Sabbath; cf. Megillah 4:2 Note 74.) ?

The Gemara asks: What are these ten utterances? Presumably, they are the utterances introduced by the words “and God said” in the story of Creation in the first chapter of Genesis. However, there are only nine of these utterances and not ten. The Gemara answers: The expression: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) is also considered an utterance, as it is written: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalms 33:6), which indicates that the first utterance of Creation was the general creation of the entire universe.

one may not begin a new paragraph and read fewer than three verses from it. And if you say he should read two verses from this paragraph, i.e., the entire second paragraph, and then three verses from that final paragraph, only two verses will remain from the final paragraph. This is problematic because one may not conclude a reading with fewer than three verses left until the end of a paragraph and because the fourth reader will not have a sufficient number of verses to read.

On each day of Hanukkah they read selections from the portion of the dedication of the altar by the tribal princes (Numbers 7). On Purim they read the portion of “And Amalek came” (Exodus 17:8–16). On the New Moon they read the portion of “And in the beginnings of your months” (Numbers 28:11–15). And in the non-priestly watches they read the act of Creation (Genesis 1:1–2:3). The Jewish people were divided into twenty-four watches. Each week, it would be the turn of a different watch to send representatives to Jerusalem to be present in the Temple to witness the sacrificial service. Those remaining behind would fast during the week, from Monday to Thursday, offer special prayers, and read the account of Creation from the Torah. On fast days,

And they wrote for him: God created in the beginning [bereshit], reversing the order of the words in the first phrase in the Torah that could be misinterpreted as: “Bereshit created God” (Genesis 1:1). They did so to negate those who believe in the preexistence of the world and those who maintain that there are two powers in the world: One is Bereshit, who created the second, God. And they wrote: I shall make man in image and in likeness, rather than: “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), as from there too one could mistakenly conclude that there are multiple powers and that God has human form.

The Gemara asks: Does it refer to the repetition of the phrase: “And He said” in Genesis? There are only nine such phrases, not ten. The Gemara answers that the phrase “In the beginning” is also considered an utterance, as it is written: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made” (Psalms 33:6), which indicates that all of creation came into existence through a single utterance, after which all matter was formed into separate and distinct entities by means of the other nine utterances.

§ Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The drainpipes [shittin] built into the altar and extending beneath it were created from the six days of Creation, as it is stated: “The hidden of your thighs are like the links of a chain, the handiwork of a skilled workman” (Song of Songs 7:2). The Gemara interprets the verse homiletically: “The hidden of your thighs”; these are the drainpipes that are concealed within the altar; “are like the links of a chain [ḥala’im]”; they are hollow [meḥolalin] and descend to the depths; “the handiwork of a skilled workman”; this is the handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed be He. On a similar note, it was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael that it is written: “In the beginning [bereshit]” (Genesis 1:1); do not read it as: Bereshit, but rather as: Bara shit, meaning that God created the pipeline descending from the altar.

Which portions of the Torah would the members of the non-priestly watch read on each day? On Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:1–8). On Monday they would read: “Let there be a firmament” and “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9–13). On Tuesday they would read: “Let the waters be gathered” and “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14–19). On Wednesday: “Let there be lights” and “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20–23). On Thursday: “Let the waters swarm” and “Let the earth bring forth” (Genesis 1:24–31). On Friday: “Let the earth bring forth” and “And the heaven and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1–3).

The mishna taught that on Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1–5) and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6–8). It is taught in a baraita: The section: “In the beginning” is read by two people, while “Let there be a firmament” is read by one. The Gemara asks: Granted, the passage “Let there be a firmament” is read by one individual, as it is three verses long, and one who is called to the Torah reads at least three verses. However, what is the reason that the section “In the beginning” is read by two individuals? It is five verses long, and it is taught in a mishna (Megilla 22a): One who reads from the Torah may not read fewer than three verses. How, then, are five verses read by two individuals?

Alexander continued to ask questions of the Elders of the Negev. He said to them: Were the heavens created first or was the earth created first? They said: The heavens were created first, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

If [after betrothal the woman] was raped, she is permitted to him, (Cf. Deut. 22, 23-27.) but should she have been a willing party she is forbidden to him. If she is the wife of a kohen, she is forbidden to him whether [it happened] under force or with her consent. [For it is stated, And she be not seized (Num. 5, 13, E.V. neither she be taken in the act. The phrase is interpreted by the Rabbis in the sense that she did not act under compulsion but willingly, referring to a married woman who was defiled secretly without witnesses to testify against her.) —[only then] is she forbidden; if, however, she was seized (i.e. violated by force.) she is permitted. There is another class of woman who is forbidden [to her husband] even though she had been seized; and who is that? The wife of a kohen. (Cf. Yeb. 56b (Sonc. ed., p. 378), Keth. 51b (Sonc. ed., p. 298).) R. Ishmael (According to R. Ishmael there is no distinction between the wife of a kohen and a lay-Israelite in the case of rape.) said: And she be not seized she is forbidden; consequently if she had been seized she is permitted. There is another class of woman who is permitted [to her husband] even if she had not been seized; and who is that? A woman whose betrothal was mistaken. (If, e.g., a condition were attached to the betrothal that remained unfulfilled. In such a case the woman may leave her husband without a geṭ, and in any subsequent intercourse, whether forced or willing, her status is that of an unmarried woman who had never been previously married. The passage within brackets is added by GRA and is necessary, otherwise R. Ishmael would be contradicting himself. Cf. Yeb. 100b (Sonc. ed., p. 692), Keth. loc. cit.) ] If a divorcee who became betrothed was seduced, whether under force or of her free will, she is forbidden to return to her former husband. (If her second husband subsequently died or divorced her. She is, however, permitted to remarry her former husband after betrothal alone, where no marriage with the second man took place and he died.) This is the opinion of R. Jose b. Ḳippar in the name of R. Eleazar b. Shammua‘. This is the reasoning by which R. Jose b. Ḳippar expounded his view: (This is the reading of GRA as against V and H, who name R. Ishmael as the authority.) [It is written,] Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled. (Deut. 24, 4.) In what circumstances did she become defiled? (If she was legally married to the second husband the term defiled is inapplicable.) It can only be explained by what the Sages have said: If a woman [after betrothal] was forcibly seduced, she is permitted to [her husband]; if she was a willing party she is forbidden to him; but in this case, (Of the divorcee who became betrothed and was then seduced. This is the reading of GRA. V and H have ‘the wife of a kohen’.) whether under compulsion or of her free will she is forbidden to return to her former husband. (So GRA. V and H ‘to him’.)

They [all] introduced [the same] thirteen alterations: (For a comparison of these variants with the Heb. text, cf. on Sof. I, 8.) ‘God created in the beginning’; ‘I shall make a man in image and likeness’; ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day]’; ‘Male and female He created him’; ‘Come let Me go down’; ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives, saying’; ‘For in their anger they slew oxen and in their self-will they digged up a stall’; ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier of men’; ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years’; ‘I have not taken one desirable thing from them’; ‘And the [beast] with small legs’; ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples to give light under the whole heaven’; ‘And they offer sacrifices to the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven which I commanded should not be served’.

It is not permissible to make a scroll [of the Shema‘] (So Sof. V, 9; lacking in V here.) or of the Hallel for children. (Extracts from the Scriptures may not be written on scrolls intended for children’s instruction.) R. Judah permits [the writing of a scroll] from In the beginning (Gen. 1, 1.) to the story of the Flood, (ibid. VI, 8.) and from the beginning of Leviticus to And it came to pass on the eighth day; (Lev. 9, 1.) but [in the case of] all the other books [of Scripture the writing of extracts is] forbidden. (Only in the case of the Pentateuch were the two extracts mentioned allowed to be written for the instruction of children.) If, however, one intends to add to them, (To complete all the book.) it is permissible [to write extracts from the Scriptures in scrolls].

On Ḥanukkah we read the section of [the dedication of the altar by] the princes; (Num. 7. On the first day verses 1-17 are read; on the next six days the corresponding offerings; and on the eighth day VII, 54—VIII, 4.) on Purim, Then came Amalek; (Ex. 17, 8-16.) on the New Moon, And in your new moons; (Num. 28, 11-15.) at the ma‘amadoth the account of the creation. (Gen. 1, 1—II, 3, because it is on account of the Temple service that the heaven and earth were created.) On the fast days of the Ninth of Ab and the last seven days in connection with droughts, (lit. ‘the shutting up of the rains’.) we read the section of the blessings and curses; (Lev. 26, 3-46.) but on other fast days And Moses besought, (Ex. 32, 11-14, XXXIV, 1-10.) and we read as the hafṭarah Seek ye the Lord. (Isa. 55, 6—LVI, 8.) Some say that no hafṭarah is to be read, but the people have adopted the custom of reading the hafṭarah. (So GRA. V, M and H omit ‘but’ and ‘of reading the hafṭarah’.) There must be no break in the section of curses because it is not proper to end with curses and to begin with curses. (Cf. above XII, 1.)

It also happened that King Ptolemy assembled seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two [separate] rooms without telling them the reason for which he had assembled them. He then went to each one of them and said to him, (lit. ‘to them’.) ‘Write for me [a translation of] the Torah of Moses your master’. The Omnipresent inspired them (lit. ‘put counsel in the heart of each one of them’.) and the mind of all of them was identical, so that each on his own (So GRA.) wrote the [same translation of the] Torah, introducing [the same] thirteen alterations (Deviations from the traditional text. In the extant Versions of the Septuagint only some of these are found.) as follows: ‘God created in the beginning’. (Instead of In the beginning God created (Gen. 1, 1) the Heb. of which might be misinterpreted to mean that a power named ‘Bereshith’ (in the beginning) created God.) ‘And God said I shall make a man in image and likeness.’ (The Heb. text reads: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Gen. 1, 26). The plural us and our might erroneously suggest a plurality of deities.) ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day].’ (For the Heb.: And He finished on the seventh day (Gen. 2, 2) which could be understood to imply that God did some work on the seventh day.) ‘Male and female He created him.’ (Instead of created them (ibid. V, 2) from which it might be inferred that man and woman were, from the first, two separate beings, contrary to ibid. II, 21.) ‘Come let Me go down and there confound their language.’ (Instead of let us go down (ibid. XI, 7).) ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives, (i.e. she laughed in the presence of people and therefore incurred censure (ibid. XVIII, 12). The Heb. means ‘within herself’ as Abraham had done when he laughed … in his heart (ibid. XVII, 17) and had not been rebuked.) saying.’ ‘For in their anger they slew oxen (So GRA, H and M. V incorrectly ‘a man’.) and in their self-will they digged up a stall.’ (Changing men (ibid. XLIX, 6) to ‘oxen’ and oxen to ‘stall’ in order to remove the stigma of murder from Jacob’s sons.) ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier (So M. V and H read ‘carriers of men’.) of men.’ (i.e. an animal conformable with the dignity of Moses, instead of ass (Ex. 4, 20).) ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Canaan and in other lands (So M. V omits ‘and in other lands’. [The reading of the Septuagint is ‘in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt’.]) was four hundred and thirty years.’ (Instead of the Heb. which omits ‘in the land of Canaan and in other lands’ (Ex. 12, 40), and implies that all the 430 years were spent in Egypt when, in fact, they could not have dwelt there more than 210 years (cf. Rashi to Meg. 9a).) ‘And he sent the elect of the children of Israel.’ (So GRA and Meg. 9a but omitted in V. ‘Elect’ is substituted for young men (ibid. XXIV, 5), the former being regarded as more suitable persons for the service.) ‘And upon the elect of the children of Israel He laid not His hand.’ (Here also ‘elect’ was substituted for the Heb. for nobles (ibid. 11). The alteration was not essential, but ‘elect’ which was mentioned earlier was preferred. It should be noted that in the total of thirteen alterations, this and the preceding are counted as one.) ‘I have not taken one desirable thing (A ‘desirable thing’ [which occurs in the Septuagint] for the Heb. ass (Num. 16, 15) to avoid the suggestion that Moses did not take an ass but more precious objects.) from them.’ ‘The [beast] with small legs.’ (Instead of the Heb. for the hare (Lev. 11, 6) which is arnebeth, so as not to give offence to Ptolemy the name of whose queen was Arnebeth.) ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted to give light unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.’ (The insertion ‘to give light’ (Deut. 4, 19) removes the possible misunderstanding that the heavenly bodies enumerated in the verse were intended by God to be objects of worship.) ‘Which I commanded should not be served.’ (Deut. 17, 3 reads which I have commanded not. This might be taken to mean that God did not desire their existence and their creation was consequently due to a power beyond His control. It should be noted that the last two alterations are regarded as one in the enumeration because both deal with heavenly bodies as objects of worship.)

It is not permissible to make a scroll of the Shema‘ or of the Hallel for children, (Extracts from Scripture may not be made for study by children.) but if the scribe intends to add to it, it is permissible. (From ‘but if’ to ‘permissible’ is an addition by GRA.) R. Judah permits the writing of a scroll from In the beginning (Gen. 1, 1.) to the story of the flood, (i.e. to Gen. 6, 8. In each instance the extract is a connected theme.) and from the beginning of Leviticus to And it came to pass on the eighth day; (Lev. 9, 1.) but in the case of all the other books [of Scripture the writing of extracts is] forbidden. (Only in the case of the Pentateuch were the two extracts mentioned allowed to be written for the instruction of children. V adds here, ‘if he intends to add to it, it is permitted’.)

On the beth of bereshith (Gen. 1, 1 the first word of the Pentateuch.) there must be four crownlets, (Short upward strokes on the top of the letter.) and the letters (Some eds. read ‘letter’ in the singular, and the general practice is to enlarge only the beth.) of the word must be extended above all the other letters, because by its means (This idea is also expressed in ’Othioth deRabbi ‘Aḳiba, quoted by M (p. 131): The world was created by means of the letter beth.) the world came into existence. (So M. V reads, ‘for it (the world) will exist for ever’, the beth representing berakah (blessing). [Cf. Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, I, §9 (Sonc. ed., p. 9).])

Moreover, your little ones who you said would be carried off, your children who do not yet know good from bad, they shall enter it; to them will I give it and they shall possess it.

God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good.

Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God יהוה made earth and heaven—

Israel was holy to GOD, The first fruits of God’s harvest. All who ate of it were held guilty; Disaster befell them —declares GOD.

The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host.

For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it endured.

In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.

As soon as God (Allah) created the heavens and the Earth -

In wisdom (be-hukema) the Lord created.

At the beginning (min avella) the Lord created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning and in great wisdom, God created and finished the heavens and the earth.

It is important to bear in mind that the body is not the main point, it is just that we don’t see the soul, but we see and feel the entire body, and for this reason our question is not yet answered. We are not only trying to identify the true nature of that which is hidden from our eyes and our other senses, but we are looking at the very body, that we sense and feel, wanting to know the true nature of its essence, and we find ourselves unable to identify it. How is it that it changes from substance to substance? How is it that the lump that was yesterday a plant, in form, taste, and nature, that was so diligent in drawing the elements from its surroundings and turning them into plant matter, has now changed into a piece of the animal’s stomach, and tomorrow will be the stomach or hand of a man, continuing to work with such diligence in maintaining the current form just as it did the previous form? The Eyts Chaiim, (Of Rav Yitchak Luria (1534-1572), Eytz Chaiim, Sha’ar 42, ch. 1.) quotes the Ramban’s comment on Bereshit, (1:2), “and the earth was chaos (tohu) and void,” which identifies the substance of the chaos as hiyuli, or a nebulous energy that is ready to assume different possible forms. The Ari z”l tells us that the hiyuli is on the level of Keter (the Crown). In other words, the essential energy that takes form in the world is the aspect of Divinity called Keter (Crown) which has no form on its own, but rather assumes the form of the root elements and their composites in the world. ((The original text adds:) The Ramban does not understand the hiyuli as did his predecessors. They understood the substance of the hiyuli simply, where God created a physical substance in the world which happens to be lacking in form. Something like this can only be imagined but cannot exist in the same way outside of our minds. This is because a physical substance cannot exist without a form. This is because form is a variable which identifies the matter as well as its nature. For example, the form of snow defines its own characteristics (its whiteness – meaning its form, its softness and coldness, meaning its nature) and separates it from everything else in the world. And the form of fire is its redness, its heat, etc. The form of a house is its shape and structure, and its material is bricks. But the bricks, when they were on their own before they had been built into a house, or after they were taken from it, also have a form by which they are identified as bricks and which distinguishes them from everything else, such as their dimensions and their material, which is clay. The clay also has its own form before it is made into bricks, the form of clay. Even the seed when it is planted in the soil, appears at the time it disintegrates to be formless material, but then too it also has a form, which is its own particular description and nature. It is distinguished from any other disintegrated matter in that it is ready to sprout into a plant. Even while disintegrated, it is distinguished from any other disintegrated seed in the particular kind of plant that it will become, and none other. This is all in order to illustrate that a pure substance without form is something that cannot exist outside of the mind. The idea of hiyuli without any form whatsoever is possible in Divinity but not in the material world. That is why the Eyts Chaiim mentioned above calls it the aspect of Keter – Crown, which is a Godly illumination that God drew into the world before He dressed it in any form. It is the root essence of everything in the world and changes only in the garments that dress it. The idea of dressing form needs to be explained more, but not in the current book.)

Our author, instead of using the phylacteries, which are not always worn, as a symbol of our duty ‎never to forget our purpose on earth, uses the words of our verse describing the utter chaos that ‎prevailed prior to G’d having embarked on His gigantic project of creating a universe inhabited by ‎man equipped with a free will, as such a reminder.‎ Our author sees in the word ‎והארץ‎ in our verse a veiled hint at the various temptations that human ‎beings are constantly exposed to by living in a physical world, temptations that are apt to interfere ‎with his desire to serve G’d as a loyal servant.‎

‎[The following is a short synopsis of a long paragraph, one that deals also with the apparent ‎paradox of the statement in psalms 2,11 ‎עבדו את ה' ביראה וגילו ברעדה‎, “serve the Lord in awe; ‎rejoice greatly while trembling.” Ed.]‎ While the description of the state of the universe before man, i.e. Jews, had been charged with ‎the task of being a nation of priests and a holy nation, is meant to make us aware of our duty to live ‎as servants of our Creator and to ensure that His handiwork will prove to be worthwhile, we face a ‎dilemma, portrayed in the following parable.

A great and powerful king once invited one of his loyal servants to accompany him to his treasure ‎chamber where he displayed a store of jewels and other valuable artifacts. The servant was ‎overjoyed at the king having taken him into his confidence by showing him all his valuable ‎treasures. He became proud to be a servant to such a powerful king. Upon reflecting on this ‎however, he suddenly was overcome with trembling when thinking about what a great wrong it ‎would be to disregard even a minor paragraph in the law books the king had issued to his subjects ‎to live by. The psalmist’s words reflect a similar dilemma. How can one at one and the same time ‎be in awe and full of joy? The Talmud B’rachot 30, tries to answer this apparent ‎contradiction by understanding the latter half of the verse as: “when in a place where merriment is ‎the rule, do not forget that it behooves you to be trembling, seeing that you are always in the ‎presence of the Lord.” Abbaye, who, when in an extraordinarily happy frame of mind, was ‎reminded of this by a colleague, responded that as long he was wearing the phylacteries on his ‎head, this served him as a reminder not to forget this injunction.‎

[If I understand the author ‎correctly, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok proceeds at this stage at quite ‎some length and quoting many verses from Scripture, to explain ‎why Malki Tzedek’s definition of G’d as (separately) owning ‎heaven and earth may be misunderstood and has not been ‎adopted by the sages in our daily prayers who opted instead for ‎‎“owning everything.” Malki Tzedek’s definition contributed to ‎man believing that there were forces on earth, which though ‎subordinate to G’d, the “Supreme G’d”, nonetheless deserved a ‎measure of man’s fearful or grateful recognition, as the case may ‎be. If G’d tolerated this prior to Avram’s becoming a factor on ‎earth, He did so out of the goodness of His heart, realizing that ‎these visible phenomena, as opposed to His invisibility, ‎contributed to man’s errors in his perception of Who is Who in ‎the universal hierarchy. Ed.]‎

GOOD POINTS, OFFERINGS AND MELODIES Reb Noson next cites Chazal’s account of the communal korban tamid, daily-offering, brought in the Beit HaMikdash. Representatives of all three branches of the Jewish people—the Kohanim, Leviim and Yisraelim—participated. Reb Noson will explain how this mirrors beirur of the good points, creating melodies, and elevating the good points as the dibbur of prayer. Now, this refining of the good points from the animalistic desires finds expression in Chazal’s statement: “[There were] Kohanim with their sacrificial service, presenting the offering; Leviim on their platform, chanting and playing music; and the appointed group of Yisraelim, the maamad delegation, standing at their station and reciting passages of Torah.” (Megillah 3a; Taanit 26a ff. Chazal teach that legislation instituted in the days of David HaMelekh divided the Kohanim into mishmarot (lit. “watches”), 24 family groupings tasked with performing the service in the Beit HaMikdash in rotating shifts, a week at a time. Twenty-four mishmarot of Leviim were likewise appointed, tasked with providing musical accompaniment in rotating shifts from a nearby platform while the Kohanim presented the korbanot. The Yisraelim too were divided into 24 groups, known as maamadot (lit. “standing groups”). A delegation of each group of Yisraelim, known as anshei maamad, men of standing, would ascend to Yerushalayim as emissaries of all the people. From their station near the korbanot during the service, the anshei maamad would pray that HaShem receive the offering of their fellow Jews with favor. Meanwhile, the remainder of each maamad of Yisraelim would gather in their towns to pray, fast, and recite from the Torah’s account of Creation, showing that the world exists in the merit of the korbanot. Over time, this collection of special prayers and Torah readings came to be known as Maamadot.)

The matter is as follows: Each tzaddik of the generation is an aspect of Moshe. [Moshe] is an aspect of Mashiach, as it is written (Genesis 49:10), “Until Shiloh will come”—this is Mashiach. And ShILoH is numerically equivalent to MoSheH. Thus, the Sages of the Talmud called one another “Moshe,” as it is written (Shabbat 101b): “Moshe, you said it well.” {“The earth was without form and empty… but the ruach -spirit of God hovered over the water’s surface” (Genesis 1:2) .}

And this is the meaning of “and the spirit of God hovering over the water’s surface” (Genesis 1:2). This is when one studies Torah, for water connotes Torah, as is known. Then “the ruach of God,” which is ruach hakodesh, is “hovering” and extending over it, and he draws ruach (breath) of life. For without Torah it is impossible to live, as it is written, “If not for the lobes of the lungs fanning the heart, the heart would consume the entire body” (Tikkuney Zohar #13, p.28a). The lungs are associated with water (Zohar III, Raaya Mehemna, p .218b), and water connotes Torah.

2. The question is, from where does one take the ruach-of-life? Know! the essence of the ruach-of-life is received from the tzaddik/ rav of the generation. This is because the essence of the ruach-of-life can be found in the Torah, as in (Genesis 1:2), “And the ruach of God hovers over the waters’ surface”—this is the Torah (Tikkuney Zohar #36). And the tzaddikim are bound to the Torah,which is why the essence of the ruach-of-life is with them.

Now, the aspect of Mashiach resides upon the faces of Torah—i.e., the holy books which reveal the Torah’s face. It is there that the spirit of Mashiach hovers, as in “and the ruach (spirit) of God hovering over the water’s surface” (Genesis 1:2). “The ruach of God”—this alludes to the ruach of Mashiach (Zohar I, 240a). It hovers “over the water’s surface,” and water connotes Torah, as is brought.

And according to “the spirit of the Lord”—which is Divine inspiration, the spirit of prophecy—that each person possesses, he merits originating in Torah. This is because this spirit of the Lord resides upon the face of the Torah, as in “and the spirit of the Lord hovering over the water’s surface” (Genesis 1:2)—i.e., on the face of the Torah, which is called “water,” as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded. Therefore, through this spirit of the Lord one merits originating in Torah, because the spirit of the Lord resides upon the face of the Torah.

Therefore, as long as people are not enlightened by daat, so that they do not know and experience His Godliness and dominion, they are not classified as human. This is because they lack the daat to know God, which is the defining element of a human being. The world is thus considered “empty and void” (Genesis 1:2). And about this it is said: “He did not create it for emptiness; He formed it for habitation.” One has to settle the world, so that it is inhabited specifically by human beings—i.e., people with daat, who know God.

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai etc. (Ex. 6:3). Rashi explained, “Alas for those who are lost and not to be found!” etc. The meaning, as is known, is that the secret of Egyptian Exile is that the True Awareness was in Exile; they could not grasp the Awareness to serve the Blessed Creator, along the lines of what is stated, Know the God of your Ancestor and serve Him (1 Chron 28:9). For in truth, Awareness is the essence that brings one to complete Reverence and Love. For once a person knows and believes that the whole earth is full of [God’s] Glory (Isaiah 6:3) and no place is void of Him, and [God] is the pleasure of all pleasures, Blessed is He and Blessed His Name, Life of Lives – if so, for any of the pleasures if you imagine, God forbid, the absence of the influence of [God’s] Blessed Light and Life-Force among the created things, Creation would return to unformed and void (Gen. 1:2). And similarly for all the Upper and Lower Worlds, if you imagine, God forbid, the absence of [God’s] Life-Force, they would be as if they never were. And if that is the case, then [Awareness of God’s presence] is the essence in all things...

It is found in the Gemara (Yoma 85b): Rabbi Akiva said, "How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified, etc.? And it states (Jeremiah 17:13), 'The mikveh (ritual bath) of Israel is God.' Just as a mikveh purifies the impure, so too does the Holy One, Blessed be He, purify Israel." The idea is that it is since water was the first creation that emanated from His will, may He be blessed, and it hints to the covered (hidden) world. And this is [the meaning of] the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 2:4) about the verse (Genesis 1:2), "and the spirit of God hovered on the face of the waters" - "this is the King Messiah." [The Sages,] may their memory be blessed, hinted with this about His will, may He be blessed. For He always desires to give over all of His good to Israel. And it is like it is explained in the midrash there, "He is not like a king of flesh and blood, upon whose horse we do not ride, and whose scepter we do not use, etc. Whereas the Holy One, blessed be He, gives over his crown to the King Messiah and dresses him in His clothing, as it is stated (Psalms 21:6), 'You have endowed him with splendor and majesty,' etc." Therefore creation does not have the power to receive this light until the future, but this will [of God] is rather hidden in the covered world. And the name, 'I will be,' indicates this. As it is found in the Holy Zohar (Parashat Achrei Mot 26:166), "'I will be' is that I am prepared to generate." And every root of purity is dependent upon this. As the root of impurity is the distancing from this will, to be biased toward oneself regarding matters of the physical body. For it is written, "the one who touches a dead body becomes impure." And purity is the opposite, when one separates all biases towards the body and brings himself close to this will of His, may He be blessed, "that I am prepared to generate"; and trusts God, may He be blessed, and does not desire to grab the good specifically in his [own] hand. And about this, the holy Ari (R. Yitzchak Luria), may his memory be blessed, wrote to have the name [of God], Aleph-lamed-dalet, in mind in the mikveh. As this name is the root of all holiness, to give oneself over to this will, which is the hidden world that is called, 'I will be' - that I am prepared to generate. And also found there is that this name, 'I will be,' three times squared (a scheme for counting the numerical value), is the numerical value (gematria) of chotem (sign). And the intention is that God, may be blessed, signs offs about this person, to give him life with all of the good. For since this person gives himself over to [His] will, may He be blessed, which is in the covered world; and he trusts God, may He be blessed - corresponding to this, God, may He be blessed, trusts this one, to give over all good abundance to him. And the purity of the mikveh of water indicates about this, that a person should give over and bring himself close to the covered world. And this is [the meaning of], "The mikveh of Israel is God."

In addition: the truth is that the refinements in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah of the 288 sparks through Torah and mitzvot (that man fulfills) in thought, speech, and deed are superior in their source to the nefesh-ruach-neshamah34 of man. They are of ס“ג8 of the internal aspect of Adam Kadmon,48 (See On Learning Chassidus.) while the nefesh-ruach-neshamah that has already been corrected through מ“ה8 issues from the “forehead” (of Adam Kadmon) in the form of a mere reflection (of it). Hence the verse, “Before a king ruled….”49 (Genesis 36:31. “Before” (not in time but on a preceding plane) the Condensation (Tzimtzum, see Translator’s Explanatory Notes to On Learning Chassidus), the Light of the En Sof shone forth “abundantly,” in greater measure than the absorptive capacities of the vessels. The “shattering of the vessels” took place, and the “sparks” scattered. This intolerable and unviable situation is called tohu (after Genesis 1:2) and refers to the period in the verse, “before a king ruled.” Tikkun took the place of tohu, a sharp diminution of Light and an increase in vessels, the process of downward progression with all the Worlds involved, culminating in our world. The mission of man is to call forth increased Divine light into the world, the “vessels.” Man is to elevate the fallen sparks by utilizing the material world for Divine purpose (performance of mitzvot, etc.), rather than indulgence, and by rejecting what G–d has forbidden him.) For this reason man sustains himself on foods of the inorganic, vegetative, and living classes, and purifies them by the מ“ה8 within him, and lives through them because they are of ס“ג.8

Chaos and void (tohu vabohu): [This phrase appears] two [times]. Here, and the other one is (Jeremiah 4:23) "I have seen the earth and behold, it is chaos and void." [This] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the destruction of the Temple when He created the world, [and] that it would be in the year tohu (the letters that are equal to the number, 411); since, behold the first Temple stood for 410 years and was destroyed in the 411th year. And the second Temple stood the numerical equivalent of [the word,] hayita (420), and this is [why it states] "vehaarets haita" ("and the earth was;" which is the phrase that precedes tohu in this verse). And afterwards, [it is written], "darkness," a hint to the exiles. And so is it expounded in Bereishit Rabbah 2:4. Another explanation: "and the earth was chaos and void" has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'two thousand years without Torah.'

And the spirit of God was hovering: has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'this is the spirit of messiah.'

And darkness was upon the depths: There are two [places this appears] according to the tradition: here and the other is (Job 38:19) "and darkness, where is its place?" This [refers to] what they stated (Chagigah 11b), that one should not ask, "What is before, what is after?" The explanation of "and darkness, where is its place?" is that one should not ask, "what was the place of darkness [at] first.

And the spirit of God: [This phrase appears] two [times] as a relational [or possessive phrase]. Here, and the other one is (II Chronicles 24:20) "and the spirit of God clothed Zecharya." One could here too read [as if it was written], "and the spirit of God clothed;" the explanation [of which] is that because of His clothing, He said, "let there be light," after which is written, "and there was light." This is what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded (Bereishit Rabbah 3:4), "from a little of his clothing, He created light."

והארץ היתה תוהו ובוהו; “and the earth had been in a chaotic state;” the Torah, out of respect for the heavenly regions, did not include “heaven” as having been in a chaotic state, seeing that it was the home of G-d’s Presence. According to the view expressed in the Talmud (Chagigah 2) the meaning of the line is that also this “state of chaos” had been subject to creation. In order to visualise this, we must assume that G-d created this ”chaos” in a region surrounding the earth.

תוהו , this word in a similar construction appears in Psalms 107,40: ויעתם בתוהו לא דרך, “and He makes them lose their way, in a trackless desert.” It also occurs in Jeremiah 4,23: ראיתי את הארץ והנה תוהו, “I saw the earth, and here it is chaotic.” It would be incorrect to understand our verse as referring to the condition of the universe before heaven and earth had been created. If that translation were correct, the Torah should have written: והארץ היה תוהו ובוהו, i.e. “what is now viewed as “earth” already existed but in a chaotic state.” Seeing that the Torah wrote instead: היתה, is proof that that word refers to the earth itself, i.e. that at its inception the earth had been in a chaotic state. An alternate explanation: the whole phrase refers to the future, i.e. before the Lord created heaven and earth, there was only chaos. The same would apply to the words following, i.e. על פני תהום, on the surface of what in the future would be known as the תהום, “the great depth.” An alternate way of saying this is: מרחפת על פני המים, “was hovering on the surface of the ocean.” (the darkness). We must remember that the phenomena described by the Torah had not yet been created at the “time” described by the Torah. There are a number of phenomena that had not yet been created, such as the angels, the heavenly regions for the righteous and the abyss for the wicked, known respectively as maasseh merkavah and gehinom. The Torah, in describing the creation, refers only to phenomena visible to the human being. Even the planting of the garden in Eden has been written about in the Torah only in order to explain to us how and why first man declined so precipitously morally shortly after having been created. Nonetheless, the text conveys that the garden of Eden was created (planted) at the same time as the heavens and the earth, and that is why the Torah wrote: ויכולו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם; “heaven and earth, and all their components had been completed.” (2,1) The Bible also writes: (Nechemyah 9,6) ,אתה עשית את השמים שמי השמי, וכל צבאם, הארץ וכל אשר עליה, הים ואת כל אשר בהם, “You have completed heaven in all its details, as well as the upper heaven and all their host, the earth and everything on it, the ocean and everything in them.” We also read in Exodus 20,11 (part of the Decalogue): כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ, את הים ואת כל אשר בם, “for during a sequence of six days, the Lord completed the creation of heaven and earth, as well as the ocean and all their respective inhabitants; There is no reason for you, the reader, to be amazed at the feminine mode, i.e. היתה, “she had been,” used by the Torah when describing phenomena which are masculine; we find more such examples in the Bible, one being in Judges 18,7: ויראו את העם אשר בקרבה יושבת לבטח, “they observed the people dwelling in it carefree, etc.” [We would have expected יושב instead of יושבת seeing that the subject עם is masculine. Ed.] In Samuel 1,4,17 even the Holy Ark, which is always considered masculine, is referred to in the feminine mode, when the prophet wrote: וארון האלוקים נלקחה, “and the Ark of G-d was captured;” in Numbers 11,15, Moses is quoted as saying to G-d: ואם ככה את עושה לי “and if You, feminine mode or G-d, are doing (masculine mode) thus to me,” etc.”Incidentally, the prefix ו before the word: הארץ, appears to be unnecessary, as it does on numerous occasions, a glaring example being Exodus 13,7 ולא נחם אלוקים “(and) G-d did not guide them, etc.”

והארץ היתה תוהו ובוהו ; “and the earth had been in a chaotic state;” the Torah, out of respect for the heavenly regions, did not include “heaven” as having been in a chaotic state, seeing that it was the home of G-d’s Presence. According to the view expressed in the Talmud (Chagigah 2) the meaning of the line is that also this “state of chaos” had been subject to creation. In order to visualise this, we must assume that G-d created this ”chaos” in a region surrounding the earth.

וחשך על פני תהום, “and there was darkness on the face of the abyss;” the “abyss” is the term used for this region surrounding earth. The fact that G-d had created the initial stage of darkness is recited by us in our daily prayers when we recite the words: יוצר אור ובורא חשך, “Who fashioned light, whereas He only created darkness in its initial stage.” [The creative process is divided into three stages, each progressively more detailed, i.e. בריאה, יצירה, עשיה. When it came to the creation of human beings, G-d involved Himself personally right through the process of עשיה, completion. Ed.] According to our author, there was a “time” previous to the existence of even light and darkness. Our sages in the Talmud taught us not to even try and understand what preceded the “time,” when G-d created light, nor the ”time” when this universe will have completed the function for which He had created it. (Chagigah 12).

ורוח אלוקים, “and the spirit of G-d, etc.” This expression too tries to describe for us something that exists outside the “universe” is abstract, similar to the expression תהום, in the first half of this verse. This “רוח” is also perceived as קדש, holy, [something apart, in this instance, not tangible, Ed.] and is described in the Talmud Chagigah 12 as one of the 10 phenomena that G-d created on the first “day.”

ורוח the prefix ו at the beginning of this word is meant to include the four winds which blow on earth in four directions every day at different levels of the atmosphere. According to our author (based on the Talmud in Gittin, 31) the east wind blows daily in the morning until noon, its principal feature being that it is hot and moist. From noon until sunset, the south wind blows, its principal feature being that it is hot and dry. During the first half of the night a westerly wind blows, its principal feature being that it is cool and moist, whereas the north wind is apt to blow from midnight until sunrise, its principal feature is that it is cold and dry.

ורוח אלקים, this wind was needed as a feature on physical earth, at the time when G-d commanded the waters to recede so that dry land would become visible. (Genesis 1,9). Compare also Exodus 1,21 when Moses credits the east wind with having made possible the splitting of the sea of reeds, enabling the people of Israel to cross on dry ground.

Chaos: This name rests on something that is not distinguished and differentiated from anything else. [Just] like a wilderness - where there is no recognition of different places - is called in the song of [Parshat] Ha'azinu, “and in the void.” And in [Tractate] Avodah Zarah 8, there is [found that the first] “two thousand years were chaos.” And the explanation [of this is that it was [a time of the] action of youth, without Torah – all of the actions of man were the same, without difference. And this is the intention of Targum Onkelos, [when he translates the word as] “empty;” that in an empty place, one part is no different than an other.

And void: This name [bohu, which when broken down is made up of 'in it' and 'it'] rests [on this concept] because much was included 'in it;' meaning from the dry land below the waters, to the end of the waters, the nature of all creation was included in it, [as well as] the potential of the creatures [that would be created] afterward.

And darkness was upon the depths: This is the element of fire that was within the ground, as even today there are many elements of fire [in the ground;] and if [the ground] releases them, the earth quakes.

And the spirit/wind of God was hovering upon the face of the waters: It was not blowing strongly in order to dry [the waters,] like other strong winds that are known by the name, spirit/wind of God, but rather it was hovering calmly.

NOW THE EARTH. The word ha-aretz (the earth) is irregular in that it is always vocalized with a kamatz beneath both the heh and the alef. (That is, the word eretz (earth) is vocalized aretz when preceded by the definite article. The normal vocalization should be ha-eretz, with a segol beneath the alef.) It is unlike the word ha-elef (the thousand) in Thou, O Solomon, shall have the thousand (ha-elef) (Canticles 8:12); or ha-even (the stone) in and this stone (ha-even) (Gen. 28:22). (In elef and even the segol remains in place even when preceded by the definite article.)

UNFORMED. Saadiah Gaon claims that the word tohu (unformed) is a derivative of tehom (the deep). This explanation is incorrect because the mem of tehom is a root letter (Hence the mem would not fall out. Thus tohu cannot derive from tehom.) like the mem of hadom (footstool). (The mem of tehom is similar to the mem of hadom. Both mems are integral parts of the respective words and do not drop out.) The Sefer Yetzirah explains tohu (unformed) and bohu (void) as follows: Tohu refers to the green line; bohu alludes to the smooth stones. (Cf. Hagigah 12a. “Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole world, out of which darkness proceeds…, and tohu consists of the smooth stones in the abyss, out of which the waters proceed.”) However, the correct meaning of these terms is found in the Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch. (That is, Onkelos. The latter renders these terms as “waste and empty.”) We similarly read, And in the waste (tohu), a howling wilderness (Deut. 32:10), and go after vain things (tohu) (I Sam. 12:21), which means worshipping things that have no substance. (That is, idols.)

[VOID.] Bohu is a synonym of tohu. The vavs of tohu and bohu are in place of a heh. They are like the vav in (va-yishtachu) (and he bowed) (The final vav of va-yishtachu (and he bowed) is in place of a heh.) and the vav of achu (reed-grass) in They fed in the reed-grass (achu) (Gen. 41:2). (The final vav of achu (reed grass) is in place of a heh.) The meaning of our verses is this: When the creation of the firmament and the dry land took place, the earth was uninhabited because it was covered with water. God created the earth in such a way that by the laws of nature it would be below the waters. (Earth is the heaviest and water is the second heaviest of the four elements. Hence according to the laws of nature earth has the lowest position and water the next lowest. Thus at the beginning of creation the earth was covered with water. It took a special act of God to dry the land.) Do not reject this interpretation because of the vav that is placed before the words the earth (ve-ha-aretz), for its meaning is identical to that of the Arabic fa. (The vav of ve-ha’aretz (and the earth) introduces a new idea. This contradicts I.E.’s assertion that verse 2 is a mere continuation of verse 1, for I.E. interprets verse 1 and 2 as reading: When God made heaven and earth the earth was unformed and void. I.E. thus explains that the vav does not always mean “and” (it is like the Arabic fa). Thus verse 2 reads: the earth was, rather than: and the earth was.) The vav placed before the word mist (ed) in but there went up a mist (ve-ed) from the earth (Gen. 2:6) (The vav of ve-ed does not mean “and a mist.”) is analogous. Our verses are to be so interpreted because Moses did not speak of the eternal world, which is the world of the angels; he spoke only of the transient world. (There were those who explained the sky in Gen. 1:1 as referring to heaven. Cf. Hagigah 12a; note 40 above. I.E. disagrees. He maintains that heaven in verse 1 refers only to the firmament.) How can those who say that the word heaven in the first verse refers to the highest heavens explain the presence of the earth in the same verse? (If shamayim does not refer to the firmament but rather to the abode of the heavenly beings, what, then, does earth refer to? It is illogical to assume that the Bible juxtaposes the creation of the eternal with the creation of the transient.) Intelligent people have reputable proof that there is only one earth. (Perhaps one will argue that earth refers to some spiritual earth, hence I.E.’s argument that unlike the heavens there is only one earth.) As to the Midrash, when it says that there are seven earths it means that the area of the world inhabited by human beings is divided into seven sections. (The Midrash is not to be taken literally. The seven earths are mentioned in Zohar Chadash 1:216.) The Holy Temple was in the center of the inhabited world. (According to the Midrash the Temple was in the center of the world. Cf. Midrash Tehillim 48:2. Here too world means the inhabitable world and not the globe.) It was not in the center of the earth because we know that it was far from there.

AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Ru’ach (wind) is in the construct with Elohim (God) because it was the medium employed by God to dry the land. (I.E. renders ru’ach (spirit) as wind. Thus ve-ru’ach Elohim (and the spirit of God) means: and God’s wind.)

[THE WATERS.] Mayim (waters) is in the plural. It does not come in a singular form. It belongs to the dual forms, (Certain Hebrew words are found only in the dual forms, e.g., noon (tzohorayim), heaven (shamayim), ears (oznayim), hands (yadayim), legs (raglayim).) the latter being either masculine or feminine. (Most of the words in dual form are feminine. However, I.E. points out that this is not necessarily so. Waters is in the masculine. A masculine noun may also come in the dual form (Filwarg). For an alternate interpretation see Krinsky.) Mayim is also found used in the singular in the water of sprinkling was not dashed against him (Num. 19:13). (Strictly speaking, if mayim is in the plural, the verb pertaining to it should also be in the plural. Hence, rather than “was not,” one would expect “were not.”)

[HOVERED.] Merachefet (hovered) means “blowing above the waters.” As an eagle…Hovereth (yerachef) over her young (Deut. 32:11), is similar.

Others “the spirit of.”

And the spirit of God was hovering: has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'this is the spirit of messiah.'

And the earth was chaos and void: 'What was, was' and what is the need of this knowledge? And it appears that we can say that, since - from the six days of creation and onwards - the Holy One, blessed be He, does not change anything from how it was [then;] and the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that because of the actions of the wicked, the world would go back to [being] chaos and void - as in the generation of the flood; and so [too] with the destruction of the Temple, it is written (Jeremiah 4:23), "I saw the world, and behold, it was chaos." And [so] the verse [here in Genesis 1:2] informs us that if at any future time it should happen that, through the actions of the wicked, the world will go back to being chaos, it should not be considered a change in the creation; but rather the world will go back to how it was, since it is its nature to be chaos and void and darkness. And through the actions of the righteous, the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned its nature and created light for the righteous; and through the corruption of the actions of the wicked, the world will go back to how it was; and it will not be considered a change in the creation, but rather the world will go back to how it was. And this is not called a change in creation, since this is a condition that the Holy One, blessed be He, made with all of the work of creation. And for this reason He decreased the light, and hid [the additional light that was taken away] for the righteous; since He, may He be blessed, is not a man that He should change His mind, but rather if the 'wicked will be silenced with darkness' because of the corruption of their deeds, it will not be considered a change in the creation. And this is the opinion of the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5): "'And the earth was chaos' - these are the actions of the wicked; 'And the Lord said "Let there be light,"' - these are the actions of the righteous, etc." What did the writer of this midrash see to take the verses out from their simple meaning? But according to what we have explained, the words of the midrash are understood, since the simple meaning stays in its place and the drash is an interpretation also of its simple meaning. And that with which it concludes there, "And I do not yet know which one He desires, if it is the actions of the wicked, etc.," you will find explained in my short essay, entitled The Way of Life, in the homiletic discourse on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, see there.

והארץ היתה תהו ובהו “and the earth had been in a chaotic state, etc." This is a reference to the raw material which had not yet been properly defined and therefore could not yet be named. This explanation is analogous to what our sages have said in Kidushin 40 בתוהא על הראשונות “he had second thoughts on what he had thought before." The Torah called this indefinable material "tohu," whereas Greek philosophers called it "hayuli," the original matter. The word "bohu," on the other hand, refers to this material once it had been equipped with a distinctive shape and had assumed a definitive form. The word בהו is actually two words comprised of בו הוא"something which does have a certain form by which is identifiable". This is what Isaiah 34,11 had in mind when he said "He will measure it with a line of chaos and with weights of emptiness." The prophet related the word "a line," to the word which described something indefinable, visible but not substantive. Incidentally, this word is related or derived from Psalms 40,2 קוה קויתי ה' [i.e. intense hope precedes concretisation of one's wishes. Ed.] An artisan envisages מקוה, a building in his mind's eye before he builds it. The relationship of the word is that the stones are the manifestation, the format of the building the artisan had first envisaged To sum up the whole passage: "At the beginning G'd created a minute amount of matter out of absolute nothingness. This contained within itself the potential and energy to expand into what we call "heaven and earth." After this initial stage of creative activity by G'd the earth had still remained in a chaotic state, matter without separation into shape or form of the four basic raw materials (elements) of the universe, i.e. fire, wind, water and dust. The word הארץ includes all these four basic materials the earth is made of. [Even though the material עפר is only the last one described in the record of מעשה בראשית at the creation of man. Ed.] the Torah refers to it first when speaking about ארץ which was a minute point. Philosophers called it a "point," [to distinguish between the solar system which appears in constant motion, whereas earth appears stationary. Ed.]. They viewed the earth as if it were a point surrounded by the planetary system. Earth was viewed as stationary based on Kohelet 1,4 והארץ לעולם עומדת “and the earth remains in its place forever." This is in contrast to the planets surrounding it which move from place to place and never remain in the same spot. Only a small part of earth is in motion, ever. The reason the planetary system, i.e. ,שמים is called עליון lofty, high, is because the material it is made of is so delicate, so fine, and so pure. Earth, on the other hand, is made of the coarsest, the most opaque material. Once the Torah had begun to discuss the properties of earth it returns its attention to the heaven and lists the other basic raw materials (elements) in their proper order, i.e. "fire, wind, and water. The word חשך darkness, is a reference to elemental fire which is dark (compare Shemot Rabbah 2,10.) [This recalls the statement of our sages that the Torah was written with black fire on white fire. Ed.] It is listed ahead of the second element רוח, wind, seeing that fire is a more comprehensive element than wind. The wind precedes water, i.e. "the wind (spirit) of G'd hovered over the deep." This is because wind is a more comprehensive element than water. Water, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive element than earth (dust). We find this order of the basic elements both in Kohelet and in Job. Just as the Torah in this instance began its detailed description with the נקודה the "point," when it wrote: "and the earth was chaotic," so the Book of Kohelet begins with this "point" describing it as something which remains in place forever, i.e. והארץ לעולם עומדת (Kohelet 1,4). Next Solomon mentions the element fire when he wrote וזרח השמש ובא השמש sun shone and the sun set (Kohelet 1,5)." After the fire Solomon mentions the wind in Kohelet 1,6 where he wrote סובב סובב הולך הרוח “the wind goes round and round." Lastly, Solomon mentions the water when he wrote הנחלים הולכים אל הים", “all the rivers flow into the sea" (Kohelet 1,7). Also in the Book of Job (Job 28,24) its description of creation begins with the "point," i.e. earth, or "dust," when the author wrote: i.e. כי הוא לקצות הארץ יביט תחת כל השמים יראה, ”for He sees to the ends of the earth, observes all that is beneath the heavens." The reference to the heavens is a reference to fire. The text continues: לעשות לרוח משקל ומים תכן במדה when He fixed the weight of the winds, set the measure of the waters." We observe that the elements are listed in the same order as in Kohelet and in Bereshit. The reason for this is that all these three Books concern themselves with some degree of research, and its words are based on our knowledge of nature. In our verse the Torah informed us that the earth assumed a shape, that the darkness which is the fire, spread out above the mixture of dust and water. This mixture is called תהום,"the deep," in the language of the Torah. It describes the ocean which has earth dissolved in it. Compare Jonah 2,6 תהום יסובבני, "the deep surrounds me. The wind was blowing entering the darkness and hovering above the water. When the Torah speaks of ורוח אלוקים, we would actually have expected ורוח האלוקים, i.e. “the wind (spirit) of G'd;" the reason the Torah chose to omit the letter ה , thereby apparently identifying wind as something divine, this is because of all matters in the physical universe wind is the closest to the invisible abstract force called G'd. Even though in some respects fire is even more insubstantial, diaphanous, than the wind, the Torah did not want to associate this word with G'd seeing that we described fire as a product of, or rather synonymous with, darkness. From an homiletical point of view, the words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ are understood to mean "on account of three merits the universe was created, the merit of חלה i.e. giving the priest the first portion of a woman's dough, the merit of מעשרות i.e. the various tithes given to the Levite or the priest, and the merit of בכורים, bringing part of the first ripe produce to the Temple as a gesture of thanksgiving. This statement is based on all of these three commandments being described in the Torah at one place or another as ראשית"the first of something." (Numbers 16,2; Deut. 18,4; Exodus 23,19). Furthermore, our sages said (Bereshit Rabbah 1,6) "the universe was created for the sake of Moses who has been described as ראשיתin Deut. 33,21 וירא ראשית לו 'He regarded him as His .ראשיתThese three commandments called ראשיתnot only have a common denominator, but each one of them is also an allusion to "wisdom," something called ראשית. The word is translated as חוכמא , wisdom, by the Jerusalem Targum on Genesis 1,1. This is all because the letters in the commandment בכוריםthe first ripe fruit, allude to the Unity of G'd (according to Rabbi Chavell, the author means the three letters in the word ב-כ-ר allude to בינה insight, כתר crown, and ב=ראשית חכמה respectively). Similarly, the commandment of ,מעשרות tithing, is a reference to such superior wisdom as the number 10 is reminiscent of the Power of the One and only Creator. The commandment of חלה by its very definition represents the very first of a woman's productive activity, making bread and donating its first part to representatives of the spiritual leaders of the people, the priests. As to the Midrash stating that the merit of Moses accounted for the creation of the universe, this is not only because we have seen that he is associated with ראשית but also because it was he who was found worthy to give the Torah to the Jewish people. If you examine the word בראשית more closely you will observe that it contains an allusion to the building of the first Temple which stood for 410 years, corresponding to the word בזאת in the verse בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקד “equipped with this (410) Aaron will enter the Temple" (Leviticus 16,3). You are no doubt aware that our sages in Pesachim 54 have stated that the Temple was created before haven and earth. [the reference is to the plan for the eventual site of the Temple on earth, or to its counterpart in heaven. Ed.] This is the reason the Torah first wrote בראשית ברא"first G'd created something," and only afterwards to alert the reader that some things preceded the creation of heaven and earth. Seeing that according to Bereshit Rabbah (end of second chapter) G'd is reported as having envisaged the Temple as being destroyed and being rebuilt, the Torah wrote that to hint that there would come a time when G'd's presence would be withdrawn from the Jewish people.

The author describes “wisdom” as “Sefer,” seeing that the generations pass from this earth and their wisdom disappears with them except for what has been committed to paper, i.e. a book, a “Sefer.” “Sefor” is the בינה “insight,” employed by man when he counts. This we also know from Chronicles II 2,16: ויספר שלמה כל .האנשים הגירים אשר בארץ ישראל אחרי הספר אשר ספרם דוד אביו. ”Solomon counted all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, besides the census taken by his father David. The word “Sippur” refers to all the other countings and numbers that man can achieve and talk about. You should be aware that the word “Sefer” represents the letter י of the three letters י-ה-ו, whereas the word “Sefor” represents the letter ה in that sequence; finally, the word “Sippur” represents the letterו in that sequence. This is what is meant by תפארת which is the sixth of the emanations. You are also aware that the mumerical value of the wordספר is 340. In view of this, the three times we encounter the word ספר are three different names for שכל , intelligence. Although “intelligence” is multifaceted, and of different strengths, these three aspects of intelligence are the major ones,. Similarly, the above-mentioned three letters of the Holy Name of G’d are the principal ones. They are all derived from the same root, the One who has stamped the world with His imprint, the כתר, crown, which is also known as אין סוף “The Infinite One.” You need to appreciate that the words in Exodus 15,25 שם שם לו חק ומשפט ,“there He gave them statutes and social laws,” is an allusion to this wisdom . (According to a Kabbalistic text called Ginat Egoz, the fact that the letters of the word שם appears three times in the above-mentioned verse may be the reason for this comment in the ספר היצירה). אלוקים In this instance this is a reference to “teshuvah” another expression for this particular form of intelligence represented by the emanation בינה. This intelligence was involved in creating the physical universe. This is what we have in mind in our prayers on New Year’s Day when we refer to that day as being the first of G’d’s works. This was the attribute of G’d Avraham addressed when he is reported as praying to אלוקים in Genesis 20,17, ויתפלל אברהם אל האלוקים . The Torah means that he addressed himself to the last letter ה in the word האלוקים . We find that David also addressed that level of intelligence represented by the name אלוקים when he said in Psalms 66,17 אני אל אלוקים אקרא. [This name is identified with the last letter ה in the Ineffable, four-lettered name of G’d. The author discussed the meaning of the first three letters in that name on the previous page. Ed.] Concerning the level of intelligence referred to as “teshuvah,” it has been said in Proverbs 2,3 that אם לבינה תקרא, “you should call upon this level of intelligence, i.e. address your prayer to that emanation.” [These concepts are explained in Tossephta HaZohar on Bereshit page 34, as well as in the commentary called Levush by Rabbi Mordechay Jaffe on Genesis 2,1.] The reason why “teshuvah” is called בינה is because it belongs to the “upper” five emanations. Both the words אקרא as well as the word תקרא are references to prayer. Onkelos translates the words ויקרא שם אברהם, ”Avraham called there,” as וצלי, “he prayed.” As to the words את, ואת, which appear as a kind of preface to the words השמים והארץ, respectively, they are meant to allude to the emanations גדולה and גבורהrespectively, which were also active in the creation of the universe. The word השמים describes the emanation תפארת which is equivalent to עדן the most refined region in the physical universe. The two pillars (another simile for some of the emanations) נצח והוד are included in the term השמים. We have to arrive at this conclusion seeing they are not reported anywhere as having been created separately. Also the emanation known as הצדיק [known in more recent kabbalistic writings as the emanation יסוד, Ed.] is included in the term השמים. It is the emanation which is responsible for the continued existence of the universe. On the other hand, one may say that the addition of the letter ו to the word את was intended to include the three last-mentioned emanations. The word והארץ, is an allusion to the garden in “Eden.” This “garden” was derived from the region we described as עדן. When the Torah wrote והארץ היתה, “and the earth had been, etc.” this is intended to convey that what follows had been a previous existence which was now being transformed into a superior existence. The word ארץ is a description of earth after it had undergone this transformation. The reason the Torah mentioned the previous state of the earth, i.e. היתה, was to tell us whence everything material in our universe originated, i.e. the level of the emanation we had described as חכמה the emanation “wisdom” which preceded every creative process. The word tohu is a reference to the emanation בינה which is like a green line which surrounds the entire universe, whereas the word bohu alludes to something which begins to emerge, i.e. the emanation known as גדולה. The word חשך, on the other hand, refers to the emanation גבורה. Furthermore, the verse contains an allusion to the eventual age of the earth before it will be destroyed. [Some Kabbalists equate this “green line” with what our author had previously referred to as “teshuvah.” Compare Recanati who attributes this to our author here. Rabbi Chavell] This concept is explained in greater detail in Rosh Hashana 31 where the sages maintain that the universe has a lifetime of six thousand years. The intelligent reader will understand. The reason why the Torah immediately mentioned the chaotic state of the universe prior to the creation of light is to remind us that there had already been a previous universe which had been destroyed. You will also find an allusion to the name of G’d consisting of forty two letters in the very first word of the Torah. The letter א occurs six times in the very first verse of the Torah. They are an allusion to the six times 1000 years the earth is destined to endure. (The letter א stands also for the number 1000). The word והארץ at the beginning of the second verse is an allusion to the seventh milenium. The reason that in connection with the heaven, השמים, the Torah did not see fit to allude to anything which had preceded it, is simply that once you know what had occurred prior to creation of the earth as we know it, you can form your own conclusions as to what preceded the heaven. This is also the reason the Torah did not allude to the purpose of the planetary system prior to the time it was placed in the skies on the fourth day. According to kabbalah, however, the reason the Torah refrains from such allusions is that seeing the material from which heaven was made is the most pure, the most refined, it never had to undergo a metamorphosis even while previous “earths,” its forerunners, had to undergo such transformations. How would anyone be able to form the slightest notion of what had been heaven previously seeing that our sages (Berachot 34) interpreted Isaiah 64,4 עין לא ראתה אלוקים זולתך, “no eye except the one of G’d Himself had ever seen it,” to mean that the material of heaven was so refined that it was invisible to the human eye. What point would there be in relating to what it had been like prior to the creation of our earth at this stage? To sum up: the Torah made it its task to elaborate on what is known as הנגלות, matters which G’d has seen fit to reveal, whereas it is silent on matters G’d considers as הנסתרות, the hidden aspects of the universe. Remember that theהשמים והארץ which form the subject of the first verse are a reference to the two emanations תפארת and מלכות; they are identical with what is described in chapter 2,8 as גן and עדן respectively. This is the deeper meaning of Pessachim 54 that both Gan as well as Eden were created prior to the creation of the universe. If even the “garden” had come into existence prior to the universe, how much more so must עדן have ben created prior to the universe! After all, the Torah testifies that the “garden” been planted in Eden. Compare Genesis 2,8: “G’d planted a garden in Eden of old [i.e. prior to the creation of the universe].” You should also know that we have a tradition which suggests that the 42-lettered name of G’d is alluded to by the fact that there are 42 letters in the first verse of the Torah between the first letter ב and the letter ב in the word in the word בהו in verse 2. The 42- lettered name of G’d is part of the attribute of Justice something which has been derived by the application of many “צירופים, “permutations” of the letters in G’d’s Holy Name. When you examine the matter closely you will find in the arrangement of the letters of the Torah in this opening paragraph a reference to the number בהר'ד i.e. the precise time of the creation of the luminaries which I discussed on page 12. Each one of those four letters appears at exactly the same distance from each other just as does the letter ב. The intelligent reader will understand what I refer to. One does not need to be especially brilliant to realise that such relationships of a string of letters on repeated occasions cannot be accidental, but are intended to alert the careful reader to a profound message. The message is that the creation of the universe reported in our paragraph had not been the first of its kind, but that there had been other universes prior to the one we live in. This is alluded to in Psalms 90,2 where the psalmist speaks about periods בטרם הרים יולדו, “before the mountains had been “born.” At such a time the attribute of Justice operated in the absence of any “tool” and proceeded to create such a “tool”, i.e. the universe. [In Kabbalistic writings the word הרים “mountains” refers to the three patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, who respectively reflect the virtues of חסד, גבורה, תפארת also known as part of the ten emanations, based on a book called אזרח בישראל. The word כלי may be understood as an acrostic of כהן, לוי, ישראל] The message would be that the attribute of Justice found it counterproductive to be active in a world which lacked these three kinds of people. Ed.

ורוח אלוקים מרחפת על פני המים "and the spirit (wind) of G'd hovered above the surface of the waters." This is a reference to the Torah which even at a time of the withdrawal of G'd's presence, שכינה would never be totally forgotten by His people even when they are in exile.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי אור "G'd said: "let there be light." This is an allusion to messianic times. The period of the kingdom of the Messiah is alluded to in Isaiah 60,1 "Arise, shine, for your light has dawned; the Presence of the Lord has shone upon you."

,ויבדל אלקים בין האור ובין החושך "and G'd separated the light from the darkness." This is an allusion to the separation between the Jewish people and the Gentile nations, the former always looking forward to the Messiah and redemption, whereas the Gentiles are content to remain is spiritual darkness. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah, 2,5 commented on this that in this verse we have a reference to the four kingdoms [preceding the messianic age Ed.]. This is what they said: "the words והארץ היתה תהו ובהו are a reference to the empire of the Babylonians; the word ובהו is a reference to the empire of the Medes. The wordוחשך is a reference to the empire of the Greeks, whereas the word תהום is a reference to the Roman Empire. Finally, the words ורוח אלקים refer to the spirit of the Messiah." If you will examine the text even more closely, you will observe that the word בראשית, is composed of the two words אש ברית, an allusion to the third and enduring Temple based on the prophecy in Zachariah 2,9, (see commentary by Rabbi Chavell). The words are derived from a rearrangement of the letters in בראשית. You can also divide the word בראשית to form the two words ברא שית, suggesting "He created the foundation," שיתין, the place underneath the altar in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which the Talmud described as the "navel" of the earth. A third possibility is to divide the wordבראשית into,ברא תיש "He created a ram," an allusion to the ram offered on Mount Moriah by Avraham in lieu of his son Yitzchak. Our sages in Avot 5,6 have described this ram as having been created prior to the conclusion of the six days of creation. Another word contained within the wordבראשית is the word ארשת, an allusion to speech (Psalms 21,3). The meaning of the additional letter י, which combined with the word ארשת spells ,בראשית ,is that we have an allusion to the ten directives G'd uttered and which are recorded in the Torah's report about G'd's creative activity. Remember that the universe was created in the month of Tishrey and that the word בראשית alludes to this, i.e. the letters can be read as א-בתשרי. Concerning this date of when the universe was created there is a dispute in Rosh Hashanah, folios 10-11, between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. The former holds that the universe was created in Tishrey, whereas Rabbi Yehoshua believed that it was created in the month of Nissan. Although, generally speaking, in a dispute between these two scholars we rule according to the view of Rabbi Yehoshua, in this instance the Talmud rules in favour of the view of Rabbi Eliezer. This is the meaning of the statement on that folio: "when we pray nowadays on Rosh Hashanah, describing it as זה היו תחלת מעשיך, 'this is the day when You commenced Your works,' this reflects the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer." Looking at the words בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ from a rationalistic, investigative point of view, it is a well known fact that the universe is divided into three basic spheres. One sphere comprises the world of angels, i.e. celestial regions; the second sphere is what we call "outer space," the sphere of the planetary system; the third sphere is our own terrestrial world. All three parts of the universe were created by the same invisible force. The word בראשית is an allusion to this mysterious force which is the origin of everything in creation, a force which itself knew no beginning. First, this force created the celestial regions and the angels therein. These are called אלקים in the Scriptures. The world of planets is called שמים; our own terrestrial world is known as הארץ. It is due to these considerations that the Torah could not commence by writing אלקים ברא בראשית, but had to write בראשית ברא אלקים in order for the word ברא to refer back to the word בראשית. This enabled us to appreciate that a mysterious force called בראשית created the region of the angels known as אלקים. The term "earth" includes such phenomena as the moon and anything closer to earth than the moon. The next verse explains this in greater detail when the Torah writes: והארץ היתה תהו ובהו, that the part of the universe known as the terrestrial region had been in a chaotic state at the time when the Torah had described the commencement of creation, i.e. ברא. The subject that is referred to as having been in a state of chaos are the four basic elements the existence of which had been hinted at in the previous verse as we explained earlier. The word ארץ here is a generic term applying to each of these four components our terrestrial earth is made of, collectively as well as separately, such as in Genesis 1,10 ויקרא אלקים ליבשה ארץ. In view of this [ארץ without the letters וה in front, Ed.], the word והארץ refers to Earth, i.e. all its four elements combined. The words תהו ובהו on the other hand, refer to the element alone. The Torah tells us that at that stage this element could not be defined as it could not be isolated. You should know that the number of planets is 955, corresponding to numerical value of the word השמים. [The final letter ם is considered as equivalent to 600. Ed.] You will find this idea in a book called מעשה מרכבה, where we are told that at the time G'd descends from the celestial regions, i.e. from 955 רקיעים, heavens, and He seats Himself on the throne commensurate with His glory, all these heavens as well as the gateways to the regions called ערבות, recite the verse שאו שערים ראשיכם, "lift up you gates your heads, etc." (Psalms 24,9). We also find in Derech Eretz Rabbah, that "G'd is the solitary Ruler in the celestial regions, His name is One, and He resides in 390 heavens [the numerical equivalent of the word שמים, Rabbi Chavell.]. Each one of these "heavens" has been stamped with His name, a name which has been alluded to in the Torah (Deut. 32,1) האזינו ה-שמים, "hearken the Heavens." When I shall explain that verse in due course, I will quote that Midrash in detail. At any rate, it is impossible to reduce this number of heavens. According to our sages in the Talmud (Kabbalists), there are only seven heavens and they are enumerated in Chagigah 12. We quote: "Rav Yehudah said that there are two kinds of heaven seeing that the Torah wrote in Deut. 10,14: השמים ושמי השמים, 'the heaven and the heaven of the heavens.' Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that there are seven heavens and they are called: וילון, רקיע, שחקים, זבול, מעון, מכון, ערבות. According to researchers, i.e. the philosophers, there are nine heavens. They are: גלגל המקיף (compare Maimonides hilchot Yesodey Ha-Torah), גלגל המזלות the zodiac, i.e. the horoscopes, and the seven "heavens" dominated by the seven fixed stars [an antiquated astronomical concept believed in by all astronomers until exploded by Copernicus about 1540. Ed.] According to these "philosophers," the four elements of our terrestrial universe rank below these regions dominated by what is known as שבעה כוכבי לכת, the 7 fixed planets. King Solomon already listed these four elements in the same order in a single verse in Proverbs 30,4 where he wrote: מי עלה שמים וירד, מי אסף רוח בחפניו, מי צרר מים בשמלה? מי הקים כל אפסי ארץ? "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind (spirit) in his hand? Who has wrapped the water in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? According to the philosophers the element of fire receives its heat from the planet moon which is immediately above it and closest to it. This is due to the constant motion of that planet. It is a well known fact that every body which is in motion generates heat by its motion. The larger the body in question and the closer to earth, the greater the heat it generates and its ability to warm other bodies which are close to it. Seeing that it is the nature of fire to rise constantly, it is the first element to receive warmth from the moon. The fact that fire rises must certainly have a purpose. The moon itself, however is not warm nor does it inflame. Nor does fire rise indefinitely. Both the earth and the moon have been assigned definitive orbits separated from each other by an atmosphere which neither can break out of. Just as water, which has a tendency to descend, cannot descend to the extent of flooding the earth, so fire cannot ascend beyond certain limits and inflame what is beyond those limits. These philosophers use Job 37,18 חזק כראי מוצק ועדו , "strong like a mirror which has been cast," as proof that the atmosphere separating planets and their respective orbits from one another is impenetrable. I have already pointed out that the universe was created in the month of Tishrey, a month under the influence of the zodiac sign מאזנים, "scales." This is also the meaning of the second verse in Genesis, that the wind of the Lord was hovering above the deep." We know that the zodiac sign governing the wind is "scales," whereas the zodiac sign governing water is עקרב, "scorpion." The correct interpretation of our verse is therefore: "When did G'd create heaven and earth? At a time when the רוח אלוקים rises develops and rises in the morning, i.e. at the time when the zodiac sign "scales" which is the zodiac sign pertaining to the רוח, "wind" hovers "above the face of the waters" which is close to the zodiac sign "scales," the sign pertaining to the waters. The reason why these respective zodiac signs are called "scales" and "scorpion" as well as the reason for the names of the remainder of the zodiac signs is because a cluster of stars form a shape reminiscent of such objects or animals in the sky. According to tradition, at the time the deluge occurred the constellations of the seven fixed stars was as follows: There was a cluster of stars resembling the shape of a lamb; there was a similar cluster of stars resembling the shape of an ox; the same was the case with the zodiac signs "twins," both of whom resembled human beings. There was a constellation resembling a lobster (cancer), a constellation resembling "scales," a constellation resembling a scorpion, a constellation resembling a bucket, i.e. a human being drawing water; All these horoscopes or zodiac signs were named after their appearance in the sky at the time of the deluge. It may be true that the reason these signs appeared in that fashion in the sky at the time of the deluge was meant to remind man of Divine supervision of his fate by his recalling the names of the horoscopes. Our sages in Pessikta Rabbati 2,9 as well as in Tanchuma have explained this in the manner we have outlined. You should also know that the מולד תשרי i.e. the precise time when the moon began a new orbit to signal the beginning of the month of Tishrey at the time when G'd created Adam, was the night of Monday the fifth hour, 204 parts into that hour. By counting backwards from that time, our sages arrived at the conclusion that G'd began creating the universe on the 25th day of Ellul, assuming that the stars had already become manifest. How did our sages know all this? They knew this from the מולד of the month Nissan following. [According to our astronomical experts, each lunar orbit occurs at a predetermined distance from the previous "month," i.e. 29 days and 12 hours plus 793 parts of an hour.] Considering the fact however, that the planets had not been placed (hung) in orbit until the fourth day of creation we know for certain that this could not have occurred on Monday as we said, i.e. the day on which Adam was created. Nonetheless this was the true date according to the scientists. As to the fact that in our prayers on New Year's day we recite:זה היום תחלת מעשיך "this is the day when You (G'd) commenced Your work of creating the universe," how do we account for that statement? We may accept such a statement regardless of whether the creation of the universe commenced when the moon was in the position of on the eve of Monday or on Friday the 10th hour plus some parts of the hour, provided we count Adam as having been created on the 6th day after 12 hours of night and two hours of daylight had elapsed. This would have been the hour when G'd brought Man before Him to be judged for the first time. [the purpose of ראש השנה. Ed.] The meaning of the words "this is the first day of Your works," then is: "this is the first day Your creatures (man) had to face Judgment." If we interpret our liturgy in that fashion we do not have to refer to fictitious times, i.e. imaginary days and hours prior to the functioning of the planetary system in orbit. The fact that the Torah does not mention G'd as having completed anything, i.e. ויעש on the first day but only refers to G'd as having "created, ברא, on that day makes it clear that the sages who composed this prayer are not at odds with the view of scientists. Had they referred to G'd's "creating" the universe on that day, they would have had to refer to ברואיך, "Your creatures," instead of מעשיך, "Your completed handiwork." Let us now turn to the mystical aspects of Torah, קבלה, revealed in our verses thus far. The words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ contain within them an allusion to the ten sefirot, "emanations." The "Heaven and Earth" referred to here are the celestial counterparts of our terrestrial universe. These are not part of the planetary system. They are referred to in Psalms 68,34 as שמי קדם וארץ החיים, "the ancient heavens." The term ארץ החיים, refers to what is known in Psalms 142,6 , "the land of (eternal) life." The word בראשית, on the other hand, is an allusion to the true wisdom, similar to what the Psalmist describes asיראת ה' ראשית חכמה, "the beginning of true wisdom is reverence for the Lord." The letter ב in בראשית refers to the "second" of the emanations, i.e. חכמה, counting from אין, the highest emanation downwards. You will observe therefore that both the word ראשית and its first letter ב, are testimony to the Supreme wisdom which was at work when the universe was created. Seeing that everything is derived from this wisdom, the letter is written in larger script to alert the reader to this thought. Although this is the second letter in the alphabet it is the first one when it comes to what we can comprehend. [seeing that it is beyond us to comprehend the essence of the One represented by the letter א Ed.] The meaning of the phrase then is: "the wisdom with which the universe was created is known as אין." Anything preceding that act of creation is out of bounds for us to investigate. This is why the emanation above that of חכמה is known as אין, nothing. [In our days this emanation is known as כתר. Ed.]. The reason that the tenth emanation was named אין is based on Psalms 111,10 ,והחכמה מאין תמצא "How could you find the (type) of wisdom which is beyond (physical) existence?" The line in Psalms would have to be understood as an announcement rather than as a question when accepting this interpretation. At any rate, even this ultimate aspect of wisdom is somehow alluded to in the shape of the protruding bottom of the letter ב. This is what the Kabbalists had in mind when they said: "if they ask the letter ב 'who has created you?' it will point its protrusion in the direction of where the letter א should have preceded it (Bereshit Rabbah 1,14)." This letter is the true כתר, "the crown of the universe."

והארץ היתה תהו ובהו וחשך על פני תהום ורוח אלוקים מרחפת על פני המים. Having first mentioned in verse 1 that G’d had created heaven and earth, and that the word ארץ included the 4 basic elements which earth consists of, the Torah now says that the creation of the earth had originally been lumped together with the creation of the heaven, seeing both were created in their final complete state. All the 9 planets were called into existence at one and the same moment. The author views the “9” planets, גלגלים, “orbiting planets” as consisting of the 7 fixed stars whose orbit was well known to astronomers in antiquity; he views as the 8th “planet” the stars in the sky known as the signs of the zodiac, the mazzalot, as well as other celestial phenomena. The 9th is considered by him as a kind of “super-star” which provides the impetus for the motion of all the other phenomena in the celestial regions. This super-star is presumed to orbit earth once every 24 hours. In its original state the earth was not complete, i.e. there was chaos, seeing that the earth was completely submerged in water. Whereas heaven had been created in a perfected state, symbolising life, earth, in its original state, being chaotic, symbolised death, as pointed out by Bereshit Rabbah, 2,2 describing heaven as “life,” death being unknown in those regions, whereas “earth” is described as תהו ובהו, meaning that “death” is a basic phenomenon in these “lower regions.” According to our author, we learn from this Midrash that the four basic elements of which earth consists are basically “dead, inert” substances. They possess no will or intelligence of their own as distinct from the creatures in the celestial regions. They have been equipped with certain natural functions and they cannot vary them. If any one of them for some reason left its natural place in the universe it will be returned there in due course.

וחשך על פני תהום, “darkness prevailed over the deep.” The word תהום refers to a place in which there is an abundance of water extending to a great depth. The atmosphere above the waters was dark, seeing the light from the celestial sources was not able to penetrate this atmosphere and to provide light for it. This “atmosphere” had not yet been equipped with the ability to absorb and diffuse such light. In any area where there is no light there is absolute darkness. If there was darkness prevailing above the deep waters, it is clear that the deep waters were completely shrouded in darkness. The reason that G’d did not create earth in its completed state as He had done with the heaven, is to show the intelligent people on earth that earth had not always existed but had been created by G’d. Most people are intelligent enough to believe this, i.e. that He Who had created the laws of nature also had created the universe itself. It follows that He Who created it all, also has the power to change any of it at will. The appearance of light in the celestial regions, creation of the sky itself, the dry land becoming visible, are all phenomena which were not in evidence at the beginning of the creation. The people who do not believe in the universe having been created are a small minority [in the author’s time, late 12th and early 13th century. Ed.] The very appearance of the dry land on the globe is a powerful argument against their belief, something they cannot defend with sound arguments. If everything in this universe were to proceed according to “natural law,” i.e. without a Creator having set firm limits to the manner in which the oceans can flood the earth, there would hardly be a place on earth which would not be submerged in water. After all, earth has had a higher specific gravity assigned to it by the Creator than water, as a result of which it ought to sink below the water. Seeing, however that it is both cold and dry, it remains cohesive, particles sticking to one another, so that it can maintain its position without moving from its location. Job already refers to this phenomenon in Job 38,38 “whereupon the earth melts into a mass, and its clods stick together.” At this point the author comments on statements in the second chapter of the ספר יצירה the most ancient kabbalistic text, in which three basic phenomena of our earth, i.e. שלוש אמת, “three mothers,” are described, the word being an acronym of the words אש, מים, שלום, fire, water, peace. Fire and water are considered as irreconcilable opposites, so that they can coexist only through the good offices of שלום, a peacemaker, the latter being “air.” It is considered as such as it shares some attribute with water and another with fire. The author’s basic point is that without some Divine intervention fire and water could not coexist in the physical universe. G’d had to intervene in a similar manner to ensure that the waters would not flood the earth completely. This is meant by the author of the ספר יצירה describing air, רוח, as a sort of “wall” restraining the natural impulse of water to flood the earth. [I have paraphrased the author’s words in this paragraph. Ed.]

ורוח אלוקים, the word רוח here is in the construct mode, to indicate that it functioned as an agent of its Creator, of G’d. Its assignment had been to provide the necessary motion over the waters and to help dry them out in a manner of speaking, as explained by Ibn Ezra. It is also possible that the reason it appears in this mode is because it is such a powerful agent of G’d that it sometimes appears to have Divine force. It is quite common in our use of language that when we want to stress the power of someone or something, we somehow associate it with the name of G’d. In the Book of Jonah the city of Nineveh is thus described as עיר גדולה לאלוקים, (Jonah 3,3) and Psalms 36,7 uses the expression כהררי א-ל, in order to describe towering mountains. [The author quotes more such examples].

מרחפת, we have a parallel to this in Deut. 32,11 על גוזליו ירחף, “carrying him (Israel) along on His pinions.”

על פני המים, seeing that we have “upper water” and lower water” as will be spelled out in the report of the creative activities of the second day, the word always appears in the plural. Is to keep us aware of the fact that the upper waters contain elements of the lower waters and vice versa. They have not been completely separated.

The scholar known as Rabbi Yitzchok ben Shlomoh, popularly known as Yisraeli, explained that the meaning of the words תהו ובהו implies the air in a state of repose prior to it becoming imbued with movement at the behest of the Creator. As a result of the air being stationary, its moisture content distilled into water, which due to its higher specific weight sank to the bottom. The author of the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehudah haLevi, explained the meaning of the words תהו ובהו as the primordial matter, prior to its coalescing into something of definable substance. As long as such primordial matter possesses no quality it is described as “tohu vavohu.” This “tohu vavohu” is alternately referred to by the Torah as “water,” hence in this verse the רוח אלוקים is described as “hovering” over the “waters” instead of as “hovering over the tohu vavohu.” The verse would be describing that at this point G’d wanted to imbue this tohu vavohu with some quality, useful meaning, hence G’d’s spirit moved above it in order to inspire such a change. When something assumes definitive, solid dimensions, it has become qualitatively superior to water which slips through one’s fingers, cannot be held in one’s hand. This mass which has thickened out of a primordial murky liquid something is the earth. Basically, the difference between earth and water lies also in its malleability when one tries to work it. Whereas nature comprises all manner of substances, liquid, solid, gaseous, earth comprises only solids, and when worked only a small segment of the forces of nature are involved In the ספר יצירה, as well as in the Talmud Chagigah 12 tohu is described as a green line surrounding the universe, whereas vohu is described as a number of water-soaked stones which give off their water (based on Isaiah 34,11). Rav Saadyah gaon explains that what is described as a “green line” in the Talmud is nothing other than the darkness, i.e. the phenomenon from which darkness emanated. It is the intense darkness experienced immediately before the beginning of dawn. Maimonides in the second section of his Moreh, views the word והארץ at the beginning of our verse as meaning the same as the word הארץ at the end of the preceding verse. He says further that in verse two the foundations of the earth are listed in the order of their natural appearance, i.e. earth below the water. Once the Torah mentioned the waters it is clear that earth is below, supporting the waters. The air cleaves to the waters beneath, else what is holding up the waters? Fire, (its habitat) is above the air. When fire combines with air the result is the darkness described as covering the waters. The darkness mentioned in this verse is none other than the fire; the reason fire is described here as darkness is that it did not give off any light, but was transparent. (Moreh 2,30) If this primordial fire would give off light we would be able to see at nighttime. The night would appear to us as if it were aflame. Maimonides therefore did not interpret the words תהו ובהו as something visible to our eyes. Perhaps his opinion in this matter coincides with that of other commentators inasmuch as he and they agree that none of the four elements comprising the physical universe is visible in its pure form, not amalgamated with any of the other elements. He writes further that that the words על פני המים refer only to waters other than the oceans. Only one of the four basic elements appears in three guises in close conjunction with the other elements, i.e. the “upper waters,” the “lower waters,” i.e. the ones above the sky, below the sky, and the oceans.

והארץ היתה, the earth had preceded and existed in a chaotic form, as elaborated on by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 4,23) והנה ראיתי את הארץ והנה תהו ובוהו ואל השמים ואין אורם...ראיתי ואין אדם מעוף השמים ועד בהמה נדדו הלכו (Jeremiah 9,9)

This verse explains the meaning of “Tohu vavohu” in greater detail, i.e. that there was no kind of life on earth at that stage.

וחושך על פני תהום, this is a reference to the absence of light in the heaven.

ורוח אלוקים מרחפת (מנשבת) על פני המים, we had to be told that G’d’s wind was active at that stage, else verse 9 of this chapter in which G’d issues a directive for the waters to collect in a contiguous area would not make sense, as we could not have understood how the waters were made to assemble all in one area of the globe. We find the role of this רוח of G’d in Exodus 14,21 when it prepared the manifestation of the sea splitting to allow the Israelites to cross it safely and on dry land.

תהו ובהו DESOLATE AND VOID — The word תהו signifies astonishment and amazement, for a person would have been astonished and amazed at its emptiness.

תהו is estordison in old French.

בהו VOID — The word signifies emptiness and empty space.

על פני תהום ON THE FACE OF THE DEEP — i. e. the waters which were upon the earth.

ורוח אלהים מרחפת AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING — The throne of Divine Glory was standing in space, hovering over the face of the waters by the breath of the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, and by His command, even as a dove hovers over its nest. In old French acoveter.

והארץ. Darum fährt das lehrende Gotteswort fort, והארץ und diese Erde — wir haben a. d. a. O. die Bezeichnung der Erde durch ארץ als die mit Entschiedenheit nach Gestalt und Wesen gesonderte Individualitäten Erzeugende erkannt — also diese, jetzt in solcher Fülle scharf gesonderter Individualitäten dastehende Erde, היתה, sie war einst תהו ובהו. Es heißt nicht: ויהי הארץ תהו ובהו, dann würde es allerdings den im ersten Vers erzählten Vorgang historisch fortsetzen sollen. והארץ היתה leitet aber eine neue Gedankenreihe ein. Der erste Vers zeigt uns unseren jetzigen Himmel und unsere jetzige Erde und spricht über Himmel und Erde die große Gesamtwahrheit aus: Dieser Himmel und diese Erde, nach Stoff und Form hat Gott sie ins Dasein hinausgesetzt! Der zweite Vers ruft unsern Blick nochmals auf diese unsere Erde hin und spricht: Und diese jetzt in so scharf gesonderten Individualitäten erscheinende Erde war einst תהו ובהו.

Die Wurzel תהה finden wir nur im Rabbinischen wieder, wo es Anstaunen bedeutet, תהי בה ר׳ יוחנן, תהו בה נהרדעי (Erubin 66. — B. K. 112 und sonst). Daher auch: etwas noch Unbekanntes zu erkennen suchen, תהי ליה בקנקניה, בת תיהא. (A. S.72.— B. B. 22). Es heißt ferner auch: etwas bereuen, תוהא על הראשנות (Kidusch. 40). Es bedeutet daher den Eindruck, den ein unklarer, ungehöriger Zustand eines Gegenstandes oder eines Verhältnisses auf uns macht. Verwandt ist damit wohl auch דהה,דהה הימנו zur Bezeichnung einer schwächeren, matteren Farbennuance. Nach allem diesen dürfte תהו einen chaotischen Zustand nach seinem Eindruck auf unser Erkenntnisvermögen bezeichnen, einen Zustand, in welchem nichts einzeln Gesondertes zu erkennen ist. — Schwieriger ist בהו, dem wir nur noch in ביי, einem Schmerzausdruck im Rabbinischen, vielleicht so auch im hebräischen בי אדני, בי, begegnen. בהו würde sodann den chaotischen Zustand als einen an sich unleidlichen, widersprach- und kampfVollen bezeichnen. תהו bezeichnet ein Chaos subjektiv, für unsere Erkenntnis, בהו objektiv nach seinem gegenständlichen Zustand. תהו ובהו wäre etwa: unklar und ungeschieden, verworren. תהו ובהו wäre somit der vollendete Gegensatz dessen, was ארץ als jetzigen Charakter der Erde ausdrückt. Die jetzt in solcher Entschiedenheit an Gestalt und Wesen gesonderte Individuen erzeugende Erde, war einst eine unklare und verworrene Masse.

תהום, rad. המם (die Vorstufe von חמם, glühen) brausen, wogen, heißt nicht: Abgrund, sondern: das Brausen und Wogen des Meeres, das Gewoge. Die Erde, die, wie aus dem Verfolg des Verses ersichtlich, in diesem ungeschiedenen ובהו ^M-Zustand auch das Wasser, Festes und Flüssiges umfasste, war eine durcheinander wogende Masse, und Finsternis lag auf dem Gewoge, es war kein Licht da, das die Masse durchdrang und die einzelnen in dieser Masse schlummernden Keime zur gesonderten Entfaltung hervorlockte, 'ורוח אלקי, und der Gottesodem, der jetzt in den irdischen Stoffen webt und Leben erzeugt, מרחפת על פני המים, war nur über den Wassern schwebend —: da sprach Gott: יהי אור es werde Licht! ויהי אור und es ward Licht — (Die Etymologie von רוח, und מים sowie von היה, siehe Jeschurun, Jahrgang VIII. S. 474, 436, 118).

והארץ היתה תהו ובהו, “this very center which was created at that time was composed of a mixture of raw materials, known as tohu, and its original external appearance is what is described as bohu. The reason is that the whole expanse of tohu was comprised of a uniform appearance. This explained that the first raw material was something entirely new. It is described as tohu to indicate that at that point it was merely something which had potential, the potential not yet having materialised, been converted to something actual. When we read in Samuel I 12,21 כי תהו המה, the meaning is that these phenomena did not exist in reality, they existed only in someone’s imagination. [a reference to pagan deities. Ed.] The appearance of this primordial raw material is described as bohu, meaning that as such it came to exist in actual fact, in real terms. Isaiah 34,11 “weights of emptiness.” This describes any phenomenon that does not retain its appearance for any length of time. It constantly changes like a chameleon.

וחשך, a reference to the air (atmosphere, totally dark which emanated at that time from the original raw material. על פני תהום, over the expanse of the two basic foundations which also emanated from the same origin and surrounded one another.

ורוח אלוקים, the energy propelling the planet is called ruach,” as we know from Psalms 104,4 עושה מלאכיו רוחות, “He energises His messengers.”

מרחפת על פני המים, they activated the atmosphere above the waters which at that time surrounded the earth. This is the reason why the part which was closer to the spherical planet became incandescent through its motion [friction. Ed.] This phenomenon is what we know as the original fire. On the other hand, the part of the energy which remained closer to the waters acquired a degree of frigidity from the proximity to the waters, so that only a small part of the atmosphere really became hot through revolving and giving off sparks of fiery light.

And the earth was: This verse is connected to the one after it [as follows]: the earth at the beginning was such and such, and therefore, "God said, etc., etc."

Chaos (tohu) and void (bohu): Their understanding is desolation, since taha and baha in Aramaic is about bewilderment; as they said in Bereishit Rabbah 2:1, "that servant sat for him, toha and boha," and the intention is that he was astounded. And so [too] in Syriac: atbahaba is a matter of stupefaction and bohbaha is wonderment and disorientation. And just like the wilderness is called desolate and barrenness, so [too] is it called tohu and bohu. And the intention [here] is that there was neither vegetation nor animals on the earth.

And darkness on the face of the deep (tehom): It appears to me that tehom is also from the root, taha, [just] like tohu (and so too is the opinion of our Rabbi Saadia). It is an expression of disorientation and wonderment, except that it is used specifically about the abundance of waters and their depth - as they have no end. And the intention [here] is that the whole earth was tehom, since the waters were covering it and it was not visible. And there was no light on the face of this tehom, but [only] darkness. And behold, this is a frightful image - desolation below and desolation above.

And the wind of God was hovering: It is like its translation (Targum Onkelos), "A wind was blowing in front of God." And the understanding of "a wind of God" is a great and strong wind, as per "the wind of the Lord has blown upon it" (Isaiah 40:7); "He blows His wind, the waters flow" (Psalms 147:18); "You blew with Your wind" (Exodus 15:10); and like "the mountains of the Power" (Psalms 36:7) and "the Lord's flame" (Song of Songs 8:6).

Merachafet (hovering): This is a matter of movement, as per "it hovers (yerachef) over its fledglings" (Deuteronomy 32:11); "all my bones shake (rachafu)" (Jeremiah 23:9). And [the reason] it did not state, 'blowing' (minashevet) is because it did not blow like that which is the way of the world, [which is] that the wind blows in one direction, but [rather] all of the air was moving in every direction. And some explain ruach Elohim (the wind/spirit of God) as the will of God and His power and His providence. And besides [the fact] that the term, richuf does not sit well with regards to the Upper One, it would be very correct that the entire verse would speak in description of what was at the beginning, and [only] afterwards tell of God's action, which was sudden and in an instant - since it is no more than a statement ("And God said, 'let there be light'") - and not say that God or His will or His power was moving on the waters, as if He had been putting forth effort and involved [with this] for a long time. And also this description of the wind that was - at the beginning - blowing in every direction, teaches us of the kindnesses of God on His creations; since now it is ordered according to the laws [of nature] that God imprinted on His world. And had the world remained in chaos - as it was then - the wind would have always blown powerfully in every direction or not moved at all, and the creatures would not have been able to exist.

Desolation and empty space. It seems that Rashi treats ריקות וצדו as synonyms; both mean desolation. Alternatively, Rashi is saying that ריקות is biblical Hebrew and צדיא is Aramaic, both meaning desolation. And Rashi disagrees with Targum Onkelos, who translates תוהו ובהו [respectively,] as desolation and empty space. Rashi explains בהו as desolation and empty space, and תהו as astonishment, i.e., that one would be astonished by its emptiness. Thus the ו of ובהו is like a ב, for ו is interchangeable with ב, as in (Yeshayah 48:16): “אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה שְׁלָחַנִי וְרוּחוֹ,” which means, “Hashem Elohim has sent me with His Spirit (ברוחו).”

Upon the waters. Rashi is answering the question: It should say simply על תהום. Why does it say על פני תהום? It must refer to the water that is upon the earth, and is the surface (פני) of the earth. The verse continues similarly, “The breath of Elohim hovered above the surface of the water.” This [surface] is like [the surface] mentioned earlier regarding the darkness: “And darkness covered the surface of the abyss.” Another explanation is: The proof for Rashi’s comment [that the waters were upon the earth] is that prior to each of these ten Divine utterances of Creation, the subject of the utterance did not exist. Thus Hashem needed to say, “Let there be...” For example, first it is written: “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. The earth was unformed and desolate,” implying there was only the earth, with nothing upon it. Thus it says later: “Elohim said, ‘Let the earth sprout grass.’” Accordingly, when it says: “Elohim said, ‘Let there be light,’” beforehand there was only darkness [upon the earth]. But where it is written that there was darkness? It must be that when it is written, “And darkness covered the surface of the תהום,” and תהום always means water. Perforce, the waters were upon the earth — [and for the sake of the earth, light was created]. Rashi earlier implied that “Let there be light” connects back to the “darkness covered the surface of the abyss,” as he explained (בד"ה בראשית ברא): “At the beginning of the creation... and darkness covered the surface of the abyss... Hashem said, ‘Let there be light.’” Rashi could have quoted the entire verse, or not have quoted it at all. By quoting only, “Let there be light...” Rashi implies that the creation of light connects back to the darkness on the abyss. I.e., if not for the darkness upon it, Hashem would not have commanded that there be light.

The Throne of Glory. Rashi is answering the question: Why did it not say simply, “The breath hovered above...”?

Hovering over the surface of the waters... Rashi is answering the question: If the verse is referring to the Throne of Glory, why does it say it was hovering? It should simply say, “The breath of Elohim was above the waters.” [Thus Rashi explains that it was hovering in space.] Alternatively, Rashi is answering the question: Why is the Throne of Glory called “the breath of Elohim”? [The answer is: It was hovering.]

And his word. מרחפת refers to Hashem’s word and His breath [which supported the רוח אלהים, i.e., the Throne of Glory].

The earth was unformed and empty [ tohu vavohu ]. The earth was completely lacking any structure or order. The heavens too were unformed and empty, but the verse initially focuses on the earth, its structure and content. Although these two terms appear together in other places in the Bible, the precise meaning of the word vohu is difficult to ascertain; it is even uncertain whether vohu refers to a distinct concept. And darkness was upon the face of the deep. The deep may refer to deep waters, or to the unstructured universe, that existed at the time. At this early stage of Creation, nothing had yet to receive definite shape; nothing had been revealed. Therefore, the darkness upon the face of the deep was merely the absence of the light that was about to be created. Some commentaries maintain that the darkness was not the absence of light, but an entity in itself, based on the verse “I form the light, and create darkness.” And the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. Water is the first actual substance mentioned in the Torah, as the heaven and the earth are not substances but general entities or zones. The verse does not discuss the creation of the primeval substance that served as the foundation for all of existence. In any case, the Torah indicates that God’s power, or will, exists in some form in this reality. God is not located within these entities, and He certainly is not to be identified with them; rather, He hovers close by while remaining separate from them.

And about the reason that water purifies everything impure, I would think on the side of the simple understanding that it is in order that a man see himself with the immersion as if he is created at that time, [just] like the whole world was water before man was upon it — as it is written (Genesis 1:2), “and the spirit of God floated upon the face of the waters.” And through this comparison, he shall place upon his heart that [just] like he is renewed in his body, he [must] also renew his actions for the good, fix his actions and be exacting in the way of God, blessed be He. And therefore the Sages said that the purification is not fit with water that is in a vessel, but rather only with living water — or collected [water], which is on the ground and, in any case, not in a vessel — in order to place in his heart the thought as if the world was entirely water, and [that] he is renewed with his emerging from them, as we said. But if the water was in a vessel — or even if it passed through a vessel — this matter that we said would not be set in the thought of the one immersing. As there is a limit to all that is in a vessel, which is the creation of the hands of man. And therefore when he immerses in a vessel, he will not think as if the whole world is water like at the beginning [of Creation], and that he is renewed at that time. ‘And the one who accepts, will accept; and the one who refrains will refrain.’

That is that He commanded us that the purification from tsaraat be according to the process written in Scripture (Leviticus 14). And that is [with] cedar wood, hyssop, crimson dyed cloth, two living birds and living waters and that he do everything stated, with those things. And through this exact process, the person becomes pure - as Scripture explains. Behold it has already been made clear to you that there are three types of things that purify from impurity - one of them is general and two of them are specific to two types of impurity. Indeed, the general one is purification in water; the second type is the [sprinkling of] purification water, and that is something specific for the impurity of a corpse; and the third type is cedar wood, hyssop, scarlet dyed cloth, two living birds and living waters - and that is something specific for tsaraat. And the regulations of this commandment - meaning the purification of someone with tsaraat - have all already been explained in the first [chapter] of Tractate Negaim. (See Parashat Metzora; Mishneh Torah, Defilement by Leprosy 11.)

What brought this commentator to this difficulty was because many treated the verse “In the beginning God created (bara)” (ibid. 1:1) as if it was written “At the beginning of God’s creating (bero) the heavens and the earth, the earth was empty (tohu) and void (vohu)” – it did not exist, meaning there was no earth. Similarly, “darkness” is the absence of light, meaning there was none. ( According to this interpretation nothing existed prior to the creation of light. So the first created condition was light, followed by darkness at night. Thus a 24-hour day consists of light followed by darkness – day followed by night.) But this interpretation is completely incorrect. Because why did he need to mention the heavens since it did not state that they were nonexistent like the earth? Also, from a grammatical point of view, why is there an added vav (“and”) to the word “veha’arez”? This is not the same as the extra vav found in verbs, as in “On the third day Abraham lifted (vayisa) his eyes” (ibid. 22:4), “he abandoned (vaya’azov) his servants” (Exodus 9:21). They are like the weak fe in Arabic, for Arabic forms are similar to those of the Holy Tongue (Hebrew). However, no vav is added to nouns. Also, according to this interpretation the wind and the water were not created, ( No mention is made of the creation of air and water, even though they are referred to in verse 2.) yet it is written in the book of Psalms with regard to both of these “for He commanded and they came to be” (148:5). ( The verses in Psalms are: “Praise Him, heavens of heavens (the sphere of fire), and waters that are above the heavens. They should praise the name of God, for he commanded and they were created” (148:4–5).) Even darkness was created, as it is written “who forms light and creates darkness” (Isaiah 45:7).

The meaning of “was empty and void” (“tohu vavohu”) (Genesis 1:2) is that it contained neither man nor animal. As Jeremiah explains, “I saw the land and it was empty and void (tohu vavohu)” (4:23), for which he explains the meaning afterward by saying, “I saw and there was no man” (ibid. 4:25) nor “animal” (ibid. 9:9). Similarly, “like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26) is an explanation of “sevenfold” (ibid.). Also, “that which I will be” (Exodus 3:14) explains “I will be” (ibid.). I have already explained the mystery of “sevenfold.” ( In his Alternative Commentary to Genesis (1:14), Ibn Ezra explains that the light increasingly intensified over the seven days of Creation, hence “sevenfold” means that there were seven stages to the light.) Our Rabbis hinted at this when they said that on the fourth day the luminaries were hung (Hagiga 12a). How admirable to the intelligent is the choice of the word “hung.” ( The description of Creation in the book of Genesis deals only with creation of the lower world, the world of generation and decay, and it does not expound on the creation of the heavenly bodies. So all Scripture tells us about the heavenly bodies is that they were “hung” and visible to the lower world.) Thus the words of Jeremiah disprove those who say that “tohu vavohu” means that there was no earth.

Now the darkness proceeded the light, as it is written (Genesis 1:2). The great movement (diurnal movement) includes the time of darkness and light, and that is called “yom” (day), that is, a complete day of twenty-four hours. ( Thus “day” includes a period of darkness and a period of light, in that order.) This does not conflict with the fact that Scripture first mentioned “God called the light ‘day’” (Genesis 1:5) before the night, for this is common with the Hebrew language, namely, when someone mentions two things he should begin with the latter. ( Verses 3 and 4 refer to the light, therefore verse 5 begins by calling the light “day.”) For example, “I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac, and I gave to Esau…” (Joshua 24:4). In the same way, “Your’s is the day also the night” (Psalms 74:16), and he mentions the minor luminary (the moon) that governs the night before the greater luminary (the sun), although the latter is more important than the former. Also, do not be perplexed when Scripture says “He formed the light and created darkness” (Isaiah 40:12). Scripture puts the light first because it has advantages over darkness, even though darkness came before the light. Similarly, in the verse “His sons Isaac and Ishmael” (Genesis 25:9). ( Isaac is mentioned first, even though he was the younger son.) Also, “There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife” (ibid. 49:31), although he buried her. ( Abraham is mentioned first although Sarah was buried first.)

Just as man, despite his freedom to move within the confines of the earth, cannot move outside of it, so he cannot interfere with the laws of nature G-d has established, despite the free will that has been granted to him. Man's limitations are evident in three areas. Let us illustrate this. There are many necessary activities without which man would perish, i.e. provision of food, shelter, and clothing, all of which man pursues by choice, though his failure to pursue them would result in irreparable harm to himself. Secondly, there are activities which are undertaken under the influence of varying degrees of pressure, such as business trips to foreign countries, which though freely decided upon, have not really been initiated by the traveller's own free will. Thirdly, there are activities which man wishes to initiate but is prevented from executing due to the limitations placed upon him by the will of the Creator. Were man to aspire to travel to heaven, for instance, this is clearly impossible due to the nature of man and the universe, respectively. The limitation placed on man is consistent with the words of David in Psalms 33,10-11, "G-d destroys the counsel of nations, whereas the counsel of the Almighty prevails forever." This teaches that the limitations placed on human freedom aim at ensuring that G-d’s universe should not be tampered with unduly by any of His creatures. Superficial consideration of these limitations might lead one to conclude that freedom of choice does not exist in reality. If one assumes that the whole is nothing more than the sum total of its parts, it follows that if the whole is to remain inviolate, so must the parts remain inviolate. We have discussed this in Chapter twenty-two and twenty-six, and have demonstrated that G-d’s will does not impose itself on human will. A prisoner who has the run of his prison, is free and responsible for his actions, though he cannot escape from the walls of the prison. The Torah illustrates the limits of such freedom by many stories, the Joseph story being a classic example in which all participants play their parts, executing their own designs, without G-d’s overall design becoming thwarted. On the other hand, the freedom of choice of none of the participants is interfered with in any way. This is the basis for the whole system of reward and punishment. Rabbi Yoshua ben Korcha in Tanchuma Vayeshev explains the verse, "Go and see G-d’s accomplishment. He is terrifying in His acts above the sons of man" (Psalms 66,4) to mean that man has a habit of blaming his mistakes on G-d. A husband who wants to divorce his wife, for instance, asks her to pour him a cup of wine. She complies, whereupon he gives her a bill of divorce claiming that the wine had been lukewarm. The wife queries, "How did you know beforehand that I was going to give you lukewarm wine?" Similarly, we say to G-d, "You have predetermined our death, since it says in Your Torah, which had been written prior to the creation of man "this is the law of the Torah; when man dies in a tent etc" (Numbers 19,2). This clearly means that death is part of the scheme of things. The truth is, of course, the reverse. Although, in the final analysis G-d’s plan will prevail, no one has been forced to play a particular part on the stage of history. Is it conceivable that because of an extra strand of dyed wool in Joseph's garment a whole people should have become condemned to exile in Egypt? G-d wanted to carry out the prophecy made to Abraham at the covenant between the pieces. The chain of events in which the jealousy of Joseph's brothers played a prominent part ultimately proves to have become the instrument for carrying out G-d’s design. However, G-d could have found many other means to achieve the same end. Therefore, the brothers cannot claim exoneration by saying that what they had done, helped G-d to achieve His aim. The Bible is full of similar such lessons. The Joseph story with all its details would be completely superfluous were it not for the fact that it foreshadowed Jewish experiences in general.

Ruaḥ is a homonym, signifying “air,” that is, one of the four elements. Comp. “And the air of God moved” (Gen. 1:2).

As to the opinion of our Sages, I do not see any necessity for expounding or demonstrating it. Consider only the form they gave to the blessing recited on seeing the new moon, the ideas repeatedly occurring in the prayers and the remarks in the Midrash on the following and similar passages:—“And the host of heaven worshippeth thee” (Neh. 9:6); “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). In Bereshit Rabba, on the passage—“And the earth was empty and formless” (Gen. 1:2), our Sages remark as follows: “The words tohu and bohu mean mourning and crying; the earth mourned and cried on account of her evil lot, saying, ‘I and the heavens were created together, and yet the beings above live for ever, and we are mortal.’” Our Sages, by this remark, indicate their belief that the spheres are animated beings, and not inanimate matter like the elements.

(Gen. 1:2) “the spirit of God hovered upon the surface of the waters” -- The spirit of the mashiach, as is written about Yosef: “a man in whom is the spirit of God”; and like the verse: “there is a spirit in man, and it is the soul from the Almighty that gives them understanding” (Job 32:8).

'One upon three, three upon seven, and seven upon twelve' (Sefer Yeztirah 6:3). All these organs have one spot in common, e.g. counselling kidneys, laughing spleen [angry liver], sleeping stomach. It cannot be denied that the kidneys have the faculty of giving good advice, as we know a similar circumstance to be connected with other organs. A eunuch is of weaker intelligence than a woman; both lack the beard and sound judgment. The spleen is called 'laughing' because it is its nature to cleanse both blood and spirit from unclean and obscuring matter. If they are pure, cheerfulness and laughing arise. The 'angry liver' is so termed on account of the gall which takes its origin from it. 'Stomach' is the name for the digestive organs. The heart is not mentioned because it is the principal organ, neither are the diaphragm and the lung, because they serve the heart especially, but the rest of the body only incidentally, and were not originally so intended. The brain's task is to collect the different senses connected with it. The organs which are situated below the diaphragm have another secret, because they represent primary nature. The diaphragm separates the physical world from the animal one, just as the neck separates the animal world from the rational one, as Plato points out in the Timaeus. Primary matter originates in the physical world, and here is to be found the origin of existence. From here the seed is sent forth and the embryo produced out of the four elements. Here also God selected the parts which are used as offerings, viz. fat, blood, the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys. He selected neither the heart, nor the brain, nor the lung, nor the diaphragm. This is a most profound secret, the lifting of which is prohibited. It is therefore taught: 'One should not examine the work of creation' except under rare circumstances. The book says further: 'Seven double [consonants], six plains for the six sides, and the holy Temple placed in the middle. Blessed be He from His place; He is the Place of the universe, but the universe is not His place' (Sefer Yetzirah 4:2). This is an allusion to the Divine Influence which unites the contrasts. The book compares Him to the central point of a body, with six sides and three dimensions. As long as the centre is not fixed, the sides cannot be fixed. Attention is further called to the relation between these and the power which bears the universe, and through which contrasts are united by eliciting comparisons between Universe, Soul, and Year. To each of these a something is given which comprehends and arranges its component parts. 'The dragon in the universe is as a king on his throne; the sphere in the year is as a king in the country; the heart in the soul is as a king in war' (Sefer Yetzirah 6:2). 'Dragon' is the name of the moon sphere, and is employed as an appellation for the world of reason, because things hidden and imperceptible by the senses are called dragon. The 'sphere' relates to the ecliptic of the sun sphere, because it regulates the seasons of the year. The 'heart' regulates the animal life, and directs its divisions. The meaning of the whole is that the wisdom visible in all three is one, and the Divine Influence is one, whilst the difference existing between them is based on the difference of matter. The authority ruling the spiritual world is compared to a king on his throne, whose commands, or even smallest hints, are obeyed by his servants, high and low, who know him, without any movement on his part or on theirs. When directing the spheres he is compared to the king in the country. For he must show himself at the borders in order that all parts should see him as a redoubtable and benevolent ruler. When controlling the animal world, he is compared to 'a king in war,' who is swayed by contradictory feelings; he wishes success to his friends and defeat to his enemies. Wisdom, however, is one only. But the wisdom displayed in the spheres is not greater than in the smallest animals. The former, it is true, is of a higher class, because it consists of pure and lasting matter which cannot be destroyed except by its Creator, whilst animals are made from a matter which is susceptible to contradictory influences, such as heat, cold, and others which affect its nature. Time would have destroyed them, had not Providence instituted the masculine and feminine principles in order to preserve the species, in spite of the decay of the individual. This is a consequence of the revolution of the sphere as well as of the rising and setting [of the heavenly bodies]. The book calls attention to this circumstance, and says that there is no physical difference between woman and man except certain external and internal organs. Anatomy teaches that the female genitals are but the inverted male ones. The book expresses this thus: 'Man is alef, mēm, shin; woman is alef, shin, mēm; (Sefer Yetzirah 3:5) the wheel turns forwards and backwards; nothing better above than pleasure, nothing worse below than injury.' This means that the letter groups alef, mēm, shin, and alef, shin, mēm; ‘aynh, nūn, gimel, and nūn, gimel, ‘ayn (Sefer Yetzirah 2:2) are always the same, only differently grouped, just as the rising and setting of the sphere remain stationary, only appearing to us to move forwards and backwards. Then the book allegorises the human organs in the following manner: 'Two mumbling, two rejoicing, two counselling, two jubilant. He put them in contrast, placed them in opposition, one part of one side being allied to one of the other, standing up for each other, or against one another; some are nothing without others, but all are linked to each other' (ibid. v. 2). The allusion is clear when considered in its entirety, however difficult it may be to explain it in detail,--to explain that the animal needs contrasts, that its preservation is the result of this strife, and that it could not exist without the latter. Counting up the creatures which are headed by the noblest, viz. 'spirit of the living God,' the book goes on to say: 'Firstly, the spirit of the living God; secondly, air emanating from the spirit; thirdly, water from the wind; fourthly, fire from water' (Sefer Yetzirah 1:9-10). The earth element is not mentioned, because it forms the gross material of the creatures which are all made of earth. One says rather: 'This is a fiery body, or an atmospheric one, or an aquaeous one.' For this reason the three mothers, fire, water, and air, are placed in front, but they are preceded by the spirit of God, which is the Holy Ghost, of which were created the angels and with which the soul is connected. After this comes the perceptible atmosphere, then the water which is above the firmament, and neither grasped nor acknowledged by philosophic speculation. A solution might be found in the circumstance that this is the zone of intense cold which forms the limit of the clouds. Above this is the ether, which is the place of the elementary fire, as the book hath it: 'Fire from water,' or as the Bible says: 'And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the water' (Genesis 1:2). This water is the primary matter, not qualified, but tōhū wabōhū, which, by the encompassing will of God, assumed a certain character and the name 'Spirit of God.' The comparison of the primary matter with water is most suitable, because no compact substance can arise from a material which is finer than water. But a substance which is of greater density than water does not, on account of this density, admit the influences of nature. Earthly matter alone can be wrought, because in handling it only the surfaces of the material are concerned, but not all its particles. Nature however, penetrates the atoms. There is consequently no product of nature which did not, at one time, exist in a liquid condition. If this had not been so, it could not have been called a natural, but only an artificial coin-pound, or accidental formation. Nature can only exercise her influence on liquid matters, which she can form at her will, but leave alone as soon as it is necessary for them to become hard. Concerning this the book says: 'He made substance from chaos, and the non-existent existing. He carved great pillars from intangible air.' Further: 'Water from air; he has carved and hewn tōhū and bōhū, mud and clay; he made them into a kind of flower bed, raised them like a wall, covered them like a floor, poured water over them, and they became dust' (Sefer Yetzirah 1:9-11 sq.; Sefer Yetzirah 2:4). Tōhū is the green line which surrounds the whole universe. Bōhū are the mud-covered stones which are submerged in the ocean, and from between which water comes forth.' In the following portions light is shed on the secret of the holy name, viz. the Tetragrammaton, which corresponds to the nature of the One God, which is without quiddity. For the quiddity of a thing is outside its essence, whilst the existence of God is identical with His quiddity. The quiddity of a thing is its definition, and the latter is composed of the species and divisibility of the thing defined. The primary cause, however, has neither species nor divisibility. He therefore can be nothing but He. The book, then, shows that the revolution of the sphere is the cause of the variety of things, in the following words: 'The wheel turns forward and backward' (Sefer Yetzirah 2:4). This is compared to the combination of single letters, viz. alef placed in combination with all the others, all the others with alef; bēth with all the others, all the others with bēth (Sefer Yetzirah 2:5). This continued through the whole alphabet results in two hundred and thirty-one combinations?' The variety would be greater in groups of three and four letters [which is expressed in the following formula]: 'Three stones build six houses, four stones build four-and-twenty houses; go and calculate that which the human mouth cannot express nor the ear hear.' An inquiry is also necessary into how things multiplied prior to the revolution of the sphere, the Creator being One, whilst the sphere, so to speak, has six sides. The book, then, in spiritual language, finds a name for the Creator, choosing, in order to express it in physical speech, the slenderest consonants which are as a breath in comparison to the other letters, viz. hē, wāw, yōd. The book says that the divine will, when going forth under this great name, carries out everything God wishes. There is no doubt that He and the angels speak that spiritual language, and knew, even before the world was created, everything that was to happen in the physical world, as well as how speech and intelligence would emanate from Him on mankind, which was to be created in the world. From this it follows that the physical world was created in a manner congruous to the tangible element of the holy and spiritual name, which, in its turn, is congruous to the tangible name, JHW, JWH, HWJ, HJW, WJH, WHJ. Each of these groups was responsible for one direction of the universe, and thus arose the sphere. This, however, is not satisfactory, because the object of research is either too profound to be fathomed, or our minds are inadequate, or for both reasons simultaneously. Philosophers speculating on these things arrive at the conclusion that from one only one can issue. They conjectured an angel, standing near to God, and having emanated from the Prime Cause. To this angel they attributed two characteristics; firstly, his consciousness of his own existence by his very essence; secondly, his consciousness of having a cause. Two things resulted from this, viz. an angel and the sphere of fixed stars. From his recognition of the Prime Cause a second angel emanated, and from his consciousness of his existence emanated the sphere of Saturnus, and so forth to the moon, and the Creative Intellect. People accepted this theory, and were deceived by it to such an extent, that they looked upon it as conclusive, because it was attributed to Greek philosophers. It is, however, a mere assertion without convincing power, and open to various objections. Firstly, for what reason did this emanation cease; did the Prime Cause become impotent? Secondly, it might be asked: Why, from Saturnus' recognition of what was above, did not one thing arise, and from his recognition of the first angel another thing, so that the Saturnine emanations counted four? Whence do we know altogether that if a being became conscious of its essence a sphere must arise, and from the recognition of the Prime [Cause], an angel must arise? When Aristotle asserts that he was conscious of his existence, one may consistently expect that a sphere should emanate from him, and when he asserts that he recognised the Prime Cause, an angel should emanate. I communicated these rudiments to thee lest philosophers confuse thee and thou think that by following it thou might satisfy thy soul with a clear demonstration. These rudiments are as unacceptable to reason as they are extravagant in the face of logic. Neither do two philosophers agree on this point, unless they be disciples of the same teacher. But Empedocles, Pythagoras, Aristotle, Plato, and many others entirely disagree with each other.

27. The Rabbi: Just so, O King of the Khazars, by God! This is the truth, the real faith, and everything else may be abandoned. Perhaps this was Abraham's point of view when divine power and unity dawned upon him prior to the revelation accorded to him. As soon as this took place, he gave up all his speculations and only strove to gain favour of God, having ascertained what this was and how and where it could be obtained. The Sages explain the words: 'And he brought him forth abroad' (Genesis 15), thus: Give up thy horoscopy! This means: Forsake astrology as well as any other doubtful study of nature. Plato relates that a prophet, who lived at the time of the king Morinus, said prophetically to a philosopher who was zealously devoted to his art: Thou canst not reach me on this road, but only those whom I have placed as intermediaries between me and mankind, viz. the prophets and the true law. The Book of Yetzirah is constructed on the mystery of ten units equally acknowledged in east and west, but neither from natural causes, nor rational conviction. The following sentences are a Divine mystery: 'Ten Sefirōth without anything else; close thy mouth from speaking, close thy heart from thinking. If thy heart runs away, return to God' (Sefer Yetzirah 1:8); for with reference to this [the prophet] says: 'Running and returning' (Ezekiel 1:15). On this basis the covenant was made.--Their measure is ten in endless progression, (Ezekiel 1:7) the end being linked to the beginning, and the beginning to the end just as a flame which is attached to the coal. Know thou, think and reflect that the Creator is one, without another, and there is no number which thou canst count before 'one.' (Ezekiel 6:4). The book concludes as follows: As soon as Abraham had understood, meditated, discerned and clearly grasped, the Lord of the universe revealed Himself to him, called him His friend and made a covenant with him between the ten fingers of his hand, which is the covenant of the tongue; and between the ten toes of his feet, which is the covenant of circumcision, and He pronounced upon him the word: 'Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee' (Jeremiah 1:5).

If you think deeply you will find, that when Hashem created his world, the Torah verse hides a secret hint to these four empires: [(Genesis: 1,2) "the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—".] 'Reish Lakish explained the depth of the verse as reference to the exiles: "the earth being unformed"- this is a reference to the empire of Babylon, as it says in (Jeremiah, 14) "I saw the earth and it was unformed". "and void" - this is a reference to the empire of Persia, as it says in (Ester: 6,14): "and hurriedly [same root as 'void'] brought Haman". "with darkness" - this is reference to the empire of Greece, who darkened the eyes of Yisrael with their decrees. They would say to them, write upon the horn of an ox that they have no part in the God of Israel. "over the surface of the deep" - this is a reference to the evil empire, which is innumerable like the deep; just as the deep as no end, just so these evil people. "and a wind from God sweeping" - this is the wind of the King the Messiah, as it's written (Isiaih: 11,2) "The spirit [same root as 'wind'] of the Hashem". Through what merit will [Moshiach] be summoned and come? "sweeping over the waters" - in the merit of Teshuva, which is likened to water, as it says (Lamentations: 2,19) "Pour out your heart like water".(B'R: 2,4). If you think deeply you will find that when Hashem created his world he arrange these four empires! If so, we must ask, for what purpose and why would Hashem build into his world these four empires.

Therefore the empires are appropriately four, for the empires are the deviation from the glory of Hashem, and Hashem is One, and the center is connected to One because the center is the point of oneness. Accordingly, the Holy Temple and Jerusalem are both One, and thus they are the center of the world. For the center is suited for this. So too Yisrael are one nation, suited for them is the land [Israel] which is one alone, for it is the center of the world. The general principle is that an entity which is one is suited to be in the center. A deviation from oneness connects to fourness, corresponding to the four directions which diverge from the middle. Therefore the empires are four, corresponding to the four directions which diverge from the center. It's for this reason that we expounded from the language "unformed and void" four empires, because this wording speak to the essential lack within creation itself, and from the aspect of lack within the creation itself these four empires were born. They [the four empires] are unique for this matter, for their dominion deviates from Hashem until they erase his Oneness in the world. And the disposal of these four empires was said: (Zecharia: 14,9) "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day there shall be one LORD with one name." As long as these four empires rule the world, the glory of Hashem will not be revealed in his world. Therefore these four empires, vis-a-vis the lack within creation itself (for it would be definitionally impossible to find a creation in total completeness, it must contain lack). And this lack is not vis-a-vis Hashem who created everything, rather vis-a-vis the created world itself. And this is concealed and hinted at through the verse: "When God began to create heaven and earth—. the earth being unformed and void" etc.. for the earth which is the lower [element of creation] therewith darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—"

Man — what is he in this God-filled world? What is his place in this throng of creatures of God, this choir of servants of the Lord? Though the Torah were silent, would not the contemplation of creation, would not your own breast tell you? Man, is he not also a creature of God? Should he not also be a servant of God? Every fiber of your body is a creation from the hand of God, formed by Him, arranged by Him, endowed by Him with power. Your spirit, that world of powers, is the creation of God from beginning to end. The divine spark, your personality, which, invisible as Deity, weaves and works in this microcosm, and under whose control stand intellect and body and the power to use the entire realm of nature for its purpose, this mysterious spritual force in you is itself emanation of Deity. Learn to deem yourself holy as creature of God and, while contemplating heaven and earth and the great chorus of servants of the Lord, consecrate yourself to your mission, and proclaim yourself with mingled solemnity and joy, "servant of God!" Since all things, the smallest and the greatest, are God's chosen messengers, to work, each in its place, and with its measure of power, according to the law of the Most High, taking only that it may give again, should man alone be excluded from this circle of blessed activity? Can he be born only to take? — to revel in lavish plenty or to starve in misery, but not to work? — not to fill any place, nor fulfill any purpose, but to let all end in himself? The world and all which is therein serves God; is it conceivable that man alone should only serve himself? No! Your consciousness pronounces you as does the Torah, צלם אלהים "an image of God." That is what man should be. Only when working out some end canst thou know God in love and righteousness; to work out ends of righteousness and love art thou called; not merely to enjoy or suffer. All which thou possessest, spirit, body, human beings, wealth, every ability and every power, they are means of activity; לעבדה ולשמרה to promote and preserve the world were they given — love and righteousness. Not thine is the earth, but thou belongest to the earth, to respect it as Divine soil and to deem every one of its creatures a creature of God, thy fellow-being; to respect and love it as such, and as such to endeavor to bring it nearer to its goal, according to the will of God. For this reason every being impresses upon thy spirit an image of itself; for this reason thy heart-strings pulsate sympathetically with every cry of distress heard anywhere in creation, or with every tone of joy which issues anywhere from a gladsome being; therefore thou rejoicest when the flower blooms and sorrowest when it fades. The law to which all powers submit unconsciously and involuntarily, to it shall thou also subordinate thyself, but consciously and of thy own free will. "Knowledge and freedom,'" these words indicate at once the sublime mission and the lofty privilege of man. All forces stand as servitors around the throne of God, their capacity is hidden from themselves and covered are their countenances, so that they can not see the reason of their mission, but they feel within them winged power to act, and act in accordance with their purpose. Thou, O man, thy countenance is half uncovered, thy capacity is half revealed, thou canst comprehend thyself as creature of God — canst at least faintly appreciate the notion of the mission which He breathed into thy ear; canst thou see thyself encompassed round about by God's active servants, canst thou feel in thyself power to act and wilt thou not joyously join in the cry of the great chorus of servants, נעשה ונשמע "we will do and therefore hearken? We will obey, and fulfilling strive to comprehend the import of the command!" Consciously and freely! Therefore thou shalt be first and highest servitor in the company of servants!

From all of this it is clearly learned that this is his opinion, and not what others want to attribute to him for lack of understanding, without penetrating his words well, as Lord Isaac Abarbanel says in the expositions he made for some chapters of the Guide: הד' על נפש האדם הנשאר אחר המות, "והרוח תשוב אל האלהים אשר נתנה" On the soul of man remaining after death - (Ecclesiastes 12: 7) “And the Spirit will return to the God who gave it.” (Abarbanel on Genesis 1:2)

In the words of our sages, there are many statements that require evidence and interpretation, such as in Pirkei Avot (3:4) "One who is awake at night" [referring to studying Torah at night], and in Pesachim (111a) "And [he] drank water" [referring to the wisdom of measurements]. And the matter of the letter of the daughter of the voice [the Shekhinah] is derived from the laws of the constellations. And the matter of the moon and its relationship with the sun is derived from the wisdom of the constellations. Similarly, many things in the Scriptures require interpretation, as mentioned by Kohelet regarding the four elements, which are the heavens, the earth, the wind, and the dust. It is written (Kohelet 1:5) "And the sun rises and the sun sets" corresponding to the heavens, (Kohelet 1:4) "And the earth stands forever," (Kohelet 1:6) "And the wind goes round and round," and it does not come to an end, (Kohelet 1:7) "All the rivers flow into the sea," and these four are mentioned in the portion of Bereishit (Genesis 1:1) "The heavens and the earth," (Genesis 1:2) "And the spirit of God hovered over the waters." And similarly, in Isaiah (40:12), "Who measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure," and in Psalms (104:2), "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, He lays the beams of His chambers on the waters," and His angels are the winds that roam over the water. And likewise, in Psalms (33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He sets the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." And similarly, it is mentioned in Psalms (33:6) regarding the word of God, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth." And similarly (Job 28:25), "To establish a weight for the wind and apportion the waters by measure." For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole heavens. And thus it is written (Proverbs 30:4), "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? Surely you know!" And thus it is written elsewhere (Job 38:18), "Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this!" And all is prepared for the understanding one. And many such things are mentioned at the end of the Book of Psalms, as fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling His word. And thus the waters are above the heavens, and how the luminaries and the stars are in one expanse, and all is true. And the sages of the Talmud in our generation are diverse in their approaches. There are those who delve into matters of prohibition and permission, and there are those who possess knowledge of the Midrashim, and they too provide new insights and seek meaning for every word, whether surplus or lacking. And now, let me state a general principle: Know that the prophets do not guard the words themselves in their years; rather, they guard the meanings alone, which are the essence, as in the words of Eliezer (Genesis 24), "The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you." And Isaac said to Esau (Genesis 27), "So that my soul may bless you before I die." And Rebekah said (Genesis 27), "So that I may bless you before the Lord before my death." And in the dream (Genesis 41), "Handsome in appearance and robust in form," and in the interpretation, it is not stated thus, but to Balaam (Numbers 22), it is said, "You shall not curse them at all, and indeed, you shall bless them." And in the words of Moses (Numbers 21), "And he sent messengers to Sihon, saying, 'Let me pass through your land; I will not turn aside into field or vineyard.'" But Moses changed it and said, "We will not pass through the field." And it is written (Exodus 32), "Now, leave Me alone, and let My anger flare up against them, that I may consume them." But Moses changed it and said, "Turn from Your burning anger and relent from this disaster against Your people." And there are many such instances. And behold, in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), "Remember" (Deuteronomy 5), "Observe" (Exodus 20), "You shall not covet" (Deuteronomy 5), "You shall not desire" (Exodus 20), "And any false oath" (Deuteronomy 5), "And any vain oath." The letters 'vav' (ו) in "Avnei" (אבני) are missing, and Moses changed it to have a 'vav' (ו). Also, "You shall not commit adultery" - this is an addition and a rebuke, and the intelligent one will understand.

...He selected and cleansed their various levels, one by one, so that instead of being directed towards evil... For initially included in the law of these levels was the production of evil, i.e. the measures of the creations when in a state of disrepair, for this is the state in which the creations later came forth down below too, as it is written: “And the earth was desolate and void” (Genesis 1:2). First it was created and afterwards destroyed. In other words, it was created full of evil, until the evil in it came forth and actually destroyed it by not allowing anything to exist. Afterwards – “And God said, Let there be light” (ibid. 3). This was when the creations started being sifted and cleansed one by one.

Accordingly, the first three Sefirot of Zeir Anpin were missing... For the first three Sefirot were not revealed in Zeir Anpin in order to show what develops out of strict Judgment if it is entirely alone without Imma’s mitigating influence. For in the later phases after the breaking of the vessels, this is something that no longer existed – i.e. Zeir Anpin is not found without the mitigating power of Imma, because even in the immature state (קטנות, katnut), Zeir Anpin still retains certain mental powers (מוחין, mochin). Thus the state of breakage was worse than the state of immaturity, for when the vessels were broken, the influence of Imma was not present at all, and as a result there was literal destruction, “formlessness and void” (Gen. 1:2).

It were better for him had he never been created in the world, and had he never taught the written Torah and oral Torah, for it is considered as if he had returned the world to formlessness and void (Gen. 1:2) and bequeathed poverty and length of exile to the world.

3. Therefore, as we have vocalized it, so do we find it in the prayer of Rabbi Nehunya. According to the words of a Kabbalist based on those revealed by angel, it is written as follows: "אבגיתץ" is vocalized with a patach and sheva, with the aleph, bet, and gimel vocalized with patach, and the yod with sheva, and the tav with patach and dagesh. "קרע שטן" the Qof with sheva, the resh with patach, the shin with sheva, and the tet with kamatz. "נגד יכש" in this way: the nun with sheva, the gimel with patach, the dalet with sheva, the yod with patach, and the kaf also with patach. "בטר צתג" the bet with sheva, the tet with patach, the tzadi with sheva, and the tav with patach. "חקבטנע" the chet with patach, the kuf with sheva, the bet with patach and dagesh, the tet with sheva and dagesh, the nun with patach, and the ayin without vocalization. "יגל פזק" the yod with sheva and dagesh, the gimel with patach without dagesh, the peh with dagesh and sheva, the zayin with patach, and the kuf without any vocalization. "שקוצית" is vocalized in this way: the shin with kamatz, the kuf with sheva, the vav with kamatz, and the tzadi with chiriq. This is its vocalization. It is known that the secret of the patach is a great secret to open from above the gates of complete mercies because it is complete mercies. And the secret of the kamatz (Psalms 87:10) "Kafatz (jump) with anger, his mercies," meaning if you vocalize it with kamatz, it jumps with anger, and be careful not to vocalize it with kamatz except to exact vengeance. In place of the sheva, use chiriq, and with it, you will achieve wondrous wonders. With patach, you will achieve the actions of mercies and open blessings until there is no more, as it is written (Malachi 3) "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out..." This is in relation to our matter. And now let us return to the explanation of the name, which is hinted at in the Sefirah of Gevurah, and its source is from the verse "In the beginning, God created" until the "bet" of "and the earth" (Genesis 1:1-2). Thus, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai explained in the Tikunim, in Tikun 4, as follows: Rabbi Shimon stood on his feet and said, "Master of the Worlds, open my eyes to see them above. I will come in the Name of 42 letters, the name explained to know each letter and its arrangement. And they are 'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void.'" "בראשית ברא אלה ימאת הש מימואת הארצוה ארצהית התהווב." And they are: אבגיתץ קרע שטן נגדיכש בטרצתג חקבטנע יגלפזק שקוצית. Each letter has a saying, and each has a path. Ten sayings are they, and 32 paths, and all depend on "IYH," and this is "Ab" with 42 letters, acknowledging "YH," "IYH," in the calculation acknowledging "YH" ("YH" is Wisdom and Understanding, "A" is the higher Crown). And these are the seven Sefirot included in the seven names, and all are included in the seventh.

Similarly, if one breaks away from any fence or safeguards of the Sages might become defiled, since the safeguards that the Sages put up are for the sake of not letting the Chitzonim have space to enter the holiness. One who breaks away from the safeguard [of the Sages] will be bit by the snake, since he gives it place to enter by breaking the fence. This concept was brought in the Introduction of the Tikkunei Zohar: 262. “Thus, Yisrael should keep the Shabbat” (Shemot 31:16). This only daughter, Malchut, that is the safeguard to Yisrael each and every Shabbat. 263. And he, who desecrates the Shabbat, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not guard him. Furthermore, it says about it, “He who desecrates her should be put to death...” (Shemot 31:14). That means, anyone that places in her domain a profaned immoral maiden. As her domain is the border limits of Shabbat, similar to the limits and borders of the sea, as it says, “I placed sand (Heb. chol), a border limit to the sea” (Yirmeyah 5:22). MEANING FIXING THE DIVIDING CURTAIN, SO NO LIGHT WILL PASS FROM THE DIVIDING CURTAIN OF MALCHUT AND LOWER. 264. HE ASKS, Who is this border of the sea? AND ANSWERS. This is what is written, “And the number of the children of Yisrael will be like the sand (Heb. chol) of the sea (Heb. yam)” (Hoshea 2:1). MEANING TO SAY, THAT THE CHILDREN OF YISRAEL WATCH THEMSELVES NOT TO DRAW DOWN THE MOCHIN OF THE SHABBAT FROM ABOVE BELOW. And sea (Heb. yam) is only the Torah, THE MOCHIN IS CALLED TORAH. Whoever transgress over this, AND WISHES TO DRAW THE LIGHT FROM THE DIVIDING LINE AND LOWER, it is as if he returns the world to a shapeless and empty state. Therefore it is written proximate to this, BERESHEET – YERE – SHABBAT. The verse, “The earth was formless and empty” (Beresheet 1:2). 265. THIS EMENDATION, that like sand to the sea, MEANING NOT TO EXTEND THE MOCHIN FROM THE DIVIDING CURTAIN AND BELOW, IS like the ring that links the dog to the chain, whoever removes him from the chain causes many painful bites BY THE DOG THAT WILL BITE HIM. For this sake, did David say, “Save my soul from the sword, my special darling from the dog” (Tehilim 22:21). And this SPECIFIC DOG is Samael, who is seized in the collar chain, by the side of those who tie him up by the signpost of the Tefilin THAT IS CALLED OT (ENG. ‘SIGN’) and a strap on his arm, and is bound by two straps over his horns, SINCE SAMAEL is an ox, notoriously forewarned (with a liability to injure), ABOUT WHOM IT SAYS, “AND THE OX SHOULD BE STONED” (SHEMOT 21:29). Thus it has been explained that the domain of Shabbat and the sand of the sea are one aspect: to distance the Samech-Mem angel from the holiness, and anyone who penetrates the fence causes the Samech-Mem angel to bite him.

Included in the Teshuva for this sin is being cautious to keep the “sign” of Shabbat, the sign of Tefilin and the sign of Holidays. This is explained in the Tikkunei Zohar (63rd Tikkun): They are the upper Hei, the lower Hei, the Vav that is the Central Column that carries both of them, and the foundation of it all is the Yud, which is the Brit. Whoever uproots and lies with [the Brit], uproots everything and makes the Yud fall. This Yud is the Foundation Stone, and the worlds was founded from this Stone, and about it is written “The stone which the builders rejected became the corner-stone” (Psalms 118:22), and it is the foundation upon which everything is built. Whoever transgresses the sign of Shabbat, the sign of Tefilin, the sign of the Holidays, and the sign of the Brit Milah – it is as if he uproots it from its place and he returns the world to “Tohu Vavohu” (formless and void; Genesis 1:2).

Rabbi Berachiah said: It is written (Genesis 1:2), "The earth was Chaos and Desolation." What is the meaning of the word "was" in this verse? This indicates that the Chaos existed previously. What is "Chaos" (tohu)? Something that confounds (taha) people. What is "Desolation" (bohu)? It is something that has substance. This is the reason that it is called bohu, that is, "bo hu" — "it is in it."

This is because the formation of the luminaries is drawn from the great mercies-Rachamim above, in the secret of the verse, (Psalms 118:27) “HaShem is God-E”l HaShem-א״ל יהו״ה and He shines for us.” In contrast, the lights of fire-Me’orei HaAish-מאורי האש are drawn from the quality of Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, the quality of darkness-Choshech-חשך, about which it states, (Genesis 1:2) “Darkness-Choshech-חשך was upon the surface of the deep,” and, (Isaiah 45:7) “[I am the One] Who forms light-Yotzer Ohr-יוצר אור and creates darkness-Boreih Choshech-בורא חושך.” Thus, the quality of E”l-א״ל illuminates the darkness-Choshech-חשך included in the quality of Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, which is the secret of fire-Aish-אש. This then, is the meaning of the verse, (Numbers 6:25) “May HaShem-יהו״ה shine His face toward you and be gracious with you.” (That is, the great luminaries-Me’orot-מאורות (Genesis 1:14-19) shine from above to below, whereas the light of the lower fire-Aish-אש only shines in the dark-Choshech-חשך. That is, the judgements-Din of the fires-Aish of the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם only shine in the darkness-Choshech-חשך of the night-Laylah-לילה (during exile) when the radiance of the “sun of HaShem-יהו״ה” (Psalms 84:12) is concealed. However, when the Great Name HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, is revealed, meaning when “HaShem-יהו״ה shines His face” from Above, and “HaShem is God-E”l HaShem-א״ל יהו״ה, and He shines for us,” then “ of what use is the flame of a candle in broad daylight?” (Chullin 60b). In that case, His great light and illumination dims the light of the eyes of the fear of Yitzchak-Pachad Yitzchak-פחד יצחק, which is the quality of the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.)

This is the secret of the verse, (Genesis 1:2) “The earth was chaos and void, and darkness-Choshech-חשך was upon the face of the abyss, and the spirit-Ru’ach-רוח of God hovered upon the face of the waters-Mayim-מים.” You thus find that the wind-Ru’ach-רוח hovers between the fire-Aish-אש and the water-Mayim-מים. In the same manner, you will find that the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, is between Elohi”m-אלהי״ם and E”l-א״ל. What quality is the receptacle for them all? This is earth-Aretz-ארץ, as it states, “And the earth-v’HaAretz-והארץ was chaos and void etc.” In the same way, the receptacle for these three names; E”l Elohi”m HaShem-א״ל אלהי״ם יהו״ה, is His title of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י. That is, all sentences rendered in the Court of Law (Beit Din) of Almighty God HaShem-E”l Elohi”m HaShem-א״ל אלהי״ם יהו״ה, are all given into the hands of the Lord-Adona”y-אדנ״י to conclude the rendering of judgment. You thus will find that His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י concludes rendering all the judgments below, in the lowly world, of what was decided Above. Whoever understands this will understand the secret of the verse, (Genesis 42:30) “The man, the Lord of the Land-Adoney HaAretz-אדנ״י האר״ץ, spoke harshly to us.” He also will understand the secret of the verse, (Joshua 3:11) “Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth-Adon Kol HaAretz-אדו״ן כל האר״ץ,” and will understand these matters according to their proper characteristics.

Now, because the first Wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה is the secret of the spreading and expression of thought (Machshavah) from Crown-Keter, therefore compared to everything that comes after it, it is immeasurable and limitless. About this the verse states, (Job 28:12; Also see Rabbeinu Bachaye to Genesis 1:2) “Wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה is found from nothing-Ayin-אין.” “From nothing-Me’Ayin-מאין” means from the spreading forth of thought (Machshavah) from the Crown-Keter. About this the verse states, (Job 28:23) “God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם understands its way,” meaning that through Understanding-Binah (The name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם in this verse refers to the quality of Understanding-Binah, as explained in Gate Eight.) we enter to grasp the Upper Wisdom-Chochmah HaElyonah. The verse then continues, “and He-Hoo-הוא knows its place.” That is, “He-Hoo-הוא” refers to the secret of the Crown-Keter (This was discussed in Gate Five.) from which Wisdom-Chochmah is drawn. Therefore, He-Hoo-הוא certainly knows its place. This Wisdom-Chochmah is at the beginning of the expression of thought (Machshavah), at the beginning of emanation, about which the verse states, (Proverbs 3:19-20) “HaShem-יהו״ה founded the earth with wisdom-Chochmah-חכמה; He established the heavens with understanding-Tevunah-תבונה; through His knowledge-Da’ato-דעתו the depths were split.” However, we are not presently in the explanation of these verses.

2. “The spirit of God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.” (Genesis 1:2)

Be-REiShYT (In-the-beginning) etc. (Gen. 1:2) And the earth was formless and void... and they are: A-V-G Y-T-Tz Q-R-’A S-T-N N-G-D Y-Kh-Sh B-T-R Tz-T-G Ḥ-Q-B T-N-’A Y-G-L P-Z-Q Sh-Q-U Tz-Y-T. ‘Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.’ (Liturgical, from Recital of the Shm’a)

And the prevention of blessings above causes: (Job 14:11) ... and the river becomes parched (ye-ḥerav) and dry. And thus they the sages have determined: (Bereishyt Rabbah 2:5) ‘The First Temple was destroyed – is alluded to by (Gen. 1:2) And the earth was formless and void...

The Second Temple was destroyed – is alluded to by (Gen. 1:2) ... and darkness upon the face of the deep...’

‘Thought’, which is ‘the human’, rides above all of them, and they are his chariot – like horses for people. The forces of the brain, are the ‘bones’ in the sacrificial-offering: (Ez. 37:7) ... and the bones came together, bone to its bone. The forces of the lung and the heart, are the ‘veins’, their connection and joining and movement, is the wind (ruḥa) of the wings of the lung, and it is: (Gen. 1:2) ... the spirit (ru-aḥ) of ELQYM, was hovering, upon the face of the water [Var. which is the brain] because the lung [Var. the head] is comprised of both-of-them, like a bird composed of water and land, and they are comprised of both-of-them.

"and the earth was uninformed and void" (Gen. 1:2) - [this fear comes] from the side of the tree of good and evil, and this is the empty land, the bad maidservant, similar to the four basic examples of damages, one of which is the pit, similar to the pit [bor] of Yosef, which is the Pit. "And the pit was empty, there is no water in it" (Gen. 37:24). The bad maidservant is the pit, and "the pit" is the male, and we tech regarding this "a boor [bor] cannot fear sin" (Avot 2:5), this is because this boor has no [true] fear of God.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" [Bereshit 1:1]. Six (שיתא) [probably referring to the six words in this verse after the word בראשית], Bereshit (בראשית) above them, all of them downward, and they hang from seven of the skull until the Glroy of Gloriousness. "And the earth" (והארץ)[Bereshit 1:2], the second [time "earth" is mentioned] is not in the calculation, and this has been said [before]. And from this one that/who had been cursed she/it went out, as is written: "from the field that HaShem had cursed" [Bereshit 5:29]. "was waste (תהו) and empty (בהו), and darkness over the deep, and the breath of God hovering over the waters" [Bereshit 1:2]. Thirteen [words does this verse contain in Hebrew, when the first word "And the earth" is not taken into account] hang in the thirteen of the Glory of Gloriousness.

Six thousand years are hanging on the original six, the seventh above them, which only itself has been strengthened. And all will be destroyed in twelve hours, as is written: "was waste (תהו) and empty (בהו) etc." [Bereshit 1:2]. He will posit for them thirteen with mercy [probably referring to the 13 attributes of mercy], and they are renewed in their original state, and all these six stand. Because it is written "created", and afterwards is written "was", because it "was" for sure. And in the end "waste and empty, and darkness" [Bereshit 1:2], "And only HaShem will be exalted on that day" [Isaiah 2:11].

Another matter, “toward the front of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall illuminate” – you must not demean the candelabrum. (Do not think that the candelabrum is superfluous since God does not need the light.) That is: “For who scorns the day of small things? They will rejoice and see the tin lump of the plumb line in the hand of Zerubavel. These seven…” (Zechariah 4:10). “These” – these are the candelabrum. “Seven,” – these are the seven lamps, corresponding to the seven planets that “rove throughout the earth” (Zechariah 4:10). They are so dear, you must not demean them. This is why it is stated: “Toward the front of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall illuminate” – so your inclination will not mislead you to say that He needs the light. See what is written regarding the windows: “There were narrowing windows for the cells and for their pillars from within…and likewise for the halls…like those windows [kehaḥalonot]” (Ezekiel 40:16, 25). Kaḥalonot is not written here, but rather kehaḥalonot, (This is an allusion to the fact that they shall be opaque (kehot), that light would not enter through them.) that they shall be wide from without and narrow from within, so they can cause the light to emerge outward. Rabbi Berekhya HaKohen said in the study hall of Rabbi: This lightning is a product of the supernal fire, and it emerges and illuminates the entire world, as it is stated: “The likeness of the creatures, their appearance was like fiery coals, burning like the appearance of torches…and from the fire, lightning would emerge” (Ezekiel 1:13), and illuminate the entire world, and I need your light? Why, then, did I say it to you? It is in order to elevate you. Rabbi Ḥanina said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The eyes that you possess have in them white and black, and you do not see through the white, but rather, through the black. If your eyes, that have in them black and white, you see only through the black, the Holy One blessed be He, who is completely light, does He need your light?’ Another matter, “toward the front of the candelabrum” – flesh and blood kindles from a kindled lamp. Could he, perhaps, kindle from darkness? It is stated: “Darkness upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). What is written thereafter? “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). [God said:] ‘From the darkness I produced light, and I need your light? I said it to you only to elevate you: “to kindle a lamp continually”’ (Exodus 27:20).

“The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year of their exodus from the land of Egypt, saying” (Numbers 1:1). “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai” – that is what the verse said: “[Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains]; Your justice is like the great depths” (Psalms 36:7). (“Great depths” refers to punishment of the wicked.) Rabbi Meir said: It is analogized to the righteous in their abode, and it is analogized to the wicked in their abode. It is analogized to the righteous in their abode: “In a good pasture I will herd them, and on the mountains of the height of Israel will be their grazing place” (Ezekiel 34:14). It is analogized to the wicked in their abode: “So said the Lord God: On the day that it descended to the grave I caused mourning; I covered the depths for it” (Ezekiel 31:15). With what are the wicked covered when they descend to the grave? It is with the depths. Ḥizkiya bar Rabbi Ḥiyya said: This vat, with what does one cover it? It is with an earthenware vessel, what it is from; just as it is from earthenware, so one covers it with earthenware. So it is with the wicked. What is written in their regard? “Their actions are in the dark, and they say: Who sees us and who knows of us?” (Isaiah 29:15). Because [their actions] are dark, the Holy One blessed be He sends them down to the grave, which is dark, and covers them with the depths that are dark, as it is stated: “And darkness upon the surface of the depths” (Genesis 1:2). That is, “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains” – the righteousness that you bring upon the world is as conspicuous as these mountains. “Your justice is like the great depths” – the justice that You perform in this world; “the great depths” – just as the depths are concealed, so the justice that you effect is concealed. How so? When Jerusalem was destroyed, it was destroyed on the ninth of Av. When He shows it to Ezekiel, He shows it to him on the first of the month. (The prophecy in Ezekiel 26:1–2 references the destruction of Jerusalem. The date the midrash gives is the first day of the month, but it does not mention which month. The midrash is stating that God showed the Destruction to Ezekiel on a different day than it actually occurred.) Why? It was so as not to reveal on which day it was destroyed. However, when He comes to exalt Israel, he reveals: which day, which place, which month, which year, which era: “[The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year] of their exodus from the land of Egypt, saying” (Numbers 1:1). What did He say to them? “Take a census of the entire congregation of the children of Israel” (Numbers 1:2).

“These are [eleh] the outgrowths of the heavens [when they were created, on the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens]…” – Rabbi Abahu said: Everywhere eleh is stated, it rejects what preceded it; ve’eleh adds to what preceded it. Here, where it says eleh, it excludes what preceded it. What, then, does it exclude? Emptiness, disorder, and darkness. (The state that preceded the creation of the earth and the heavens (Genesis 1:2).)

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and the earth was created thereafter. Beit Hillel says: The earth was created first and the heavens thereafter. (One verse puts the order as “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), but another has the opposite: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Which is the true chronological order?) These cite a reason for their position and those cite a reason for their position. According to the opinion of Beit Shammai, who say that the heavens were created first and the earth thereafter, it is analogous to a king who had a throne made, and once that was made he had its footstool made. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool…” (Isaiah 66:1). According to the opinion of Beit Hillel, who say that the earth was created first and the heavens thereafter, it is analogous to a king who built a palace; first he built the lower sections and then he built the upper sections, so, “on the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4). (The earth first, then the heavens.) Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: This verse, too, supports Beit Hillel: “You laid the foundations of earth in times past” (Psalms 102:26), and then, “the heavens are the work of Your hands” (Psalms 102:26). Rabbi Ḥanin said: From the same place where Scripture supports Beit Shammai, ("God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).) from there, Beit Hillel refute them: “The earth was” (Genesis 1:2) – it already was. Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of the Sages: In terms of Creation, the heavens were first, but in terms of completion, the earth was first. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source; in terms of Creation, the heavens were first, as it is stated: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens].” In terms of completion, the earth was first, as it is stated: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens.” Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: I am surprised how it is that the fathers of the world, Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, disagreed regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is, rather, as I say, that both of them were created [at the same time,] like a stewpot and its lid, as it is stated: “[My hand also laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand measured the heavens]; I appointed them; they arise together” (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: If it is in accordance with the opinion of my father, why is it that at times the earth is mentioned before the heavens and at times the heavens are mentioned before the earth? Rather, it teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Abraham is mentioned before Isaac and Jacob, but in one place it says: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob, [and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham]” (Leviticus 26:42). This teaches that the three of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Moses is mentioned before Aaron, but in one place it says: “It is Aaron and Moses” (Exodus 6:26). This teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place Joshua is mentioned before Caleb, but in one place it says: “Except for Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 14:30, Numbers 32:12). (The citation in the Midrash is actually an amalgam of these two verses.) This teaches that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place turtledoves are mentioned before young pigeons, but in one place it says: “And a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering” (Leviticus 12:6). This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another. In every place, honor of the father is mentioned before the mother, but in one place it says: “Each of you shall fear his mother and his father” (Leviticus 19:3). This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another. However, the Sages said: The father takes precedence over the mother, because both he [a son] and his mother are obligated to honor his father. In every place the creation of the heavens is mentioned before the earth, but in one place it says: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and the heavens.” This tells you that both of them are equal in importance to one another.

Rav Huna began in the name of bar Kapara: “May they be silenced [te’alamna], those lying lips [that speak harsh words against the righteous one with arrogance and contempt]” (Psalms 31:19) – may they be bound up, may they become mute, may they be silenced. (The word te’alamna can have all these three meanings, as the Midrash goes on to show.) May they become mute – as it says: “Who gives a mouth to a person, or who renders one mute [ilem] or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11). And [may they be bound up,] as it says: “Behold, we were binding [me’alemim] sheaves in the field and behold, my sheaf arose” (Genesis 37:7). May they be silenced – that is its plain sense. (That is the literal translation of te’alamna.) “That speak…against the Righteous One” (Psalms 31:19) – [this refers to] Him of eternal life. (The “righteous one” refers to God.) “Harsh words [atak]” (Psalms 31:19) – matters that He concealed [shehe’etik] from His creations. (They speak out loud and expound on the secrets of Creation.) “With arrogance” (Psalms 31:19) – this is an expression of bewilderment: (Can it be that someone would do such a thing out of arrogance?) [Do they do this] in order to boast arrogantly: I am expounding the act of Creation? “And contempt” (Psalms 31:19) – this [too] is an expression of bewilderment: Is it in order to show contempt for My honor? As Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Anyone who attains honor through the degradation of another person has no portion in the World to Come; how much more so is this so regarding the honor of the Omnipresent. What is written following this? “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20) – for those who fear You, but not for those who demean the [awesome] fear of You. They will not be included in: “How great is the goodness.” The way of the world is that when a flesh-and-blood king builds his palace in [a location that had been] a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place, anyone who comes and says: ‘This palace was built in a place of sewers, a place of refuse, and a malodorous place,’ is this not an insult? So, too, anyone who comes and says: ‘This world was created from emptiness and disorder,’ is this not an insult? This is a rhetorical question. Rav Huna said in the name of bar Kapara: Were the matter not written explicitly it would not have been possible to say it: “In the beginning, God created” (Genesis 1:1) – from what? “The earth was emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2).

A certain philosopher once asked Rabban Gamliel, saying to him: ‘Your God is a great artist, however he found many excellent raw materials that helped him: Emptiness, disorder, darkness, wind, water, and depths.’ He said to him: ‘May the spirit of that man depart from him; regarding all of them, creation is written.’ (God did not “find” these materials; He created them Himself.) Emptiness and disorder, as it is stated: “Who makes peace and creates evil” (Isaiah 45:7). Darkness, “who forms light [and creates darkness]” (Isaiah 45:7); water, “Praise Him, heavens on heavens, and the water [above the heavens]” (Psalms 148:4). Why? “For He commanded and they were created” (Psalms 148:5). Wind, “For behold, He forms mountains and creates wind” (Amos 4:13); depths, “when there were no depths, I generated” (Proverbs 8:24).

“The earth was emptiness and disorder, and darkness was upon the face of the depths, and the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2). “The earth was emptiness and disorder [tohu vavohu]” – Rabbi Berekhya began: “Even a boy is recognized through his deeds” (Proverbs 20:11) – Rabbi Berekhya said: While the plant was still immature, it produced thorns. (This is a saying. Even before the plant produces flowers or seeds, it begins to produce small thorns, foreshadowing the deleterious nature of the plant in the future. ) This is what the prophet would one day prophesy in its regard: “I have seen the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23).

Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon, Rabbi Abahu said: This is analogous to a king who purchased two slaves for himself, both of them with one bill of sale and with one sum. He decreed for one of them that he should be supported from the royal treasury, and for the other that he would have to toil to eat. That one sat, bewildered and astonished [toheh uvoheh]. He said: ‘Both of us were purchased with one bill of sale and one sum, yet this one is supported from the royal treasury, and I, if I do not toil, I do not eat?’ So, too, the earth sat bewildered and astonished. It said: ‘The celestial beings and the terrestrial beings were created simultaneously. The celestial beings are sustained from the radiance of the Divine Presence; as for the terrestrial beings, if they do not toil they do not eat.’ Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: It is analogous to a king who purchased two maidservants, both of them with one bill of sale and with one sum. He decreed for one of them that she should not depart from the palace, and for the other he decreed banishment. That maidservant sat bewildered and astonished [toha uvoha]. She said: ‘Both of us were purchased with one bill of sale and one sum, and this one does not go out and depart from the palace, but for me he decrees banishment?’ So, too, the earth sat bewildered and astonished [toha uvoha]. It said: ‘The celestial beings and the terrestrial beings were created simultaneously. The celestial beings live forever and the terrestrial beings die.’ That is why “the earth was emptiness and disorder [tohu vavohu].” Rabbi Tanḥuma said: It is analogous to the son of a king, who was sleeping in his cradle, and his wet nurse was bewildered and astonished [toha uvoha], as she knew that she would ultimately receive her punishment on his account. (When the child misbehaves, the nurse is blamed. Even before the child awoke this thought troubled her.) So, the earth foresaw that it was destined to receive its punishment on account of man, as it is stated: “Cursed is the ground on your account” (Genesis 3:17). That is why “the earth was emptiness and disorder [tohu vavohu].”

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verses regarding the generations. “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – this is Adam the first man, who became oblivion and nothingness. “And disorder” – this is Cain, who sought to restore the world to emptiness and disorder. “And darkness” – this is the generation of Enosh, (They profaned God’s name (Genesis 4:26; Bereshit Rabba 23:7). ) based on the verse: “Their actions are in the dark and they say: Who sees us and who knows of us?” (Isaiah 29:15). “Upon the face of the depths” – this is the generation of the Flood, as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the great depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). “And the spirit [ruaḥ] of God was hovering over the surface of the water” – based on the verse: “God passed a wind [ruaḥ] over the earth” (Genesis 8:1). (Ruaḥ, too is an allusion to the Flood.) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Until when will the world conduct itself in darkness? (In the darkness of idol worship.) Let some light come.’ “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – this is Abraham. That is what is written [regarding Abraham]: “Who roused [he’ir] righteousness from the east?” (Isaiah 41:2). Do not read it as he’ir, (Spelled with an ayin, meaning roused.) but rather, he’ir. (Spelled with an alef, meaning illuminated.) “God called the light, Day, and the darkness, He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). “God called the light, Day” – this is Jacob. “And the darkness, He called Night” – this is Esau. “It was evening” – this is Esau; “and it was morning” – this is Jacob. “It was evening” – the evening of Esau; (The period of Esau’s waning power.) “and it was morning” – the morning of Jacob. (The period of Jacob’s rising power.) “One day” – as it is stated: “There will be one day, it will be known to the Lord, that is not day and not night…” (Zechariah 14:7). (This is an allusion to the ultimate redemption, when Jacob’s ascendance over Esau will be asserted.) Alternatively, “one day” – which the Holy One blessed be He provided him. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. (Even in this world there is one day when there is light for Jacob and darkness for the forces of evil.)

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish interpreted the verses regarding the [four] kingdoms. (The kingdoms that subjugated Israel, as described in Daniel chapters 2 and 7, and identified by the Rabbis as Babylonia, Media, Greece and Edom (Rome was seen as the descending from Edom).) “The earth was emptiness” – this is the Babylonian kingdom, as it is stated: “I have seen the land, and behold, it was emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). “And disorder [vavohu]” – this is the Median kingdom, [as it is stated:] “They hastened [vayavhilu] to bring Haman” (Esther 6:14). “And darkness”– this is the Greek kingdom, which darkened Israel’s eyes with their edicts, as they used to say to them: ‘Write on the horn of a bull that you have no portion in the God of Israel.’ “Upon the face of the depths” – this is the evil kingdom [Edom], which cannot be calculated, (Its great size and power are beyond calculation.) like the depths; just as the depths cannot be calculated, so is it with [the wickedness of] the wicked. (The text was altered due to censorship. The original reading was: So, too, the evil kingdom.) “And the spirit of God was hovering” – this is the spirit of the messianic king, (Who will follow triumphantly after the four kingdoms of subjugation.) as it says: “The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” (Isaiah 11:2). By what merit will it [the Messianic kingdom] come? “Hovering over the surface of the water” – by the merit of repentance, that is likened to water, as it is stated: “Pour out your heart like water [before the face of the Lord]” (Lamentations 2:19). Rabbi Ḥagai said in the name of Rabbi Pedat: A covenant is made with the water, that even when the weather is hot, the wind blows over it. (To cool it off. This is why the word for “hovered” is written meraḥefet, in the present tense.) It happened once that Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma was sitting, entranced in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua passed and greeted him once, twice, but he did not answer him. The third time, he answered him with a start. He said to him: ‘Ben Zoma, where were your thoughts?’ He said to him: ‘I have been contemplating.’ He said to him: ‘As the heavens and the earth are my witnesses, I shall not move from here until you inform me where your thoughts were.’ He said to him: ‘I was looking at the act of Creation, and [I saw that] between the upper waters and the lower waters there were only two or three fingerbreadths. “The spirit of the Lord was blowing” is not written, but rather, “was hovering” – like a bird that flaps its wings, (As it hovers over its nest.) they touch [the nest] but do not quite touch.’ Rabbi Yehoshua turned and said to his disciples: Ben Zoma is gone. (Having experienced such supernal revelations, he is no longer of this world. ) Not even a few days passed with ben Zoma still in the world.

Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, Rabbi Abahu said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. That is what is written: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalms 1:6). (See Bereshit Rabba 8:4.) “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” – these are the actions of the righteous. But I do not know which He desires, whether it is the actions of these, or the actions of those. When it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – this shows that He desires the actions of the righteous, and does not desire the actions of the wicked. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the Temple built, destroyed, and rebuilt. “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” – that indicates [the Temple] being built, as it says: “To plant the heavens and to lay the foundation of the earth and to say to Zion: You are My people” (Isaiah 51:16). “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – that indicates [the Temple] destroyed, just as it says: “I have seen the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). “God said: Let there be light” – that indicates [the Temple] being built and perfected in the future, as it says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come” (Isaiah 60:1), and it is written: “For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, and nations, a fog; but upon you the Lord will shine and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

“And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness, and let them dominate over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26). “And God said: Let us make Man in our image, in our likeness.” Rabbi Yoḥanan began: “Back and front [aḥor vakedem], You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5) – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he partakes of two worlds, as it is stated: “Back and front, You shaped me.” (Aḥor vakedem can be translated “the end, and that which precedes it,” – an allusion to this world and the World to Come.) But if not, he will come to give an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5). (The following line should be here instead of where it appears, later in the midrash: Just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13:21). This verse shows that God’s “palm” refers to His punishment of man (Matnot Kehuna). ) Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. That is what is written: “He created them male and female” (Genesis 5:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him with two faces, (That is, two conjoined bodies, male and female.) and [subsequently] He sawed him in two (Separating the female part from the male part.) and made [for] him two backs, (Where they had previously been joined together.) a back here and a back there. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “He took one of his ribs [tzalotav] … [and the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]”? (Genesis 2:21–22). He said to them: [It means that He took] one of his two sides, as it says: “And for the tzela of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20), which we translate: “And for the side of the Tabernacle...”. Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Benaya and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him in an unformed state and he was situated from one end of the world to the other. That is what is written: “Your eyes saw my unformed parts...” (Psalms 139:16). Rabbi Yehoshua bar Neḥemya and Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon in the name of Rabbi Elazar said: He created him filling the whole world. From east to west, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Back [aḥor] and front [kedem], (Aḥor and kedem can also mean “west” and “east.”) You shaped me…” (Psalms 139:5). From north to south, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “[From the day God made Adam on the earth,] and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:32). From where is it derived that he even filled the empty space of the world? It is as it is stated: “You placed Your palm on me” (Psalms 139:5) just as it says: “Distance Your palm from me” (Job 13: 21). (This line is misplaced here and belongs in section 1, as indicated there.) Rabbi Elazar said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last (The Hebrew text says “first,” but Rashi emends the text.) day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the last day. (Adam’s spirit was created as the first act of the last day, and his body was created as its final act.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, as Rabbi Elazar said: “Let the earth produce the spirit of living beings by their species” (Genesis 1:24) – this is the life spirit of Adam the first man. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: [The creation of Adam was] last [aḥor] among the acts of creation on the last day, and first [kedem] among the acts of creation on the first day. This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2) – this is the spirit of the messianic king, as it says: “The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him” (Isaiah 11:2). If a person is meritorious, it is said to him: ‘You preceded the ministering angels’; if not, it is said to him: ‘A fly preceded you, a gnat preceded you, this earthworm preceded you.’ Rav Naḥman said: [Adam was created] last [aḥor] of all the creations, but was first [kedem] for all punishments. (As it says regarding the Flood: “He obliterated all existence that was on the face of the earth, from man, to animal, to crawling creature, to birds of the heavens” (Genesis 7:23).) Rabbi Shmuel said: Regarding praising [God] as well, he comes last. That is what is written: “Praise the Lord from the heavens…” (Psalms 148:1), and it says the rest of that passage. Then “praise the Lord from the earth, [sea creatures and all depths]” (Psalms 148:7), and it says the rest of that passage. Only after that it says: “Kings of the earth and all nations…” (Psalms 148:11), “young men and maidens” (Psalms 148:12). Rabbi Samlai said: Just as his praising [of God] is only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds, so his creation was only after the animals, the beasts, and the birds. What is the source? It is as it is stated: “Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20), and then: “Let the earth produce…” (Genesis 1:24), and then: “And God said: Let us make Man in our image.”

“God blessed them and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and dominate over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living creature that crawls upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). “And dominate over the fish of the sea” – Rabbi Ḥanina said: If they merit it, [they will] dominate [redu], but if not, they will fall [yeredu]. (They will become victims to the predations of animals.) Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin said: One who fulfills “in our image, in our likeness – “And dominate”; those who do not fulfill “in our image, in our likeness” – they will fall [yeredu]. Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanan said: Let the one who is “in our image, in our likeness” (Man.) come “and dominate” the one who does not resemble being “in our image, in our likeness.” (The animals.) “God blessed them” – there we learned: A virgin should marry on a Wednesday and a widow on a Thursday.” (Ketubot 2a.) Why? It is because a blessing [for fertility] is written in connection with these days. But, is it not so, that a blessing [for fertility] is written only in connection with Thursday and Friday? (Genesis 1:22 and 1:28.) Bar Kapara said: Wednesday means on the eve of Thursday, and Thursday means on the eve of Friday. (The marriage that takes place during the day is consummated at night.) Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Yosei Ben Zimra: “[Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth] and subdue it” [vekhivshuha] (Plural.) – it is written [as if it should be read] vekhovshah (Singular.) – the man alone is commanded regarding procreation, but not the woman. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka says: Both the man and the woman [are commanded]. Regarding both of them it says: “God blessed them […and said: Be fruitful, and multiply…].” Vekhivshuha – it is written [as if it should be read] vekhovshah (Meaning: And subdue her.) – the man restrains his wife so she should not go out in public, (In an inappropriate manner.) as any woman who goes out in public will ultimately falter. From where do we derive it? It is from Dina, as it is stated: “Dina went out” (Genesis 34:1) – and she ultimately faltered. That is what is written: “Shekhem saw her…” (Genesis 34:2). Rabbi Yirmeya, Rabbi Abahu, and Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Maryon in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yoḥanan. (Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.)

On the first day of creation God produced ten things: the heavens and the earth, Tohu and Bohu, light and darkness, wind and water, the duration of the day and the duration of the night.

(Numb. 3:15:) ENROLL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI…. This text is related (to Ps. 68:7 [6]): GOD CAUSES INDIVIDUALS TO DWELL IN A HOME. A certain matron (Lat.: matrona.) asked R. Jose ben Halafta: In how many days did the Holy One create the world? He said to her: In six days, as stated (in Exod. 31:17): FOR IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE . (Tanh., Numb. 1:16; Gen. R. 68:4; Lev. R. 8:1; Numb. R. 3:6; PRK 2:4; below, Numb. 9:9; cf. above, Gen. 1:2.) She said to him: Ever since the world was created, what does he do? He sits arranging marriages and issuing decrees. So he says so-and-so shall marry so-and-so. It is so stated (in Ps. 68:7 [6]): GOD CAUSES INDIVIDUALS TO DWELL IN A HOME. Who was this ? This was Amram and his wife was Jochebed, since through their merit the Holy One brought Israel out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved to clay and bricks. (The Exodus theme is suggested by what follows in Ps. 68:7 [6]): HE BRINGS OUT THE PRISONERS INTO PROSPERITY, Cf. M. Pss. 68:4.) What did the Holy One do? He married Jochebed to Amram in order to raise up from them a redeemer for Israel and from them to raise up high priests. It is therefore stated (ibid.): GOD CAUSES INDIVIDUALS TO DWELL IN A HOME. The Holy One said: In as much as this tribe is accustomed to be raising up redeemers, go and number them. (Numb. 3:15:) ENROLL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI….

(Numb. 1:1:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE SINAI DESERT, IN THE TENT OF MEETING. This text is related (to Ps. 36:7 [6]): YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS LIKE THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS; YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE LIKE THE GREAT DEEP. R. Meir said: is speaking allegorically about the righteous in their dwelling, and it is speaking allegorically about the wicked in their dwelling. (Above, in Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:8; Lev. 8:7; Gen. R. 33:1; Lev. R. 27:1; Numb. R. 1:1; PRK 9:1; Tanh., Lev. 8:5 (some texts); cf. Tanh., Numb. 1:1.) It is speaking allegorically about the righteous (in Ezek. 34:14): I WILL FEED THEM IN A GOOD PASTURE, {AND IN A PASTURE OF OIL} [AND UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LOFTY ONE OF ISRAEL] SHALL BE THEIR FOLD. It speaks allegorically about the wicked (in Ezek. 31:15): THUS SAYS THE LORD {GOD}: IN THE DAY THAT HE WENT DOWN TO SHEOL, I CAUSED HIM TO MOURN; I COVERED HIM WITH THE DEEP. With what are the wicked covered, when they go down to Gehinnom? (Above, Exod. 3:2; Tanh., Exod. 3:2.) WITH THE DEEP. Hezekiah bar Hiyya said: In the case of a vat, with what does one cover it? With a lid of clay, since is of clay. For that reason one covers it with a lid of clay. Similarly in the case of the wicked, it is written of them (in Is. 29:15): AND THEIR WORKS ARE IN DARKNESS. For that reason they are darkened before the Holy One. (See above, Gen. 1:19.) So he brings them down to Sheol, which is darkness, and covers them with the deep, which is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP.

Another interpretation (of Numb. 8:2 cont.): IN FRONT OF THE MENORAH. Flesh and blood lights a lamp from a burning lamp. Could one light a lamp from the darkness? The Holy One, however, did make a lamp give light from the darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP. What is written after that (in vs. 3)? THEN GOD SAID: LET THERE BE LIGHT. Since I have brought light out of the darkness, do I have need for your light? So why did he say ? Simply for the sake of your exaltation (rt.: 'LH), (in the words of Exod. 27:20) TO SET UP (rt.: 'LH) AN EVERBURNING LAMP.

(Exod. 10:21:) STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD THE HEAVENS …. Where did the darkness come from? R. Judah and R. Nehemiah disagree. (Tanh., Exod. 3:2; Exod. R. 14:2.) R. Judah says: From the darkness above, as stated (in Ps. 18:12 [11]): HE MADE DARKNESS HIS HIDING PLACE. R. Nehemiah says: From the darkness of Gehinnom, as stated (in Job 10:22): A LAND OF UTTER DARKNESS, LIKE THE DARKNESS OF . (Cf. M. Pss. 18:16.) R. Joshua ben Levi said: In three places we hear that a person makes known his teaching near to his death. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 22:20–21): TO MAKE KNOWN TO YOU FAITHFUL AND TRUE WORDS, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO ANSWER TRUE WORDS TO THOSE WHO SENT YOU? So also Solomon said (in Eccl. 12:13): THE END OF THE MATTER WHEN EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HEARD: What (in Job 10:22) is the meaning of THE SHADOW OF DEATH < WITHOUT ORDER>? When someone is in the shadow of death, he puts his teaching in order. R. Tanhuma bar Abba [said]: When one comes to pass away, his ministering angels say (Ps. 68:35 [34]) to him: ASCRIBE POWER TO GOD…. So also it says (in Ezek. 31:15): THUS SAYS THE LORD [GOD]: IN THE DAY THAT HE WENT DOWN TO SHEOL, . Ergo (in Job 10:22): A LAND OF UTTER DARKNESS, LIKE THE DARKNESS OF . R. Judah says: With what are the wicked covered when they go down to Sheol? (Below, Numb. 1:1.) With darkness. Hezekiah said: In the case of a vat, with what does one cover it? With a lid of earthenware, of the same material. (Tanh., Exod. 3:2, and Exod. R. 14:2 identify Hezekiah as Hezekiah b. Rabbi. Cf. Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:8; Tanh., Lev. 8:5; Gen. R. 33:1; Lev. R. 27:1; and PRK 9:1 which attribute the parable to various authorities, all of whom bear the name Judah.) Just as is of earthenware, so one covers it with nothing but earthenware. So it is with the wicked. What is written about them (in Is. 29:15): AND THEIR WORKS ARE IN DARKNESS…. And therefore the Holy One brings them down to Sheol, which is darkness, and covers them with the deep, for it is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP. Here is the same darkness which came upon Egypt. It came from the midst of Gehinnom. And how thick was this darkness? (Exod. R. 14:1.) Our masters have said: As thick as a denarius (A standard coin of gold or silver. Originally a Roman silver coin of 3.8 grams first minted in 268 BCE, its value varied from place to place and from age to age. In general a gold dinarius was worth twenty-four times that of a silver dinarius.) of Gordianus {i.e., the name of a place}, EVEN (according to Exod. 10:21) A DARKNESS THAT CAN BE FELT.

Now all the plagues which the Holy One brought upon the Egyptians, he is going to bring upon Edom (i.e., Rome). It is so stated (in Is. 23:5): THEY SHALL TREMBLE AT THE REPORT OF TYRE (TsR). (Although the Buber text reads TsWR, the midrashic interpretation here requires TsR, which is the reading of the Masoretic text.) R. Eleazar has said: When Tyre is written with a vowel letter (i.e., TsWR), what is written is speaking about the region of Tyre. But in every place in which it is written as TsR without the W, what is written is speaking about this wicked Roman Empire, because it is oppressing Israel (rt.: TsRR). (Tanh. (Buber), Exod. 2:15; Tanh., Exod. 2:13; 3:4; Exod. R. 9:13; PRK 7:11; PR 17:8.) In Egypt he brought the plague of blood upon them. So also shall it be in Edom (i.e., Rome), as stated (in Joel 3:3–4 [2:30–31]): THEN I WILLSET PORTENTS IN THE HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH: BLOOD, FIRE, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD. In Egypt he brought frogs upon them because their voice (qol) was strong. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Is. 66:6): A SOUND (qol) OF TUMULT FROM THE CITY, . In Egypt he brought gnats upon them. [So] also shall it be in Edom, [as stated] (in Is. 34:9): ITS (The pronoun refers to Edom.) STREAMS SHALL BE TURNED TO PITCH AND ITS DUST TO BRIMSTONE DUST can only mean gnats, just as it says (in Exod. 8:12 [16]): AND STRIKE THE DUST OF THE EARTH, AND IT SHALL BECOME GNATS < THROUGHOUT THE LAND OF EGYPT > …. In Egypt he brought swarms of flies ('RWB, rt.: 'RB) upon them. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Is. 34:11): BUT THE PELICAN AND THE BITTERN SHALL POSSESS IT (i.e., Edom), [EVEN THE OWL AND THE RAVEN ('WRB, rt.: 'RB) SHALL DWELL IN IT.] In Egypt he brought pestilence upon them. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Ezek. 38:22): I WILL ENTER INTO JUDGMENT AGAINST HIM WITH PESTILENCE. In Egypt he brought boils upon them. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Zech. 14:12): AND THIS SHALL BE THE PLAGUE…: THEIR FLESH SHALL ROT AWAY. In Egypt he brought hail upon them. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Ezek. 38:22): AND I WILL POUR TORRENTIAL RAIN, HAILSTONES <… UPON HIM…>. In Egypt he brought locusts upon them. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Ezek. 39:17): SON OF MAN,[… ] SAY TO EVERY WINGED BIRD < AND TO EVERY LIVING CREATURE OF THE FIELD: ASSEMBLE, COME AND GATHER>…. In Egypt he brought darkness. So also shall it be in Edom (in Is. 34:11, cont.): AND HE SHALL STRETCH OVER IT THE MEASURING LINE OF THE EMPTINESS . (The Hebrew words for EMPTINESS and NOTHINGNESS echo the VOID AND WITHOUT FORM in Gen. 1:2.) In Egypt he smote their first-born. So also shall it be in Edom, as stated (in Ezek. 32:30): THERE ARE ALL THE PRINCES OF THE NORTH . R. Meir says (citing Is. 34:7, which refers to Edom): AND THE WILD OXEN SHALL COME DOWN WITH THEM…. (Cf. Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 which adds the interpretation that these WILD OXEN (re’emim) are the Romans.) Just as in Egypt, when he had exacted retribution from their gods, he afterwards exacted retribution from them; in Edom (rt.: 'DM) also, when he has exacted retribution from their prince, he shall afterwards exact retribution from them. It is so stated (in Is. 24:21): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY THAT THE LORD SHALL PUNISH THE HOST OF HEAVEN IN HEAVEN AND THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (rt.: 'DM) {IN} [ON] THE EARTH (rt.: 'DM).

Another interpretation (of Ps. 36:7 [6]): YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS LIKE THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS (literally: MOUNTAINS OF GOD); < YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE LIKE THE GREAT DEEP >. R. Ishmael and R. Aqiva < differ > {say}: [R. Ishmael says:] Since the righteous (rt.: TsDQ) carry out the Torah, which was given from THE MOUNTAINS OF GOD, [the Holy One treats them with a charity (rt.: TsDQ) LIKE THE MOUNTAINS OF GOD. But since the wicked do not carry out the Torah, which was given from THE MOUNTAINS OF GOD,] the Holy One deals strictly with them, even unto the great deep. There are a lot of interpretations for this verse, but in order not to be tiresome, < I am stopping here >. (As Buber explains in his note, these words from the copyist explain his omitting the rest of the section. Buber has filled in the following bracketed section from parallel texts, mainly from Tanh., Lev. 8:5.) [R. Aqiva says: The Holy One is as strict with the former as with the latter. From the righteous he collects for a few evil works which they have committed in this world, in order to render them full payment in the world to come; while he gives prosperity in abundance to the wicked and pays them for the few good works that they have done in this world, in order to punish them in the world to come. Rabbi Meir says: < Scripture > has spoken metaphorically of the righteous in their abode, and it has spoken metaphorically of the wicked in their abode. (Above, Gen. 2:8, and the note there.) It has spoken metaphorically of the righteous in their abode, even as stated (in Ezek. 34:14): I WILL FEED THEM IN A GOOD PASTURE, AND UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LOFTY ONE OF ISRAEL SHALL BE THEIR FOLD. And it has spoken metaphorically of the wicked in their abode, as stated (in Ezek. 31:15): THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD: IN THE DAY THAT HE WENT DOWN TO SHEOL, I CAUSED HIM TO MOURN (he'evalti); I COVERED HIM WITH THE DEEP. The Written Text is "I led" (hovalti) (not I CAUSED… TO MOURN [he'evalti]). (Gen. R. 33:1; Exod. R. 14:2. So interpreted the verse means: “I led him < into Gehinnom >.) R. Judah bar Ammi told a parable: One does not make a cover for a vat of silver, gold, bronze, iron, [or of lead], but of clay, because that is a material of the same sort. Similarly, the Holy One said: Gehinnom is darkness, as stated (in Ps. 35:6): LET THEIR PATH BE DARKNESS AND SLIPPERINESS, WITH THE ANGEL OF THE LORD PURSUING THEM. Moreover, the deep is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP. And the wicked are darkness, as stated (in Is. 29:15): FOR THEIR WORKS ARE IN DARKNESS; SO THEY SAY: WHO SEES US? AND WHO KNOWS ABOUT US? So let darkness come and cover darkness, just as you have said (in Eccl. 6:4): FOR IT COMES IN VANITY AND GOES IN DARKNESS; EVEN ITS NAME IS COVERED IN DARKNESS.]

(Nume. 32:1:) MUCH LIVESTOCK. This text is related (to Ps. 75:7–8 [6–7]): FOR IT IS NOT FROM THE EAST OR FROM THE WEST OR FROM THE WILDERNESS THAT THERE COMES AN EXALTATION (harim), FOR IT IS GOD WHO JUDGES; ONE HE PUTS DOWN, AND ANOTHER HE LIFTS UP. What is the meaning of (Ps. 75:7 [6]:) FOR IT IS NOT FROM THE EAST (rt.: MTs') OR FROM THE WEST? (Tanh., Numb. 9:6; Numb. R. 22:8.) It is not from the fact that, when a person works hard by going out (rt.: MTs') for trade and traveling from east to west, he becomes wealthy. Even if one sails away in ships to go from east to west and returns over wildnesses and over mountains (harim), he does not become wealthy. What is the meaning of (Ps. 75:7 [6], cont.:) OR FROM THE WILDERNESS THAT THERE COMES AN EXALTATION (harim)? R. Abba (According to Tanh., Numb. 9:6; and Numb. R. 22:8, this sage was R. Abba of Serungaya (near Tiberias).) says: Every use of harim in Scripture denotes mountains except for here, where it denotes exaltation. Thus one is not exalted from these things. So what does the Holy One do? He takes from one and gives to another. A certain matron asked R. Jose ben Halafta: In how many days did the Holy One create his world? He said to her in six days. (Above, Numb. 1:18; Gen. R. 68:4; PRK 2:4; Lev. R. 8:1; Numb. R. 3:6; cf. above, Gen. 1:2.) She said to him: And what has he been doing since that time? He said to her: He sits down and makes ladders for raising up one and putting down another. You yourself know that, when he wanted the children of Reuben and Gad to become wealthy, he brought down the Midianites at their hand. What is written (in Numb. 31:9)? THEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TOOK THE WOMEN [AND CHILDREN] OF THE MIDIANITES CAPTIVE, [AND ALL THEIR CATTLE, ALL THEIR LIVESTOCK,] . Then after that (Numb. 32:1:) NOW THE CHILDREN OF REUBEN HAD MUCH LIVESTOCK. Ergo (in Ps. 75:8 [7]): FOR IT IS GOD WHO JUDGES; ONE HE PUTS DOWN, AND ANOTHER HE LIFTS UP. And who is wealthy? One who is happy with his lot, as stated (in Ps. 128:2): YOU SHALL EAT THE PRODUCE OF YOUR HANDS; YOU SHALL BE HAPPY, AND IT SHALL GO WELL WITH YOU.

R. Abbahu said: Wherever THESE is used, it cancels what precedes; and wherever AND THESE is written, it adds to what precedes. (Gen. R. 12:3; Exod. R. 30:3.) It is written (in Gen. 2:4): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS < AND THE EARTH. > What did cancel? It canceled (Gen. 1:2:) AND THE EARTH WAS VOID AND WITHOUT FORM WITH DARKNESS. And so (in Exod. 21:1): AND THESE ARE THE ORDINANCES adds to what precedes (i.e., Exod. 15:25): THERE HE ESTABLISHED FOR THEM A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE….

(Gen. 8:1, cont.:) AND GOD CAUSED A WIND TO PASS < OVER THE EARTH >. {Which wind? The Holy One passes over the wind} [Which one? The Holy One caused a wind to pass over the earth] and over the waters. Thus he restored them just as they were at their beginning. It is so stated (ibid.): AND GOD CAUSED A WIND TO PASS OVER THE EARTH, [AND THE WATERS SUBSIDED]. It is also written (in Gen. 1:2): AND THE WIND OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER FACE OF THE WATERS. That very wind he caused to pass over them, and immediately they settled down.

Another interpretation (of Lev. 12:2): WHEN A WOMAN EMITS HER SEED. This text is related (to Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE, < AND YOU HAVE LAID YOUR HAND UPON ME >. The text speaks of the first Adam. (Tanh., Lev. 4:1; cf. Gen. R. 8:1; 14:5; Lev. R. 14:1; M. Pss. 139:6.) [R. Johanan] said: It is written about him that there were two creations. There is a double Y (i.e., a double yod in Gen. 2:7): THE LORD GOD FORMED (YYTsR) THE HUMAN. One formation is in this world, and one is for the world to come. But in the case of cattle, wild beasts, and birds, for them < only > one formation is written (without a double Y in Gen. 2:19): SO OUT OF THE EARTH THE LORD GOD FORMED (YTsR) ALL THE WILD BEASTS OF THE FIELD < AND ALL THE BIRDS OF THE HEAVENS >. It therefore says (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. R. Simeon ben Laqish says: BEHIND (in the sense of what comes afterwards) < refers > to an event of the sixth day, and BEFORE < refers > to an event of the first day. What is the reason? {Resh Laqish said} [Thus has R. Simeon ben Laqish said] (in Gen. 1:2): AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS. This SPIRIT was the soul of the first Adam. It therefore says (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. BEHIND < refers > to an event of the sixth day, and BEFORE < refers > to an event of the first day. R. Eleazar ben Pedat says: BEHIND < refers > to an event of the sixth day, and BEFORE < refers > to an event of the sixth day. How so? Because the Holy One created six things on the sixth day. They were these: (1) The soul, (2) wild beasts, (3) cattle, (4) creeping things, (5) beasts of the earth, and (6) Adam and Eve. Now Adam's soul was created first, as stated (in Gen. 1:24): LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH A LIVING SOUL. LIVING SOUL can only be the soul of Adam, since it is stated (in Gen. 2:7): AND THE HUMAN (adam) BECAME A LIVING SOUL. Hence, BEFORE < refers > to the < first > event of the sixth day, and BEHIND < refers > to the sixth day, since < the Holy One > was occupied with him all of the sixth day. Ergo (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. BEHIND < refers > to an event of the sixth day, and BEFORE < refers > to an event of the sixth day. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: What is the meaning of BEHIND AND BEFORE? Having two faces, male and female. Hence it says (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. (Ber. 61a; ‘Eruv. 18a.) Adam said: After the Holy One had created all the cattle and wild beasts, he created me. So it is with the infant. Before it comes forth from its mother's belly, the Holy One commands it: Eat of this, do not eat of that, (in Lev. 11:29:) THIS SHALL BE UNCLEAN FOR YOU. Then after it takes upon itself in its mother's belly all the commandments which are in the Torah, < only > after that it is born. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 12:2): WHEN A WOMAN EMITS HER SEED AND BEARS A MALE.

(Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi….” This text is related (to Ps. 68:7), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” A certain matron (Lat.: matrona.) asked R. Jose ben Halafta, “In how many days [did the Holy One, blessed be He, create the world?” He said to her, “In six days, as stated (in Exod. 31:17), ‘for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth.’” (Gen. R. 68:4; Lev. R. 8:1; Numb. R. 3:6; PRK 2:4; below, Numb. 9:9; cf. above, Gen. 1:2.) She said to him, “Ever since the world was created, what does He do?” “He sits [there] arranging marriages and issuing decrees. So He says, ‘So-and-so shall marry so-and-so.’” (Ps. 68:7), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” Who are they? This was Amram and his wife Yochebed, since through their merit the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Israel out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved with clay and bricks. (The Exodus theme is suggested by what follows in Ps. 68:7): HE BRINGS OUT THE PRISONERS INTO PROSPERITY, Cf. M. Pss. 68:4.) What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He married Yochebed to Amram in order to raise up from them a redeemer for Israel and from them to raise up high priests. It is therefore stated (ibid.), “God causes individuals to dwell in a home.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “In as much as this tribe is accustomed to be raising up redeemers, go and number them.” (Numb. 3:15:) “Enroll the Children of Levi….” But it is written in another place (i.e., in Numb. 1:49), “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi, nor shall you take a census of them.” (Cf. Numb. R. 3:7.) When Israel had made the calf, what is written there (in Exod. 32:26)? “So Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said, ‘Whoever is for the Lord, to me!’ And all of the sons of Levi gathered to him.” Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, (in the words of Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” R. Judah bar Shallum said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, is accustomed to numbering [the children of] this tribe in every case while they are young. (Numb. R. 3:8.) How is it shown? When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Jacob to go down to Egypt, at that time he numbered Israel and his children; and all of them were found [to number] sixty-six, as stated (in Gen. 46:26), “And all the souls of the House of Jacob that came that came to Egypt… were sixty-six.” [In addition were] Joseph's two sons, plus Joseph, for a total of seventy minus one. But it says (in vs. 27), “all the souls of the House of Jacob, which came to Egypt, were seventy.” R. Levi said that R. Samuel bar Nahman said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, customarily numbers this tribe while they are in their mother's womb.” (Gen. R. 94:9 and M. Pss. 92:12.) R. Berekhyah the Priest said, “There is not enough resin to flow out before they collect it. (Rt.: SPG; cf. the Gk.: spoggos (“sponges”).) So it was in the case of Jochebed. Her mother was pregnant with her; and while she was in her mother's womb, she was numbered together with her.” Resh Laqish said, “While her mother was entering the gate of Egypt, her mother gave birth to her. The statement is therefore made concerning seventy souls (in Gen. 46:27).” And also concerning her children's children, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses (in Numb. 3:15), “you shall enroll every male from the age of a month and upward.” Moses said to him, “Am I able to persevere and go around into their courtyards and into the midst of their houses to number each and every one of them, when You say (ibid.), ‘every male from the age of a month and upward?’” (Numb. R. 1:9.) The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “You do your [part], and I will do my [part].” R. Judah bar Shalom the Levite said, “Moses would go and stand at the gate of the tent [in question]. Then the Divine Presence would draw near and say to him, ‘There are five infants in this tent; there are ten infants in that tent.’” Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Numb. 3:16), “So Moses enrolled them according to the word (literally, according to the mouth) of the Lord, as he had been commanded,” [i.e.,] just as the Divine Presence told him.

(Numb. 8:2:) “When you set up the lamps.” What is written above the matter (in Numb. 7:1–2)? “So it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished [ … ] that the princes of Israel, [the heads of their ancestral houses, namely the princes of the tribes, the ones in charge of those being numbered,] made their offerings.” Then afterwards (in Numb. 8:2), “Speak unto Aaron [and say unto him], ’When you set up [the lamps].’” (Numb. R. 15:6.) This text is related (to Ps. 34:10), “Fear the Lord, O you His holy ones, for those who fear Him lack nothing.” You find above (in Numb. 7) that eleven tribes made offerings, while the tribe of Levi made no offering. So while the tribe of Ephraim made offerings and all of the princes made offerings, the prince of Levi [did not]. Now who was the prince of Levi? This was Aaron, as stated (in Numb. 17:18), “And you shall write the name of Aaron upon the rod of Levi.” So Aaron did not make an offering with the princes, for he said, “Woe to me! Perhaps it is because of me that the Holy One, blessed be He, is not accepting the tribe of Levi.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, “Go, say unto Aaron, ‘Do not be afraid. You are destined for something greater than this.’” It is therefore written (in Numb. 8:2), “Speak unto Aaron [...], ‘When you are raised.’” The offerings remain in force as long as the Temple exists, but the lamps are forever (according to Numb. 8:2 cont.) “in front of the menorah.” Moreover, all the blessings which I have given you to bless My children shall never pass away. Another interpretation (of Numb. 8:2 cont.), “in front of the menorah.” So that you will not despise this menorah. It is so stated (in Zech. 4:10), “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice to see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, [even] these seven [...].” This is the menorah. And what are “[these] seven?” These are the seven lamps corresponding to the seven planets that (ibid. cont.) “roam around all the earth.” (Numb. R. 15:7.) These seven likewise are dear to Me. Thus you may not despise them. It is therefore written (in Numb. 8:2:) “let the seven lamps give their light in front of the menorah.” Lest your [evil] drive lead you astray into saying that He (i.e. The Holy One, blessed be He) has need of light, [see] what is written about the windows of the Temple (in Ezek. 40:16, 25), “Now there were narrow windows into the cells [...]. Like the windows (kehahallonot) mentioned above.” "Kahallonot" (The midrash is explaining an extra he (h) which does not belong there.) is not written here but "kehahallonot" (understood here as kehah halonot which means "dim windows"), in that they were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside in order to send forth light to the outside. (Above, Numb. 3:2.) R. Berekhyah the Priest said, “This lightning is the result of fire from on high. When it goes forth it brightens up the whole world, as stated (in Ezek. 1:13), ‘As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like coals of fire burning with the appearance of torches … [and from the fire there went forth lightning],’ and it brightens up the whole world. And I would need your light? [So] why did I tell to you to give Me light? Simply in order to exalt you (ha'alotekha), (Cf. Numb. 8:2: WHEN YOU SET UP THE LAMPS (ha‘alotekha).) as stated (in Numb. 8:2), ‘When you set up (beha'alotekha).’” R. Hanina said, “Concerning your own eyes they have within them both black and white. Still you see not out of the white but out of the black. [Now if in the case of your eyes, which have within them both black and white, but with you seeing only out of the black], would the Holy One, blessed be He, who is all light need your light?” Another interpretation (of Numb. 8:2 cont.), “in front of the menorah.” Flesh and blood lights a lamp from a burning lamp. Could one [ever] light a lamp from the darkness? The Holy One, blessed be He, however, did make a lamp give light from the darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2), “with darkness upon the face of the deep.” What is written after that (in vs. 3)? “Then God said, ‘Let there be light.’” [Since] I have brought light out of the darkness, do I have need for your light? So why did I say [to light lamps]? Simply to exalt you (rt.: 'lh), (in the words of Exod. 27:20) “to set up (rt.: 'lh) an everburning lamp.”

It has been taught on the authority of R. Simeon the son of Lakish: Why does Scripture say of the creation process (simply) first day, second day, third day, fourth day, fifth day, the sixth day, adding the definite article (heh) (The numerical value of heh is five.) only in this instance, so that it reads the sixth day? This is to teach us, the rabbi explained, that God made an agreement with the works of creation in which he declared: If Israel accepts the Torah, in which there are five books, well and good, but if not I will return you to a state unformed and void (Gen. 1:2). Hence the sons of Korah exclaimed: When the earth and the inhabitants thereof trembled, I Myself established the pillars of it (Ps. 75:4). The word pillars in this verse refers to the Torah, which the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed at Sinai.

Woe to the house whose windows open toward the darkness, as it is said: And where the light is as darkness (ibid.), for the light itself comes from darkness. (A reference to Egyptian black magic.) Hence it says: Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when he went down to the netherworld, I caused the deep to mourn and cover itself for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof, and the great waters were stayed (Ezek. 31:15). R. Judah the son of Rabbi stated: What are the wicked covered with in the netherworld? With darkness. And Hezekiah the son of R. Judah explained why that was so. With what does one cover an earthenware tub? With a lid that is made of the same substance. And just as an earthenware tub is covered with an earthenware lid, the wicked whose works are in the dark (Isa. 29:15) are covered by the Holy One, blessed be He, with the deep which is darkness, as it is said: And darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). This refers to the netherworld. Hence, the darkness that came upon the Egyptians ascended from the netherworld. Even darkness which may be felt (Exod. 10:21). How thick was this darkness? Our sages asserted that it was as thick as a dinar, as it is said: Even darkness which may be felt.

(Lev. 22:26-27:) “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born.” This text is related (to Ps. 36:7), “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are like the great deep….” (See above, Gen. 2:8; below, Numb. 1:1.) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.” These are the righteous ones, in that they have been compared with mountains, where it is stated (in Micah 6:2), “Hear, O mountains, the claim of the Lord.” (Ps. 36:7, cont.:) “And Your judgments are like the great deep.” These are the wicked, since it is stated (in Exod. 15:5), “The depths covered them.” “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.” These are the righteous, [for] just as these mountains grow herbs, so the righteous possess good works. (Ibid., cont.:) “And Your judgments are like the great deep.” These are the wicked, [for] just as the deep does not grow herbs, so the wicked do not possess good works. (Ps. 36:7:) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.” Just as the mountains are suitable for sowing and producing fruit; so do the righteous produce fruit, in that they do good for themselves and do good for others. (Lev. 27:1.) To what is the matter comparable? To a gold bell with a pearl (Gk.: margarites, margaritis, margaritarion, or margellion.) clapper. Similarly the righteous do good for themselves and do good for others. Thus it is stated (in Is. 3:9), “Tell the righteous that [all is] well for them, for they shall eat the fruit of their works.” (Ps. 36:7 cont.:) “And Your judgments are like the great deep.” These are the wicked. Just as the deep is unable to sow and grow fruit, so the wicked do not possess good works and do not grow fruit. Instead they are distressing for themselves and for others. Thus it is stated (in Is. 3:10), “Woe to the bad wicked, as the recompense of his hands will be done to him.” He is bad for himself and bad for others. (Ps. 36:7:) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains [and Your judgments are like the great deep].” Transpose the text and interpret it: (See also Gen. R. 33:1; PRK 9:1; M. Pss. 36:5.) Your righteousness over your judgments is like the mighty mountains over the great deep. Just as these mountains hold down the deep, so that it does not rise up and inundate the earth, so the works of the righteous hold back the divine retributions, so that they will not come into the world. (Ps. 36:7:) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.” Just as these mountains have no end, so there is no end to the reward of the righteous in the world to come. (Ibid., cont.:) “Your judgments are like the great deep.” Just as the deep has no limit, so there is no limit to the divine retributions of the wicked in the world to come. (Ps. 36:7:) “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains (literally, mountains of God); [Your judgments are like the great deep].” R. Ishmael and R. Aqiva [differ]. R. Ishmael says, “Since the righteous (rt.: tsdq) carry out the Torah, which was given from the mountains of God, the Holy One, blessed be He, treats them with a charity (rt.: tsdq) like the mountains of God. But since the wicked do not carry out the Torah, which was given from the mountains of God, the Holy One, blessed be He, deals strictly with them, even unto the great deep.” R. Aqiva says, “The Holy One, blessed be He, is as strict with the former as with the latter. From the righteous he collects in this world for a few evil deeds which they have committed, in order to render them full payment in the world to come; while he gives prosperity in abundance to the wicked and pays them in this world for the few good deeds that they have done, in order to punish them in the world to come.” R. Meir says, “[Scripture] has spoken metaphorically of the righteous in their abode, and it has spoken metaphorically of the wicked in their abode. (Above, Gen. 2:8, and the note there.) It has spoken metaphorically of the righteous in their abode, even as stated (in Ezek. 34:14), “I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the mountains of the Lofty One of Israel shall be their fold.” And it has spoken metaphorically of the wicked in their abode, as stated (in Ezek. 31:15), “Thus says the Lord God, ‘In the day that he went down to Sheol, I caused him to mourn (he'evalti); I covered him with the deep.’” The written text is "I led" (hovalti, not “I caused… to mourn [he'evalti]”). (Gen. R. 33:1; Exod. R. 14:2. So interpreted the verse means: “I led him [into Geihinnom].) R. Judah bar Ammi told a parable, “One does not make a cover for a vat of silver, gold, bronze or iron, but rather of clay, because that is a material of the same sort. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘Geihinnom is darkness,’ as stated (in Ps. 35:6), ‘Let their path be darkness and slipperiness, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.’ Moreover, the deep is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2), ‘with darkness upon the face of the deep.’ And the wicked are darkness, as stated (in Is. 29:15), ‘for their works are in darkness; so they say, “Who sees us and who knows about us?”’ So let darkness come and cover darkness, just as you have said (in Eccl. 6:4), ‘For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness; even its name is covered in darkness.’”

(Numb. 32:1:) “Much livestock.” This text is related (to Ps. 75:7), “For it is not from the east or from the west [or from the wilderness that there comes an exaltation (harim)].” What is the meaning of (Ps. 75:7) “For it is not from the east (rt.: mts') or from the west?” (Numb. R. 22:8.) It is not from a person working hard by going out (rt.: mts') for trade and traveling from east to west and searching in wildernesses and on mountains (harim) that he becomes wealthy. Rather even if one sails away in ships to go from east to west and searches in wildernesses and on mountains (harim), he does not become wealthy. What is the meaning of (Ps. 75:7, cont.), “or from the wilderness that there comes an exaltation (harim)?” R. Abba Sanagoria says, “Every use of harim in Scripture denotes mountains except for here, where it denotes exaltation. Thus one is not exalted from these things.” So what does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He takes possessions (nekhasim) from one and gives them to another, as stated (in Ps. 75:7, cont.), “For God it is who gives judgment; He brings down one man, He lifts up another.” That is why they are called nekhasim, as they are covered (nikhsim) from one and revealed to another. And why is the name of [common coins] called zuzim? Because they move (zazim) from one and are given to another. [It is called] money (mammon), because what you count (mah [she’atah] moneh) is not anything. [It is called] coins (ma’ot), because they are from time (me’et) to time. And one can expound [with these] expression[s of money]. And so did Hannah say (in I Sam. 2:7), “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He casts down, He also (af) lifts high,” [meaning] with the anger (af) that He bring upon one, He lifts up the other. A certain matron asked R. Jose ben Halafta, “In how many days did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His world? He said to her, “In six days, as stated (in Exod. 31:17), ‘for in six day the Lord made the heavens and the earth.’” (Above, Numb. 1:18; Gen. R. 68:4; PRK 2:4; Lev. R. 8:1; Numb. R. 3:6; cf. above, Gen. 1:2.) She said to him, “And what has He been doing since that time?” He said to her, “He sits down and makes ladders for raising up one and putting down another. Hence it is stated (in Ps. 75:7), ‘For God it is who gives judgment; He brings down one man, He lifts up another.’” You yourself know that, when He wanted the Children of Gad and the Children of Reuben to become wealthy, He brought down the Midianites in front of Israel, so that the Children of Gad and the Children of Reuben would become wealthy. What is written above (in Numb. 31:9)? “Then the children of Israel took the women and children of the Midianites captive, and all their cattle, all their livestock, and all their wealth they seized as plunder.” Then after that, it is written (in Numb. 32:1), “Now [the Children of Reuben and the Children of Gad] had much livestock.” See that He brought down the Midianites and raised up the Children of Reuben and the Children of Gad, to fulfill that which is stated, (in Ps. 75:8), “For it is not from the east or from the west…, for it is God who judges; He brings down one man, He lifts up another.”

What is written prior to the episode in which Moses was keeping the flock? Many things are designated for certain purposes even before they are introduced into the world. (This is hinted at by the word “was.”) Death was designated to enter the world, as it is said: And darkness was on the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). This refers to the angel of death, who darkens the countenances of all creatures. Yet it is written: And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (ibid., v. 3), even though death already existed, as it is said: Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep (ibid., v. 2).

(Lev. 12:2:) “When a woman emits her seed and bears a male.” This text is related (to Job 29:2), “O that I were as in the months of old, [as in the days when God watched over me]!” In regard to this verse, Job spoke it when the afflictions had come upon him. He said, “’O that I were as in the months of old,’ and would that I had the days which I had when I was in my mother's belly!” “As in the days when God watched over me!” [These words] teach that the infant is watched over while it is in its mother's belly. (Job 29:3:) “When His light shone over my head […].” From here you learn that the infant has light in its mother's belly. (Job 29:4:) “When I was in the days of my youth (horef), (Horef also means “winter.” Buber notes here that in the following simile, the infant in the womb is being protected in the womb as the winter rain protects the soil.) when God's company was over my tent.” [These words teach about the infant.] Just as the rain is at work in the soil for it to become muddy, so the infant is muddy in its mother's womb. Another interpretation [of] “when God's company was over my tent”: These words teach about the infant. Just as the infant gets muddy, so is a person muddied by sins, so that misfortunes come upon him. At that time [Job] said (in Job 29:2), “’O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,’ and would that I had the days which I had when I was in my mother's belly!” What does he finally say (in vs. 4)? “When I was in the days of my youth.” R. Abbahu said, “The infant comes out of the mother's belly covered with slime and covered with blood; yet everyone praises and cherishes it, especially when it is a male.” (Tanh., Lev. 8:11; PRK 9:6.) Ergo (in Lev. 12:2), “When a woman emits her seed and bears a male.” (Lev. 12:2:) “When a woman emits her seed.” [This text is related to (Ps. 139:5),] “You have formed me behind and before.” The text speaks of the first Adam. (Cf. Gen. R. 8:1; 14:5; Lev. R. 14:1; M. Pss. 139:6.) R. Johanan said, “It is written about him that there were two creations. There is a double y (i.e., a double yod in Gen. 2:7), ‘The Lord God formed (yytsr) the human.’ One formation is in this world, and one is for the world to come. But in the case of cattle, wild beasts, and birds, for them [only] one formation is written (without a double y in Gen. 2:19), ‘So out of the earth the Lord God formed (ytsr) all the wild beasts of the field [and all the birds of the heavens].’ It therefore says (in Ps. 139:5), ‘You have formed me behind and before.’” R. Simeon ben Laqish says, “Behind (in the sense of what comes] before the act of [his] creation. What is the reason? It is written (in Gen. 1:2), ‘and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters’; this spirit was the soul of the first Adam. It therefore says (in Ps. 139:5), ‘You have formed me behind and before.’” R. Eleazar ben Pedat says, “Behind [refers] to an [later] event of the sixth day, and before [refers] to an [earlier] event of the sixth day. How so? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, created six things on the sixth day. They were these: (1) the soul; (2) wild beasts; (3) cattle; (4) beasts of the earth; (5) Adam; and (6) Eve. Now Adam's soul was created first, as stated (in Gen. 1:24), ‘a living soul.’ Living soul can only be the soul of Adam, since it is stated (in Gen. 2:7), ‘and the human (Adam) became a living soul.’ Hence, before [refers] to the [first] event of the sixth day, and behind [refers] to the sixth day, since [the Holy One, blessed be He,] was occupied with him all of the sixth day. Ergo (in Ps. 139:5), ‘You have formed me behind and before.’ Behind [refers] to an event of the sixth day, and before [refers] to an event of the sixth day.” R. Samuel bar Nahman said, “What is the meaning of ‘You have formed me behind and before?’ Having two faces, male and female. Hence it says (in Ps. 139:5), ‘You have formed me behind and before.’” (Ber. 61a; ‘Eruv. 18a.) Adam said, “After the Holy One, blessed be He, had created all the cattle and wild beasts, He created me.” So it is with the infant. Before it comes forth from its mother's belly, the Holy One, blessed be He, commands it, “Eat of this, do not eat of that, (in Lev. 11:29) ‘this shall be unclean for you.’” Then after it takes upon itself in its mother's belly all the commandments which are in the Torah, [only] after that it is born. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 12:2), “When a woman emits her seed and bears a male.”

And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood (Exod. 37:1). Scripture states elsewhere: The opening of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple (Ps. 119:130). When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, the entire world was composed of water, as it is said: And darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). R. Judah and R. Nehemiah discussed this verse. R. Judah said: The Holy One, blessed be He, created the darkness first, and then He created the world. R. Nehemiah contended that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world first and then the darkness. R. Simeon the son of Yehozadak inquired of R. Samuel about this. He said to him: You are an authority on aggadic traditions, so tell me, how did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His world? When He created the world, did He create the light first? R. Samuel the son of Nahman answered: When He decided to create His world, He surrounded Himself with light, and then He created the world, as is said: Who coverest Thyself with light as a garment, and that is followed by: Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2). Therefore Scripture states: The opening of Thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple (ibid. 119:130).

R. Judah the son of Ilai said: This may be likened to a king who wished to build a palace in a dark place. First he lit candles, and then he built (the palace). The Holy One, blessed be He, did likewise. The world was dark, as it is said: And darkness was on the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2), and so He wrapped himself with light and created the world. Hence, the opening of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple (Ps. 119:130). The righteous learn from the Holy One, blessed be He, that they should begin with light. How do we know this? At the time that Moses told Bezalel that the Holy One, blessed be He, had said Build Me a Sanctuary, Moses told him: Go build the Tabernacle. What did he begin with? Bezalel began with the ark.

And Joseph was brought down into Egypt (Gen. 39:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse: Come and see the works of God; he acts circuitously in His doings toward the children of man (Ps. 66:5). R. Joshua the son of Karha declared: Even the fearful experiences You inflicted upon us, You brought about circuitously. For example, when the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He fashioned the angel of death on the first day. Whence do we know that? R. Berechiah said: We know it from the verse And darkness was on the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). Darkness refers to the angel of death, for he darkens the face of man.

Another thing the rivers of God lifted up. Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Ben Azai that the waters were rising and reaching up to the throne of glory, as it is said, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And it also says, "As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). And when the bee emerges from the mouth of the Almighty (Genesis 9:10), the waters would gather together. Mountains and hills rose up from the ends of the earth and spread throughout the land, creating valleys upon valleys in the midst of the earth, and the waters would roll and gather into the valleys, as it is said, "And he called the gathering of the waters 'Seas'" (Genesis 1:10). Immediately, the waters swelled and covered the land, until God rebuked them and pressed them beneath His feet, forming a border for the sea as a man makes a fence around his vineyard. And when the waters rose and saw the sand before them, they receded, as it is said, "Fear not, O Jacob My servant," says the Lord, "for I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations where I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished" (Jeremiah 46:28). And before the waters were gathered together, the deeps were created. These are the depths that are beneath the earth, and the earth above them is split like a crack in a vessel, gazing into the heart of the sea. Thus, the earth is anchored upon the waters, as it is said, "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever" (Psalm 104:5). And where did those waters go? Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Yehudah, the son of Rabbi Shalom: "What is this thing like? It is like two bowls, one full and one empty. But if they were both full, what could they do? When they are full, they pour into the channel, and when the wind passes through them, they turn to one place. So the whole world was filled with water. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He restrained them, and they dried up, as it is said, 'He holds back the waters, and they dry up; also, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth' (Job 12:15). And it also says, 'He walks on the high places of the sea' (Job 9:8), "He holds back the waters, and they dry up." And it also says (Micah 1:3), "He treads upon the high places of the sea." And it says (Psalm 33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap." And where did they go? Rabbi Levi said, "These whisper to these, 'Where are we going?' And they say, 'The way of the sea, the way of the sea, to make war with that country, to make war with that country.'" Rabbi Huna drew out a tongue of fire to each side. Rabbi Joshua ben Karcha said, "We have received that the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, was roaring before them, as it is said (Psalm 29:3), 'The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.' The rivers raise their voice."

Chapter 2. Rabbi Akiva opened and said: "Man is like grass, his days are like a flower of the field" (Psalms 103:15). It happened with Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva who were walking in the streets of Jerusalem, and there was another man with them. A sick man met them and said to them: "My teachers, tell me how I can be healed." They said to him: "Do this and this until you are healed." He said to them: "Who struck me?" They said: "God." He said: "And you involve yourselves in something that is not yours! He struck me and you heal me - don't you transgress His will?!" They said: "What is your occupation?" He said: "I am a farmer, here is my sickle in my hand." They said: "Who created the vineyard?" He said: "God." They said: "And you involve yourself in something that is not yours! He created it and you cut its fruits from it." He said: "Don't you see the sickle is in my hand? If I did not go out and plow it, fertilize it, weed it - nothing would grow!" They said: "You foolish man, from your work you have not heard what is written: 'Man is like grass, his days are like a flower' (Psalms 103:15). Just as a tree will not grow if it is not weeded, fertilized, and plowed, and even if it grew but did not drink water and was not fertilized, it would not live but die - so too the body: the fertilizer is the medicine and the varieties of healing, and the man of the earth is the doctor." He said to them: "Please do not punish me. This body's generations are dependent on each other. Without this, that would not be. And when they separate from each other, the body tends towards death. Just as a house has four sides - if one detaches, the house falls. And everything He created, He created as pairs. Without death there would be no life, and without life there would be no death. Without peace there would be no evil, and without evil there would be no peace. If a person entered a city which was half peace and half evil, he would go in the evil part and recognize the peace. And if there was another city which was all peaceful, if there was no evil there, the peace would not be recognizable. If all people were fools, they would not be recognizable as fools. And if all people were wise, they would not be recognizable as wise. Rather, "He made one opposite the other" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). And if all people were rich, they would not be recognizable as rich. And if all were poor, they would not be recognizable as poor. Rather, He created poor and rich so they would be distinguishable from each other. And he created wise and foolish to distinguish one from the other. And He created dead and living to distinguish between fertile and desolate. He created beauty and ugliness, males and females, fire and water, iron and wood, light and darkness, heat and cold, eating and hunger, drinking and thirst, walking and limping, seeing and blindness, hearing and deafness, sea and land, speech and muteness, action and idleness, worry and calm, laughter and crying, healing and illness - with all the opposites that Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes: "A time to give birth and a time to die", etc. And all this is to make known the might of God, that everything He created He created in pairs, as partners. Could the Omnipresent not have brought forth children without incest and revealing nakedness? Rather, everything is with a partner and opposite. Without male and female joining there is no offspring. A male cannot give birth without a female, nor can a female give birth without a male. And a house is not built by itself, nor does a house build another house, rather it needs a builder to build it. There is no woodchopper without an axe, and without a woodchopper, what is an axe for? Without an axe there is no woodchopper. Without purity there is no impurity, and without impurity there is no purity." The pigs and all kinds of impure animals said to the pure animals: "You want to be grateful to us - if not for us impure ones, you would not be known to be pure!" The wicked person says to the righteous person: "You want to be grateful to me - if not for me being wicked, how would you be recognized? If all people were righteous, you would have no advantage." So we have said that everything has an opposite except for one thing - to make known to all who come into the world, subtly, that He (God) is One and has no second. And so too the wind, which has no opposite or partner. You cannot grasp it, strike it, burn it or throw it. And if you say you can grasp the wind in a waterskin - no, because if the waterskin is opened and a person comes and says "What is in it?" and you say "Wind" - he will say "What is it, black or red, white or green? How is it sold in the marketplace?" You cannot answer him. And if you open the waterskin's mouth, the wind departs and you cannot see if it is black or red, white or green. Not only that, but it carries people and carries the heavens and earth. How do you know? From what your eyes see: A person enters a house, deeper into the house, or a cave, deeper into the cave, and waves his garment, and the wind comes out, and you do not know from where it came and where it goes. From this you learn that wind fills the world. And so it was that the Queen asked Rabbi Akiva, "On what does the world stand?" He said, "On the wind." She said, "Show me!" He said, "Bring me camels laden with salt." They walked them around the house. He said, "What do you see?" They said, "Camels laden with salt." He said, "Bring me a rope." They brought him a rope and wrapped it around their necks. He gave the rope to two men and said, "This one should pull from here and this one should pull from here" until they strangled them. After they strangled them, he said, "Stand them up." She said, "You are the wise Jew - after you strangled them you say stand them up?!" He said, "What is missing from them except the wind? From this you learn that the world stands on nothing but the wind, which is supreme and exalted." "And it was from the beginning, as it says 'and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters' (Genesis 1:2). There are two things that we do not find created - the wind and the water - and they preexisted, as it says 'and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters.' The entire world and all within it we find created in the six days of creation, except for the water, the wind and the darkness, as it says 'and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters' (Genesis 1:2), until Isaiah came and said 'He forms light and creates darkness' (Isaiah 45:7)."... GERMAN: Einst gingen Rabbi Akiva und Rabbi Ischmael auf den Straßen von Jerusalem. Ein Kranker begegnete ihnen und fragte sie: „Meine Herren, wie kann ich geheilt werden?“. Sie antworteten ihm: „Tue dies und das bis du gesund wirst“. Er fragte: „Wer machte mich krank?“. Sie sagten: „Gott“. Er sagte: „Und ihr mischt euch ein, in eine Sache, die nicht euch gehört? Er machte mich krank und ihr wollt heilen? Handelt ihr nicht gegen seinen Willen?“. Sie fragen: „Was ist dein Beruf?“. Er sagte: „Ich bin ein Landarbeiter“. Sie fragten: „Wer hat den Weinberg erschaffen?“. Er sagte: „Gott“. Sie fragten: „Du mischst dich in eine Sache ein, die nicht dir gehört? Gott erschuf ihn und du schneidest seine Früchte ab?“. Er sagte: „Würde ich den Weinberg nicht pflügen, nicht, jäten, nicht düngen, käme doch keine Frucht von ihm.“ Sie sagten: „Du Dummkopf, hast du nicht den Vers gehört `Des Menschen Tage sind wie Gras, er blüht wie eine Blume des Feldes´(Ps. 103:15). Genau wie das Gewächs, wenn es nicht gejätet und gedüngt wird, wächst nichts und wenn es wächst und nichts trinkt, dann stirbt es. Genauso ist der Körper des Menschen, sein Dünger ist das Medikament und die Arten der Heilung und der Landarbeiter, der sich darum kümmert, ist der Arzt.“

On the sixth day He brought forth from the earth a beast (Behemoth) which lies stretched out on a thousand hills and every day has its pasture on a thousand hills, and overnight (the verdure) grows of its own account as though he had not touched it, as it is said, "Surely the mountains bring him forth food" (Job 40:20). The waters of the Jordan give him water to drink, for the waters of the Jordan surround all the earth, half thereof (flow) above the earth and the other half below the earth, as it is said, "He is confident, though Jordan swell even to his mouth" (Job 40:23). This (creature) is destined for the day of sacrifice, for the great banquet of the righteous, as it is said, "He only that made him can make his sword to approach unto him" (Job 40:19).

Eight things were created on the first day, namely, Heaven, Earth, Light, Darkness, Tohu (Chaos), Bohu (Void), Wind (or Spirit), and Water, as it is said, "And the wind of God was moving upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). Some (wise men) say that day and night also, as it is said, And there was evening and morning, one day (Gen. 1:5). Eight things were created on the second day, namely, the Well, the Manna, the Rod, the Rainbow, the art of writing, the written characters, the Garments, and the destroying spirits. Ten things arose in the thought (of the Creator), namely, Jerusalem," the spirits of the patriarchs, the paths of the righteous, Hell (Gehenom), the waters of the flood, the second tables, the shabbat, the temple and the light of the world to come.

“It was during the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem of Judah went to reside in the field of Moav, he, his wife, and his two sons” (Ruth 1:1). “It was during the days when the judges judged” – Rabbi Yoḥanan began and said: “Hear My people and I will speak; [Israel, and I will forewarn you]” (Psalms 50:7). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One forewarns only one who can hear it. Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Simon said: In the past they were called Israel like all other nations: “Savta, Rama, and Savtekha” (Genesis 10:7); (These are the names of nations listed in Genesis, chap. 10.) from here forward, they are called only My people. “Hear My people and I will speak” – from where did you merit to be called My people? From “and I will speak” – from what you spoke before Me at Sinai and said: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Hear My people” – [what I have said] in the past; “and I will speak” – in the future. “Hear My people” – in this world; “and I will speak” – in the World to Come. So I will have a response to the angels of the nations of the world who are destined to accuse them before Me and say: ‘Master of the universe, these worship idols and those worship idols, these engaged in forbidden sexual relations and those engaged in forbidden sexual relations, these spilled blood and those spilled blood, and these are going down to the Garden of Eden and those are going down to Gehenna?’ At that time, the advocate of Israel is silenced. That is what you say: “At that time Mikhael will stand” (Daniel 12:1). Is there sitting on high? Did Rabbi Ḥanina not say: There is no sitting on high, as it is written: “I approached one of those standing [kamaya]” (Daniel 7:16). What is this language kamaya? Standing [kayama], as it is written: “Seraphim stood above Him” (Isaiah 6:2), and it is written: “The entire host of heaven standing in His presence on His right hand and on His left” (see I Kings 22:19). And you say “will stand”? (Since angels always stand, what does it mean that the angel Mikhael will stand at that moment?) [Rather,] what is “will stand”? It is stand silent, as you say: “Shall I wait, because they do not speak, amdu] and do not answer>?” (Job 32:16). The Holy One blessed be He says to him: ‘Do you stand silent and not advocate on behalf of My children? By your life, I will speak in support of their righteousness and rescue My children.’ What righteousness? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yoḥanan, one says: Due to the righteousness that you established My world because you accepted My Torah, as had you not accepted My Torah, I would have restored it [the world] to emptiness and disorder, as Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: “Earth and all its inhabitants dissolve, [I set its pillars, selah]” (Psalms 75:4). The world would have already dissolved, had Israel not stood before Mount Sinai… (Referring to a midrash that appears in Shir HaShirim Rabba 1:9: “If Israel had not stood on Mount Sinai and said: ‘Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will heed’ (Exodus 24:7), the world would have dissolved and returned to emptiness and disorder.” The midrash there then continues as it does here.) And who established the world? “I [anokhi] set its pillars” (Psalms 75:4). Due to the merit of anokhi, “I set its pillars, selah.” (Anokhi is the first word of the Ten Commandments. In other words, due to the merit of Israel’s future acceptance of the Ten Commandments and the entire Torah, God established the foundations of the world.) One said: Due to the righteousness you did for yourselves in accepting My Torah, as had you not done so, I would have eliminated you from among the nations. “God; I am your God” (Psalms 50:7) – Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is sufficient for you that I am your patron. Reish Lakish said: Although I am your patron, how does My patronage help at trial? (The midrash is responding to the repetition in the verse: “God; I am your God.” God [Elohim] represents the attribute of justice, and the verse thus presents a tension between God being strictly just and God being particularly Israel’s God, i.e., their patron.) Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai taught: I am the God for all humankind, but I have designated My name only upon My people Israel. I am not called the God of all the nations, but rather, the God of Israel. “God [Elohim]; I am your God” – Rabbi Yudan interpreted the verse in reference to Moses: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Even though I called you “god to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:1), “I am your God” – I am above you.’ Rabbi Abba bar Yudan interpreted the verse in reference to Israel: Although I called you god, as it is stated: “I said you are godlike [elohim]” (Psalms 82:6), “I am your God” – know that I am above you. The Rabbis interpreted the verse in reference to judges: Even though I called you elohim, as it is stated: “Do not curse elohim” (Exodus 22:27), know that I am above you. Then He said to Israel: ‘I accorded honor to the judges and called them elohim, and they demean them. Woe unto a generation that judges their judges.’

“Moses extended his hand toward the heavens, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. They did not see one another, and no one rose from his place for three days; but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings” (Exodus 10:22-23). “Moses extended his hand toward the heavens, and there was a thick darkness.” From where did this darkness come? Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: From the heavenly darkness, as it is stated: “He made darkness His secret place, His pavilion around Him” (Psalms 18:12). Rabbi Neḥemya said: From the darkness of Gehenna, as it is stated: “A land of darkness, like blackness, the shadow of death (This is a reference to Gehenna.) and disorder, [where the light is like darkness]” (Job 10:22). Woe to a house whose windows open into darkness, as it is stated: “Where the light is like darkness.” And so it says: “On the day he descended to the grave I caused the deep to mourn [he’evalti], and cover itself for him” (Ezekiel 31:15), hovalti (Because mourning has little to do with depths, the midrash interprets the word he’evalti as hovalti, meaning: I led him into the depths. ) is written. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi said: With what are the wicked covered in Gehenna? With darkness. Ḥizkiyya said: This tub, with what does one cover it? With an earthenware vessel, with the same substance; just as it is of earthenware, so too, one covers it with an earthenware vessel. The same is true of the wicked, as it is stated: “Their deeds are in the dark” (Isaiah 29:15); therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, covers them with the depths, which is dark, as it is stated: “And darkness on the surface of the depths” (Genesis 1:2). One may [therefore] say: The darkness that came upon Egypt was from within Gehenna.

Another interpretation: “Moses was [haya].” Everyone in whose regard haya is written, was fated for this [for what follows]: “Behold, the man has become [haya] [like one of us, knowing good and bad, what if he should extend his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever?]” (Genesis 3:22); death was fated to come to the world, as it is stated: “With darkness upon the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) – that is death, which darkens the faces of the people. “The serpent was [haya] … cunning” (Genesis 3:1); he was fated for punishment. Regarding Noah it is written: “…was [haya] faultless” (Genesis 6:9); he was fated for salvation. Regarding Joseph it is written: “Joseph was [haya]” (Exodus 1:5); he was fated to [provide] sustenance. Regarding Mordekhai it is written: “There was [haya] a Jewish man” (Esther 2:5); he was fated to [bring] deliverance; and Moses, to [bring] salvation. From their original creation they were fated for this. “And he led the flock into the wilderness [midbar].” Rabbi Yehoshua said: Why did he seek the wilderness? It is because he saw that Israel would come up from the wilderness, as it is stated: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness” (Song of Songs 3:6). For it was from the wilderness that they had the manna, the quail, the well, the Tabernacle, the Divine Presence, priesthood, kingship, and the clouds of glory. Alternatively, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘You are destined to take Israel up from Egypt due to the merit of he with whom I spoke [dibbarti] between the pieces, that is Abraham.’ And midbar means nothing but speech [dibbur], as it is stated: “Your mouth [umidbarekh] is lovely” (Song of Songs 4:3). Rabbi Levi said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘This is a sign for you, you will leave them in the wilderness, and from the wilderness you are destined to restore them in the future, as it is stated: “Therefore, I will allure her and I will lead her into the wilderness” (Hosea 2:16). Alternatively, why did he seek the wilderness? It is because he saw that he was destined to destroy the cities of the nations of the world, as it is written; “The end of the nations will be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert” (Jeremiah 50:12). Another interpretation: “And he led the flock into the wilderness” – He informed him that Israel, which is called a flock, will die in the wilderness. Likewise, when Moses entreated [God for] Israel’s needs, (The exchange between Moses and God that follows is based on Song of Songs 1:7–8: “Tell me, You whom my soul loves, where do You shepherd, where do You rest them at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself by the flocks of Your companions? If you do not know, the fairest among women, go you out after the sheep and shepherd your kids, by the tents of the shepherds.”) he said to him: ‘O Holy One blessed be He, “tell me, He whom my soul loves…” (Song of Songs 1:7) – how many birth mothers are among them, how many pregnant women, how many wet nurses have you provided for the babies, how many delicacies have you prepared for the pregnant women?’ The Holy One blessed be He responded to him: “If you do not know” (Song of Songs 1:8); if you do not know, ultimately you will know. “Go out in the footsteps of the flock”; in other words, you will herd the sheep and the lambs , but you will only herd the offspring, “by the tents of the shepherds;” in the land of Siḥon, . (Moses will only lead the second generation in the conquest of the lands on the eastern side of the Jordan, he but will not lead them into the Land. ) “…he arrived at the mountain of God, to Ḥorev.” It has five names: “The mountain of God, Mount Bashan, Mount Gavnunim” (Psalms 68:16), Mount Ḥorev, Mount Sinai. The mountain of God – because it was there that Israel accepted the Holy One blessed be He as their God. Mount Bashan – as everything that a person eats with his teeth [beshinav] is thanks to the Torah that was given on the mountain. Likewise it says: “If you follow My statutes…I will provide your rains in their seasons” (Leviticus 26:3–4). (Agricultural prosperity will depend upon keeping the Torah.) Mount Gavnunim – it is as pure as cheese [gevina], (Cheese is pure in that it can be made only from the milk of kosher animals. Mount Sinai was pure, as there was never idol worship there.) and they were pure without blemish. (The midrash is alluding to a tradition that all of the physical blemishes of Israel were healed when they received the Torah at Mount Sinai.) Mount Ḥorev – from it, the Sanhedrin received license to execute with the sword [ḥerev]. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: It was from there that idolaters received their death sentence, as it is stated: “The nations will be destroyed [ḥarov yeḥeravu]” (Isaiah 60:12) – from Ḥorev they will be destroyed. Mount Sinai – from which hatred [sina] for idolaters descended. (This is because they refused to accept the Torah.)

“Betzalel crafted the Ark of acacia wood: its length was two and a half cubits, its width a cubit and a half, and its height a cubit and a half” (Exodus 37:1). “Betzalel crafted the Ark.” That is what is written: “Your opening words enlighten; they bring understanding to the simple” (Psalms 119:130). When the Holy One blessed be He created His world it was entirely water, as it is stated: “And darkness on the surface of the deep…[and God said: Let there be light]” (Genesis 1:2). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: Light was created first and then the world. This is analogous to a king who sought to build a palace, but the site was dark. What did he do? He kindled lamps and torches to determine where to position the rows of building stones. So too, the light was created first. Rabbi Neḥemya said: The world was created first. This is analogous to a king who built a palace and adorned it with lamps. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, he said to him: ‘Because I have heard about you, that you are an aggadic master, from where was the light created?’ He said: ‘The Holy One blessed be He wrapped Himself in a garment and illuminated the entire world from His aura from its beginning to its end, as it is written: “Covers Himself with light like a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and then “spread the heavens like a tapestry” (Psalms 104:2). Therefore, “Your opening words enlighten.”’ From Him the righteous learned that when they would begin a matter, they would begin with light. You find that when the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses that he should craft the Tabernacle, Betzalel said: ‘With what shall I begin?’ He began with the Ark, as it is stated: “They shall craft an Ark” (Exodus 25:10). (The Ark housed the Tablets and a Torah, and Torah is compared to light (see Proverbs 6:23). )

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be impure seven days; like the days of her menstrual infirmity she shall be impure” (Leviticus 12:2). “When a woman conceives” – that is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me” (Psalms 139:5). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If a person merits, he inherits two worlds, this one and the next. That is what is written: “Back and front You shaped me.” If not, he comes to present an accounting, as it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me” (Psalms 139:5), as it is written: “Distance Your hand from me” (Job 13:21). (This was stated by Job in light of his suffering, and indicates that the image of God’s hand upon a person is used in the context of suffering. ) Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him androgynous. Reish Lakish said: When he was created, he was created with two faces. (There was a face and the front of a body on both sides. ) [God] sawed him, and two backs were formed, a back for the male and a back for the female. They raised an objection to him: “He took one of his ribs [mitzalotav]…[the Lord God built the rib that He took from the man into a woman]” (Genesis 2:21). He said to them: It was one of his sides, as it is written: “For the [second] side [ultzela] of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20). Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: When the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, He created him such that he filled the entire world from one end to the other. From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from east to west? As it is stated: “Back and front You shaped me.” From where is it derived [that he filled the world] from north to Ssouth? As it is stated: “From one end of the heavens to the other end” (Deuteronomy 4:32). And from where is it derived [that he filled] the entire space of the world? (From the earth to the heavens.) As it is stated: “You placed Your hand upon me.” (“You placed [vatashet]” indicates that he was near to the Holy One blessed be He when He placed His hand upon him. ) Rabbi Elazar said: “Back,” this is the first day, “and front,” this is the final day. (The reference here is to the first and final days of Creation.) According to the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, [this is] as it is written: “God said: Let the earth produce living creatures in its kind” (Genesis 1:24); this is the spirit of Adam the first man. (Rabbi Elazar’s point is that Adam’s spirit was created on the sixth day before other creations that were created on that day, and his body was created last. ) Reish Lakish said: “Back” is the final day, “and front,” this is the first day. According to Reish Lakish, as it is written: “The spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water” (Genesis 1:2), this is the spirit of the messianic king. If a person merits, they say to him: ‘You preceded the entire act of Creation.’ If not, they say to him: ‘The gnat preceded you, the worm preceded you.’ Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Tanḥum said: “Back,” after all the creations, “front,” before all the punishments. (Man was created last but is the first to be punished, as in the Flood: “From Man to animal” (Genesis 7:23).) Even his praise came only last, as it is stated: “Beasts and all animals, (The term beast [ḥaya] implies animals generally undomesticated, and the term animal [behema] implies species that are generally domesticated. ) creeping animals, and birds of wing” (Psalms 148:10), and thereafter: “Kings of the earth and all nations” (Psalms 148:11). Rabbi Simlai said: Just as the creation of man was after animal, beast, and bird, so, his law is [written] after those of the animal, beast and bird. That is what is written: “This is the law of the animal” (Leviticus 11:46), and thereafter: “When a woman conceives.”

“A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born, shall be seven days under its mother and from the eighth day on, it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:27). “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” (Psalms 36:7). The mountains produce herbs and the righteous have good deeds. Alternatively, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as mountains are fit to be sown and produce fruit, so, the righteous produce fruits for themselves and for others. To what is the matter comparable? To a golden bell whose clapper is of pearls; (The clapper is heard but is hidden from sight. So too, the reward of the righteous in the World to Come is not perceived or shared with others. However, all benefit from the righteous in this world, as all benefit from the beauty of the golden bell (Etz Yosef). ) so, the righteous benefit themselves and benefit others, as it is stated: “Tell the righteous that it is good, as they will eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10). “Your judgments are vast depths” (Psalms 36:7), these are the wicked. Just as the depths cannot be sown and do not produce fruits, so, the wicked do not have good deeds and they do not produce fruits. Rather, they distress themselves and others, as it is stated: “Woe to the wicked, that he is evil” (Isaiah 3:11), evil for himself and evil for others. “Your righteousness [tzidkatekha] is like mighty mountains; [Your judgments are vast depths].” Transpose the verse and expound it: Your righteousness over your judgments is like mighty mountains over vast depths. Just as these mountains suppress the depths so they do not inundate the world, so too, charity [tzedaka] suppresses punishment so it will not come to the world. “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as these mountains are endless, so too, there is no end to the reward given to the righteous. “Your judgments are vast depths” – just as the depths are unquantifiable, so the punishment of the wicked in the future is unquantifiable. Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yishmael says: The righteous, who fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He performs with them charity like the mighty mountains. But the wicked, who do not fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He is exacting with them to the vast depths. Rabbi Akiva says: He is exacting with these and those. From the righteous He collects payment in this world for the small number of wicked deeds that they performed in this world in order to give them a good reward in the future, and He bestows peace upon the wicked and repays them for the small number of good deeds that they performed in this world in order to exact retribution from them in the future. Rabbi Meir says: The righteous were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “In good grazing land I will herd them, and on the mountains of the height of Israel will be their pasture” (Ezekiel 34:14). The wicked were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “So said the Lord God: On the day that he descended to the netherworld I caused mourning; I covered the depths for him” (Ezekiel 31:15). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi said: This is analogous to the fact that one crafts a cover for an earthenware vat neither of silver, nor of gold, nor of other metals, but rather, of earthenware, because it is of the same kind. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: Gehenna is darkness, as it is written: “Let their way be dark and slippery” (Psalms 35:6); the depths are darkness, as it is stated: “Darkness was upon the surface of the depths” (Genesis 1:2); and the wicked are darkness, as it is stated: “Their actions are in the darkness” (Isaiah 29:15). Let darkness come and cover darkness, as it is stated: “For he came in futility, and departs in darkness, and his name is covered in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 6:4). Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The righteousness that you performed on behalf of Noah in the ark “is like the mighty mountains,” as it is stated: “The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). Your judgments that You performed with his generation, You were exacting with them to “the vast depths,” as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the vast depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). When You remembered him, you did not remember him alone, but rather, “God remembered Noah and every beast” (Genesis 8:1). When Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to Rome, he saw there marble pillars covered with tapestries so they would not crack in the heat or contract in the cold. He saw a certain poor man there with a reed mat beneath him and a reed mat on his back. (Such a mat was hard and uncomfortable to sit or lie on, but also did not provide good protection from the elements. ) Regarding the pillars he read: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Where You bestow, You bestow benevolently. Regarding the poor man he read: “Your judgments are vast depths.” Where You strike, You are very exacting. Alexander of Macedonia went to the king at the end of the earth, beyond the mountains of darkness. He went to a certain province named Carthage in which there were only women. They went out before him and said to him: ‘If you engage in battle with us and overcome us, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who destroyed a district of women. If we engage in battle with you and overcome you, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who was overcome by women, and you will no longer stand before kings.’ When he went out, he wrote on the gate of the city wall: ‘I, Alexander of Macedonia, was a fool until I came to the province of Carthage and learned counsel from women.’ He went to another province named Africa and they emerged before him with golden apples, golden pomegranates, and golden bread. He said: ‘What is this, is gold eaten in your land?’ They said to him: ‘Did you not have it in your land?’ (Do you not have food in your land, that you came here for regular food?) He said to them: ‘I did not come to see your products, I came to see your judicial system.’ While they were sitting, two men came for judgment before the king. One said: ‘My master the king: I purchased a ruin from this man, and I dug, and I found buried treasure in it. I said to him: Take your treasure, as I purchased a ruin, I did not purchase treasure.’ The other said: ‘Just as you fear the punishment for robbery, so do I fear it. When I sold it to you, I sold you the ruin and everything in it.’ The king addressed one of them and said to him: ‘Do you have a son?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He addressed the other, he said to him: ‘Do you have a daughter?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to them: ‘Go and marry one to the other, and both of them can partake of the treasure.’ Alexander of Macedonia became astonished. The king said to him: ‘Why are you astonished? Did I not judge well?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘If this case had been in your land, what would you have done?’ He said to him: ‘Beheaded this one and beheaded that one and the treasure would have gone to the king’s palace.’ [The king] said: ‘Does the sun shine in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ ‘Does rain fall in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Are there, perhaps, small domesticated animals in your land?’ [He said: ‘Yes.’] He said to him: ‘May that man despair, (The king said to Alexander: That man, i.e., you, should despair. ) it is only thanks to the small domesticated animals that the sun shines upon you and the rain falls upon you. Due to the small domesticated animals you survive.’ That is what is written: “The Lord will save man and animal” (Psalms 36:7); man, thanks to animal, the Lord will save. Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, we are like man, save us like an animal, (Although we are human and sin with full knowledge of the consequences, save us like you would an animal, which cannot be held accountable for its actions. ) because we are drawn after You like an animal.’ That is what is written: “Draw me after you, we will run” (Song of Songs 1:4). To where are we drawn after you? To the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “They are sated by the rich fare of Your House; You give them to drink from the stream of Your delights [adanekha]” (Psalms 36:9). (The midrash interprets the word adanekha to mean Your Edens. ) Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Menaḥem said: Your Eden [ednekha] is not written here, but rather, Your Edens [adanekha]. This teaches that each and every righteous person has an Eden of his own. “The Lord will save man and animal.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The law of man and the law of animal are equal. The law of man: “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). The law of animal: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted [as a fire offering to the Lord].”

Rabbi Avina said two [statements], Rabbi Berekhya said two, and the Rabbis said two. Rabbi Avina said: This orb of the sun is one of My attendants, (This is stated from the perspective of God. ) and when it emerges to the world, there is no creature that can feast its eyes upon it. That is what is written: “A river of fire emerged and flowed from before Him” (Daniel 7:10). Do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness; He will make the Torah great and glorious” (Isaiah 42:21) – I commanded it only to accord you merit. Rabbi Avina said another [statement]: Lightning is one of the byproducts of the supernal fire, and its light shines from the end of the world to the other end. Do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness,” – as stated previously. Rabbi Berekhya said: This orb of the eye, a person does not see via the white that is in it, but rather, via the black. The Holy One blessed be He said: If from the darkness I created light for you, do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness.” Rabbi Berekhya said another [statement]: “The earth was emptiness and disorder, [and darkness was upon the face of the deep]” (Genesis 1:2). What is written thereafter? “God said: Let there be light; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The Holy One blessed be He said: If from the darkness I created light for you, do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said… The Rabbis said two [statements]: The Holy One blessed be He says to a child: ‘All those nine months that you were in your mother’s womb, I would illuminate for you; do I require your light?’ The Rabbis said another [statement]: “He reveals the profound and the obscure; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22). The Holy One blessed be He said: The light rests with Me; do I require your light?

Another matter, “if you sell a sale item” – Rabbi Ḥiyya son of Rabbi Ada of Yafo said: “If you sell” – you are destined to be sold to the nations of the world, (He reads the expression “If you sell [timkeru]” as though it were vocalized differently, giving a meaning of “when you are sold [timakhru].” ) but you should be partners with your Creator, just as Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya were, who said to Nebuchadnezzar: “We have no need to reply to you in this matter…Behold our God, whom we worship…He is able to save us…Behold, if not, let it be known to you, king, [that we will not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the golden image that you have erected]” (Daniel 3:16–18). “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them: Hatzeda, Shadrakh, Meshakh, and Aved Nego, [you do not worship my gods, and you do not prostrate yourselves to the golden image that I have erected?]” (Daniel 3:14). What is hatzeda? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Truth. (As in Numbers 35:22, tzediya, which means intent or truth.) Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: Emptiness [tzadu]. What, have you come to render my idol worship emptiness? The translation of “emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2) is tzadeya. Rabbi Yoḥanan said two [statements], Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said two, Shmuel bar Naḥman said two, and the Rabbis said one. Rabbi Yoḥanan said two [statements]: He said to them: (Nebuchadnezzar said to Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya.) ‘Does not the source of idol worship come from you? Is it not written: “And their idols from Jerusalem and Samaria” (Isaiah 10:10), and you have come here to render my idol worship emptiness?’ Rabbi Yoḥanan said another: He said to them: ‘When you were in your land you would send to us and acquire nails, hair, and bones of idol worship in order to carve them, to realize what is written: “Idols of the Chaldeans engraved with vermilion” (Ezekiel 23:14), and you come here to render my idol worship emptiness?’ Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said two [statements]: [Nebuchadnezzar] said to them: ‘When you were in your land, you would divide into sects for idol worship, just as it says: “You made your beauty an abomination and spread your legs for every passerby” (Ezekiel 16:25), and you come here to render my idol worship emptiness?’ Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said another. He said to them: ‘When you were in your land, you would gather in multitudes for idol worship.’ That is what is written: “The sound of a peaceful multitude was within it” (Ezekiel 23:42). “Muva’im” (Ezekiel 23:42) – from Canossa, “Sava’im” (Ezekiel 23:42) – exceedingly inebriated. “They put bracelets on their hands” (Ezekiel 23:42), Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Prostitutes, just as it says: “I said of one who is labala by adulteries” (Ezekiel 23:43). What is labala? Aquila translated: A worn-out prostitute. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Labala is nothing other than an expression of idol worship, just as it says: “I will reckon with Bel (This is the name of an idol.) in Babylon” (Jeremiah 51:44). ‘And you come here to render my idol worship emptiness?’ Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said two [statements]: [Nebuchadnezzar] said to them: ‘Your idol worship was of silver and gold, just as it says: “Their silver and their gold they made into idols for themselves” (Hosea 8:4), but my idol worship is pure gold in its entirety.’ That is what is written: “King Nebuchadnezzar made an image [of gold]” (Daniel 3:1). ‘And you come here to render my idol worship emptiness?’ Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said another. [Nebuchadnezzar] said to them: ‘Did Moses not write for you in the Torah: “You will serve gods [elohim] there, the handiwork of man”?’ (Deuteronomy 4:28). They said: ‘My lord the king, it is not to prostrate ourselves, but rather, to pay tribute with land taxes, produce taxes, animal taxes, and head taxes,’ as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: There they call kings elohim. (Nebuchadnezzar argued that they should serve his gods, in accordance with the verse in Deuteronomy. They responded that the verse means they will serve the kings of the lands where they are exiled, as the term elohim can refer to kings. “There” may refer to the land of Israel, or to Rome, which ruled the land of Israel at the time of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, or to Babylon. ) The Rabbis said one. [Nebuchadnezzar] said to them: ‘Did Jeremiah not write for you: “It will be the nation and the kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar [king of Babylon…with the sword and with famine and with pestilence I will reckon with that nation]”?’ (Jeremiah 27:8). He said to them: ‘Either you fulfill the beginning of this verse, or I will fulfill its end.’ Immediately, “Shadrakh, Meshakh, and Aved Nego spoke, saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, [we have no need to reply to you in this matter]” (Daniel 3:16). If “king,” why “Nebuchadnezzar,” if “Nebuchadnezzar,” why “king”? Rather, regarding tribute with land taxes, produce taxes, animal taxes, and head taxes, you are king over us, but for this matter that you are saying to us, you are Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuchadnezzar is your name. You and a dog are equivalent for us. Nebuchadnezzar barks [navaḥ] like a dog, inflates like a leather jug [kad], and chirps [natzar] like a cricket. Immediately, he barked like a dog, inflated like a leather jug, and chirped like a cricket, as it is stated: “I keep the king's command [and the word of an oath to God]” (Ecclesiastes 8:2). Rabbi Levi said: I will keep the command of the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, the mouth that said to us at Sinai: “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). (The implication is thus: I will keep the king’s command, but only if it does not contradict “the word of an oath to God,” i.e. any of God’s commandments. ) “And the word of an oath to God,” a reference to: “God spoke all these matters” (Exodus 20:1). “An oath to God,” a reference to: “You shall not take [the name of the Lord…in vain]” (Exodus 20:7), because in this world Israel is enslaved to the nations of the world, and in the future, what is written? “Kings will be your caregivers, and their princesses, your wet nurses” (Isaiah 49:23). For in this world the nations of the world torment Israel, but in the future, the Holy One blessed be He says: “I am destined to feed them from their own flesh and make them inebriated from their own blood, as from sweet wine” (Isaiah 49:26). (God will impose such a harsh famine on the wicked members of the nations of the world that they will eat their own flesh. )

“I will remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, also My covenant with Abraham I will remember, and the land I will remember” (Leviticus 26:42). “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” That is what is written: “You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork” (Psalms 102:26). Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and then the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning, [God] created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). Beit Hillel say: The earth was created first and then the heavens. These and those cite a rationale for their statements. The rationale for Beit Shammai, who say the heavens were created first and then the earth, is that it is analogous to a king who crafted a throne for himself. After he crafted it, he crafted its footstool. Likewise, “so said the Lord: The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). The rationale for Beit Hillel, who said the earth was created first and then the heavens, is that it is analogous to a king who built a palace; after he built the lower story, he then built the upper story. Likewise it is written: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Tanḥuma said: And I cited a source: (This supports the opinion of Beit Hillel.) “You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork.” Rabbi Ḥanina said: From the place where the verse supports Beit Shammai, from there Beit Hillel refutes it. According to the opinion of Beit Shammai, who said that the heavens were created first and then the earth, it is from that which is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). According to the opinion of Beit Hillel, who said that the earth was created first and then the heavens, it is from that which is written: “The earth was emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2), [which indicates that] the earth had already been created. (This is before God created in the heavens, as detailed in Genesis 1:6–8. ) Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of the Sages: Regarding creation, the heavens were first, but regarding completion, the earth was first; “on the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: I wonder, how is it that the fathers of the world disagreed regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth, as I say that the heavens and the earth were created like a stew pot and its lid. (The pots of that time were created from clay. At first the craftsman would create a closed box and then he would separate the top part from the bottom, thereby creating the pot and the lid. ) That is what is written: “My hand also laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand measured the heavens” (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: According to the opinion that my father said, [it can be explained why it is that] in every place it mentions the heavens before the earth, and in one place it says: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens.” It teaches that the two of them are equal, equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions young pigeons before doves, and in one place it says: “And a dove or a young pigeon” (Leviticus 12:6). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions Moses before Aaron, and in one place it says: “It is Aaron and Moses” (Exodus 6:26). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions Joshua before Caleb, and in one place it says: “except Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite, and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 32:12). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions honor of one’s father before honor of one’s mother, and in one place it says: “Each of you shall fear his mother and his father” (Leviticus 19:3). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another. But the Sages said: The father is mentioned before the mother in every place, because [a child] and his mother are obligated in the honor of his father. In every place, it mentions Abraham before the [other] patriarchs, and here it says: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” It teaches that the three of them are equivalent to one another.

When one gives as a gift, say, an (unspecified) apartment, this is something abstract, and is not binding in law. When one gives as a gift a particular house, rooms, etc., this is binding since the objects given actually exist. The emphasis on the word בראשית is to remind us that G–d created the world ex nihilo, that He even created the original raw material hiyuli as we have mentioned repeatedly.

All this is contained in the report of the Creation. The קליפה preceded light since the Torah speaks of Tohu vavohu and darkness as extant before G–d commanded "let there be light." Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 2,4 understand the four words והארץ תהו ובהו חשך in that verse as alluding to the four periods of exile Israel would have to endure before the coming of the Messiah. The words יהי אור are the reference to that period in our history which will unfold at the end of the periods of exile. The true "good," unmixed with evil, is represented by Jacob; he represents the very essence, "kernel" of the tree of life that is described as being in the "center" of the garden. When the Torah says וכל טוב אדוניו בידו, "and all the goodness of his Master in his hand" (Genesis 24,10), this Tuv instead of Tov, refers to absolute good, not something merely relatively good i.e. Tov. The word Tuv means "goodness par excellence." Abraham explained this to Eliezer when he sent him on the mission to get a wife for Isaac and said "the Lord, the G–d of Heaven who has taken me from my father's house and from my birthplace." Rashi says that the words מבית אבי, refer to Charan, whereas the words מארץ מולדתי, refer to Ur Kasdim. Our sages in Sanhedrin 19, commenting on Isaiah 29,22:"Jacob who redeemed Abraham," say that G–d only saved Abraham from Nimrod's furnace on account of Jacob's merit. This whole statement will be explained in detail in פרשת תולדות. Thus it becomes clear that the whole purpose of Isaac's marriage was to enable Jacob to be born from that union. This is why Abraham hinted to Eliezer "you must on no account bring my son there" (24,6). The implication is that "my grandson" may return there. He will have to go back there to retrieve his "lost" part, i.e. Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah. This is why Jacob שמר את הצאן, "tended the flock," and our sages understand this term as similar to the Talmudic צאן ברזל, inalienable property. The letters in the word ברזל, correspond to the respective first letters in the names of Jacob's wives רחל-לאה-בלהה-זלפה.

Suffice it to say that this is what the Midrash Tanchuma had in mind when it said that the function of the Candlestick is to light up for us the period of darkness preceding the ultimate redemption. "When that time arrives it will be those who have darkened our lives who will experience darkness whereas Israel will experience an abundance of light and the universe will undergo a complete rejuvenation. This eventual rejuvenation of the universe was already hinted at in the first words of the Torah's report about מעשה בראשית, the work of Creation, where the Torah speaks about , תהו, ובהו, חושך, על פני תהום, and our sages see in this an allusion to the four exiles the Jewish people would experience before there would be an ideal type of universe (Bereshit Rabbah 2,4). The Table also alludes to the future as indicated in Isaiah 65,13: "Here My servants will eat whereas you will starve; My servants will drink and you will thirst."

When at the beginning of פרשת וישב, we are told that Jacob made an attempt to settle in the land of Canaan to live a quiet undisturbed life, G–d objected to Jacob at that stage wanting to enjoy both the present world and the Hereafter. This world is not slated to recover from the original sin, the time when the serpent polluted Adam and Eve, until the arrival of the Messiah. Ever since that sin our world operates on the principle that the קליפה, peel, precedes the פרי, fruit. It is this principle which forms the background of Bereshit Rabbah 2,4. We are told there by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that the reason that the Torah begins the story of Creation with the statement that there was Tohu Vavohu, in other words imperfection similar to the imperfection of the world experienced by the Jewish people in exile, was that imperfection has to precede perfection. The Midrash describes several such exiles as being alluded to in that verse. The word Tohu refers to the exile in Babylon; the prophet Jeremiah (4,23) describes the country thus. The word Bohu supposedly refers to the exile under the Medes, since we have a verse in Esther 6,14 where the king's messengers are described as ויבהלו להביא את המן, the word ויבהלו containing the letters of the word ובהו. The word חשך, which follows in Genesis 1,2, refers to the exile under the Greeks who blackened the eyes of Israel by demanding that the Israelites inscribe on the horns of their oxen that they had no further share in the G–d of Israel. Finally, the words על פני תהום, refer to the exile under the Romans, Edom, which seems bottomless like the תהום, Deep. When the Torah continues ורוח אלוקים מרחפת על פני המים, "The spirit of the Lord hovered over the expanse of the water," Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish views this statement as an allusion to the spirit of the Messiah of whom it was said in Isaiah 11,2 that: "the spirit of the Lord rested on him." How does one merit that the spirit of the Lord comes to rest on one? By the merit of repentance which is compared to water, as we know from Lamentations 2,18: "Fair Zion, shed tears like water day and night!"

אלה תולדות השמים והארץ וגו, “these are the derivatives of heaven and earth, etc.; seeing that in the first chapter the Torah had been extremely concise on a number of aspects of the story of creation, the Torah now fills in some of these gaps, by explaining more about the “how” of that period. We have a statement by Rabbi Abahu, quoted in Bereshit Rabbah 12,3, according to which every time in the Holy Scriptures when a paragraph commences with the word: אלה, this is meant to indicate that a state of affairs which had been described as in effect previously, is no longer valid. On the other hand, if a paragraph commences with the word: ואלה, this is meant to indicate that what follows is a continuation of a state of affairs that already been in existence. The state of affairs that the word אלה in our verse is to supersede is that of tohu vavohu, chaos and darkness, which the Torah had introduced in Genesis. 1,2.

ויעבר אלוקים רוח על הארץ, “ G–d made wind pass over the earth;” this was the same wind of which the Torah in Genesis 1,2 had written that it was “hovering” over the surface of the waters. In other words, at this point the earth had basically reverted to what it had been before the creation of light. It was this “wind,” G–d made use of now to repair the damage earth had sustained by making the waters subside.

The basic structure of the story that begins with creation and ends with Noah is this: In the beginning God created a universe of order. He then created human beings, who created a universe of chaos – “the land was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11). So God, as it were, deleted creation by bringing the Flood, thus returning the earth to the way it was at the very beginning when “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters” (Gen. 1:2). He then begins again, with Noah and his family as the new Adam and Eve and their children.

“He carves out channels through rock; His eyes behold every precious thing” [Job 28:10]. Channels [ye ‘orim] refers to the totality of all of the sefirotic existences [havayot] and is derived from “light” [‘or] as in “the waters [=lights] lift up their voices [Ps. 93:3]. ( Here he calls upon an ancient connection between the Hebrew and Aramaic words for “light” and “water.”) These primordial existences are implied by the term “water” in the Biblical account of creation, as it is written: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters” [Gen. 1:2]. After all of these channels flowed forth, “his eyes beheld every precious thing.”

(The Men of the Great Assembly) arranged certain of our prayers to clarify that the threefold repetition (of “holy”) in Isaiah refers to the world of Separate Intelligences, whether to that entire world or only the highest part. (14. The term “Separate Intelligences” could accordingly refer to that world as a whole or to its highest component, the Lord Himself. Cf. chap. III, n. 42.) Thus, when addressing the Lord, the (prayer) says, “they attest three times to your holiness,” and “those who treble their sanctification of you.” (15. This is according to the Sephardic version of the ḳedushah prayer.) I have also spoken at length on this in the Menorat Kesef. (16. The subject is discussed in general in the Menorat Kesef (AS II 80–95) without any reference to these verses or prayers.) From my words at the beginning of the work, one can understand the verbal similarity between us and the Christians, in that with regard to the trinity they speak of “Father,” “Son,” and “Spirit,” asserting that they are both three and one, which is similar (to what we say). This is all written in the Torah, (such as) when the Lord is described as a father, most remarkably when it says “(thou didst forget God) that bore thee,” (17. Deut. 32:18.) for this of necessity means that He has a child. This is especially so in view of the verse “Ye are the children of the Lord your God.” (18. Deut. 14:1.) Furthermore it is written with regard to the Active Intellect: “the spirit of God,” (19. Gen. 1:2.) corresponding to “the spirit.” Yet | we are really far-removed from the Christians in opinions despite an external similarity in phrases and in speech, even though some individuals among them are similar to us (in opinions). (20. This is but one of several statements that Kaspi makes indicating his concerns regarding Christological claims and Biblical exegesis. Many of the verses mentioned in the present chapter are included among the stock Christian arguments on these issues related to the trinity, and it is likely that their mention here is connected to such Christian claims. In this regard, see above Chapter 2, pp. 69 ff. for its impact on Kaspi’s exegesis, as well as Chapter 3, pp. 95–96 as to the latter years of Kaspi’s literary activity. It should be noted in the present context that while Kaspi appears here to countenance the idea of common approaches to exegesis, as a rule he is scathingly critical of Christological exegesis and polemics. For a list of references to Christianity in Kaspi’s writings, see W. Bacher, “Aus der Bibelexegese Joseph Ibn Kaspis,” MGWJ LVI (1912), pp. 209–217.)

HOVERETH. When they journey. (When the baby birds journey, the mother bird hovers over them.) Yerachef (hovereth) is related to the word merachefet (hovered) (Gen. 1:2). The cloud acted similarly when Israel journeyed. (It hovered over Israel.)

וסכרתי And I will give over. The כ is here, according to some, substituted for נ, but, in fact, only the silent letters interchange; it is rather to be compared with ויסכרו and were stopped (The second explanation is not different from the first in substance, but in the wording, because after all סכר means the same as סגר to shut, to stop, to deliver up, whether we say that the former is derived from the latter by the change of ג into כ or not.) (Gen. 8:2).

רוח יי The spirit of the Lord. The Gaon says that תוח the wind (air) has not yet been mentioned with the other three elements in the preceding verse, and that יי the Lord is the answer given to the question, and the meaning of the phrase is: Who has directed the wind? The Lord. (The Gaon translates it: مَب هَيَّا الْروج هو اللهُ) I do not agree with this explanation, because it is said (The accusative case in Hebrew is indicated by את only when the noun has the definite article or governs a genitive; if, therefore, רוח were to be separated from the following יי, the particle את before רוח would be very exceptional.) את רוח, and besides, the second half of the verse has no sense at all if this explanation be adopted. I explain the verse thus: Who has directed the spirit of the Lord: רוח is in the construct state; comp. אלהים רוח (Gen. 1:2); (A. V., The spirit of the Lord (here as well as Gen. 1:2).) the interrogative pronoun מי who, is to be supplied before the second part of the verse: And who is the man, to whom God communicated His counsel, why He created things in such and such a manner.

[THEN I WILL GIVE.] The vav in ve-natati (then I will give) is like the vav in ve-ha’aretz (now the earth) in Now the earth was unformed and void (Gen. 1:2). (In other words, the vav in ve-natati (then I will give), like the vav in ve-ha’aretz (now the earth), does not introduce an independent verse. According to I.E. the meaning of ve-natati is not “and I will give,” but “then I will give.” For the vav in ve-ha’aretz, see I.E. on Gen. 1:2 (Vol. 1, p. 30).) When a word which has a vav prefixed to it (Such as ve-natati (then 1 will give).) is ultimately accented, (As is the case with ve-natati (then I will give).) the word is an imperfect. When it is penultimately accented it is in the perfect. The above is, aside from a few instances, always the case.

After describing how planet Earth was fixed in space, God goes on to explain how He then made it habitable. The primeval planet had been formless and void, and totally covered by water. It was as a result of the ordinances God invoked to gather the waters into the seas and the atmosphere that the dry-land appeared. Malbim describes the process as follows: The element water was sandwiched between the element earth below and the element air above. ((This notion of a series of concentric spheres, each surrounded by another out to the ultimate sphere, is Aristotelian. According to this notion, earth has its natural place at the center of the universe, and water, being the next heaviest element, has its natural place immediately above earth. The comes air, and above them all, fire.)) At God's decree, vapor began to rise from the element water up to the firmament which is the atmosphere, where the clouds are. As it says: 'And the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water' (Genesis 1:2) and this made the water-vapor begin to rise. As a result of this, the element air was separated from the evaporating water and some dry-land began to appear. Afterwards, God ordained that the remaining waters gather and form the seas, thus making more dry-land appear.

There was already much discussion from the early Sages, the philosophers, and receivers of the true tradition on the subject of "physical and form", as you can see in the Moray, the Kuzari book, the Raavad's introduction to the book of Yetzira, and the Ramban's commentary on the verse: "And the earth was without form, and void" (Gen. 1:2), see them. The summary of what comes out of all of them is as follows: When G-d wished to create the world, He first created a primordial physical without form, similar to clay in the hands of a potter, or raw metal which the metal smith uses to make various objects of different forms, but of the same material. So too regarding the four elements, before each one received the form visible to us, it was first composed of the primordial substance, which is called by the Greeks, "hiyuli", and in the kabalistic books, "nefesh yesodot" (the spirit of the elements), since the form requires the underlying physical, without which it cannot hold its form, and the substance is the essence of the thing while the form is the incident (mikre), because sometimes it is embodied in this form and sometimes in another. The physical and the form of the four elements always existed simultaneously, because their existence preceded that of all the creations, and from them all creations were composed...now you will understand well the author's coming words.

“DEEP CRIES UNTO DEEP” Sheer voice, without words, plays an uncanny role in communication. (This section was inspired by an unpublished lecture by Steven Frosh, “Marginalia,” presented at the London School of Jewish Studies in July 2007.) In the biblical narrative of creation, “. . . the earth was without form and void, and there was darkness upon the face of the tehom—the murmuring deep. And God said, Let there be light” (Gen. 1:2). In this translation, the watery deep is full of murmuring; God’s first word interrupts a murmur, neither speech nor silence. (See the translation of tehom in A. M. Silbermann, trans., Chumash with Rashi’s Commentary (Jerusalem: Silbermann Family, by arrangement with Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1973). This translation is based on Abraham Benisch, Jewish School and Family Bible (London: James Darling, 1851), the first Jewish translation of the Bible into English.) The English murmur amplifies the complex harmonics of the Hebrew tehom (usually translated simply as “deep”). These include the roots, hamah, hamam— hum, murmur, coo, reverberate, roar, growl, groan, stir, rush, tumult, sound of a great throng.

King Solomon compared the soul of a righteous person to אור, “a great light,” seeing that the soul provides spiritual light. It is derived directly from the celestial throne of glory. This light is not a derivative, but originates with G’d’s essence. By contrast, Solomon compared the soul of the wicked to a lamp, suggesting that it is merely a derivative, has no staying power of its own. It depends on oil and wick to keep it going. It is not a “self-starter.” As soon as either the oil supply fails or the wick develops some problem, the lamp is extinguished, i.e. the person dies. In other words, the body serves as the oil and wick of the soul of the wicked and it cannot survive the failure of his body. The reason is that the soul of the wicked does not derive his joy except from matters innately related to his body Although, technically speaking, a soul does not die, the punishment such a soul experiences may be far worse than death (compare author on Leviticus 18,29). Seeing the wicked person did not pursue the path of light but the path of darkness, the attribute of darkness will be applied to him. This is a kind of destruction of the soul, an ongoing process involving unending painful afflictions. Solomon stated this explicitly when he said in Proverbs 11,7: “when a wicked man dies his hopes perish.” Note that he did not say במות רשע, “when the wicked dies,” but במות אדם רשע, “when a wicked man dies.” The word אדם is meant to alert us that anyone who patterns his life after the attractions provided by what is earthly, אדמה, is considered a wicked individual. This is why, at the time of his death, he loses all the things he put his hopes in. After all, his hopes had focused only on matters of the body. He had not displayed any interest in matters spiritual, matters which should have been the prime concern of his soul. The word ידעך “will be extinguished,” is most appropriate to describe the demise of such a soul as it implies the cessation of light and constitutes the punishment of the sinful soul. We may consider that the word דעיכה does not describe a total extinction of light but rather that the soul in question no longer experiences the amount of light which would be appropriate for it. We find the word used in Job 18,5 where Bildod speaks of the light of the wicked failing, (ידעך), “in that the flame of his fire does not shine.” In other words the meaning of that word is not exactly the same as כבוי, which would be a total extinction of the light. Isaiah 43,17 supports our point. The prophet says: ישכבו בל יקומו דעכו, כפשתה כבו, “they lay down to rise no more as they were extinguished; quenched like a wick.” It appears that the prophet speaks of two successive stages of light going out, the last stage כבו being the absolute extinction of any light. However, in lauding the virtues of the righteous, Solomon mentions the word ישמח, “rejoice.” The righteous rejoices with the reward he receives for his righteousness. The expression שמחה is invariably applied to spiritual enjoyment due to the soul having attained new dimensions of Holy Spirit. Examples of such in Scripture are found in Psalms 104,31, ישמח ה' במעשיו, ”may the Lord rejoice in His works.” Another such example is found in Psalms 104,34 אנכי אשמח בו, “I will rejoice in Him (the Lord).” Seeing that the righteous serve the Lord joyfully while they are on earth they will enjoy an added degree of joy in the hereafter. There is yet another reason why Solomon compared the soul of the righteous to light; the reason is that the souls were created on the first of the six days of creation simultaneously with the original light. (Compare author’s commentary on Genesis 1,4). There is a specific verse speaking about the souls in Chronicles I 4,23: ”These were the potters who dwelled at Netaim and Gederah; they dwelled in the king’s service.” (According to Bereshit Rabbah 8,6 the reference is to the souls of the righteous in the proximity of the King of Kings, the Lord). These souls were meant to benefit from this light which was created on the first day. In that particular passage in Genesis the Torah spoke of five different categories of light; we also find the נפש, “soul” appearing under five different names they are: רוח, נשמה, נפש, חיה, יחידה. Concerning this relationship between light and soul, David said in Psalms 119,130: פתח דבריך יאיר מבין פתיים, “the words You inscribe give light and understanding to the simple;” our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 3,1 comment on this verse that the opening words of the verse i.e. פתח דברים mean that as soon as G’d opened His mouth light came forth. The message is that as soon as “G‘d opens His mouth,” illumination, wisdom emerges. When the Torah writes; “G’d said let there be light, and there was light,” the meaning is that that this light came forth from the original darkness. It was quite unlike light produced by man. When man produces light he lights one candle from another, i.e. he adds light from an existing source of light. This matter is clear from the Torah’s description that there was only darkness over the entire expanse of the “deep” (Genesis 1,2). Job 12,22 confirms this state of affairs; “He draws mysteries out of the darkness and brings obscurities to light.” Another verse along the same lines is found in Daniel 2,22: הוא גלא עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהירא עמה שרא, “He reveals deep and hidden things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells within Him.” The word עמיקתא, “hidden things,” are understood by our sages as a reference to the מעשה מרכבה, “the mystical dimensions of what goes on in the celestial regions.” The word וסתרתא, on the other hand, refers to the mysteries of the process of creation. Seeing that G’d produced light out of darkness, it is quite clear that He does not need man-made light (such as supplied by the Menorah in the Tabernacle). In Psalms 139,12 David spelled this out when he said: ”darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same.” [the author quotes more such verses which I omitted. Ed.] Although we have seen that G’d is certainly not in any need of light supplied by man He legislated that the Tabernacle, His residence, be lit up internally by means of the lampstand, מנורה.

Personally, I believe that the essence of Pharaoh’s dream was centered in the number seven which recurs so many times. It is a fact that both Pharaoh and all his wicked contemporaries believed in the existence of the universe having preceded G’d. They denied such a thing as G’d supervising the fate of the universe and the fate of man or anything that occurred in the terrestrial part of the universe. They attribute all abnormal occurrences in the terrestrial part of the universe to mere chance, at best dictated by a combination of horoscopic influences presided over by the seven fixed stars (planets), which themselves are not subject to influence by man’s deeds. Pharaoh and the likes of him were thoroughly attached to the forces of nature as even his name already suggests. [The name פרעה consists primarily of the letters עפר, i.e. the raw material man is made of. (Rabbi Chavell)] Seeing that Pharaoh was so closely involved in the raw materials our terrestrial universe is made of G’d showed him two of the major elements of that combination of four elements which make up the raw material of our universe. They are water and dust, (earth). Seven cows emerged from the element water, whereas the seven ears of corn grew out of the element dust, earth. These two elements hold the key to satiety or hunger as the case maybe, subject to G’d’s benevolent supervision of what goes on in our world. Our Rosh Hashanah (Mussaph) prayers concentrate on the fact that on that day G’d determines which country is to suffer famine and which will have plentiful food. This subject, i.e. that decisions pertaining to the earth’s food supply are made in heaven was something revolutionary for Pharaoh. The man who had thought that the seven fixed stars determine what happens in our territorial world was taught in a dream that there is a Power which supervises and directs these seven planets at will if need be. (we have discussed this in greater detail in our commentary on Genesis 1,2) He was taught that G’d may increase or decrease the apparent power of these planets relative to the system of reward and punishment which forms the basis of G’d exercising His supervision of the universe. The reason that Pharaoh had to be taught all this was that up until that point he had thought of the river Nile as his personal property, as we quoted from Ezekiel 29, 3 “the river is mine and I have made it.” The fact that the events in his dream originated in the river are an example of what our sages term מגיד מראשית אחרית, “that G’d allows us a preview of things to come.” In this instance the preview granted to us in this dream of Pharaoh was the eventual collapse of Egypt as a world power after Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the sea a week after having suffered the death of all their firstborn. The Egyptians had been give ample warning to change their concept of the terrestrial universe and the place therein of its Creator. The ten plagues had been designed to wean the Pharaoh of his time of his pagan beliefs. His failure to do so resulted in his downfall. The fact that his downfall was caused by water, the element which he thought was under his control, was a clarion call for other nations to recognise the attribute of G’d we call י-ה-ו-ה, i.e. the attribute which G’d uses to demonstrate that He is totally free, not bound by so-called “laws of nature.” The Pharaoh at the time of the Exodus, while acknowledging the אלו-הים attribute of G’d, had exclaimed: מי ה' אשר אשמע בקולו, “who is this new attribute of G’d that I should have to listen to His voice?” (Exodus 5,2). Joseph, well aware of Pharaoh’s faulty pagan beliefs, first told him that the power to reveal the meanings of dreams did not reside within him but was reserved for the superior power of G’d. By that he meant that there was a power which superseded that of the seven planets whom Pharaoh had thought of as independent forces each supreme in governing different parts of the universe. By saying בלעדי אלוקים, he drew attention to the discriminatory nature in which G’d supervises His universe. By saying that this Power אלוקים was going to put Pharaoh’s mind at ease, he introduced him to G’d the benevolent who deals with people on an individual basis. Pharaoh’s relief would come from G’d not via any of the seven planets. It therefore behooves man not to turn to the stars, the horoscopes, etc., in order to divine his destiny but to turn to his Creator. This is what he meant when he said: “G’d will set Pharaoh’s mind at rest.” This approach to matters concealed from us is illustrated by Job 5,8 when Eliphaz said: ואל אלו-הים אשית דברתי, “and I will direct what I have to say to the Lord.” This is also what prompted Hoseah, quoting G’d, to say (Hoseah 2,23-24) “on that day I will respond; I will respond to the sky, and it shall respond to the earth; and the earth shall respond with new grain and wine and oil.” This verse teaches that just as it is not up to the earth to initiate any response to man’s request and efforts unless it had first been so instructed by G’d, so it would be foolish to direct one’s prayers and efforts to intermediaries. The reason Joseph always uses G’d’s attribute אלו-הים when referring to G’d is that he wanted to underline that what purports to be “natural,” i.e. laws of nature which man thinks he can depend on, is so only as long as the Lord who has created these forces, i.e. אלו-הים continues to direct these forces to operate normally. Seeing that the dream of Pharaoh forecast interference by G’d in these “natural” forces of the earth to produce crops, Joseph added את האלוקים עושה הראה לפרעה, “what G’d is about to do, (i.e. changes in established patterns of nature) He has revealed to Pharaoh.” Afterwards Joseph added that not only had G’d given Pharaoh advance warning of what was about to occur, but He had even provided him with a time frame of when to expect these changes, i.e. beginning immediately. [I believe the author went out of his way to justify the use of the word אלוקים when in reality anything denoting G’d’s interference in the laws of nature is usually credited to His attribute י-ה-ו-ה; in this instance, the fact that Pharaoh did not even acknowledge the existence of Creator who had preceded the creation of this universe had to be acquainted with that fact before he could absorb any lesson about the attribute Hashem. Ed.] When Joseph added כי נכון הדבר מעם האלוקים לעשותו, “for the matter is already ready before G’d and He will proceed forthwith to carry it out,” (verse 32) he again attributed anything that would occur to G’d and not to anything man could do. At the same time he wanted to convince Pharaoh that man is not a robot and acts under compulsion, that everything in his life has not been decreed from above. The words בלעדי אלוקים, contain within them an allusion to the limit of G’d’s power, i.e. the freedom of choice He as accorded to man, something over which G’d has no control. If you will examine Joseph’s word carefully you will find that they parallel the Torah’s report of the story of creation. That report began with the words בראשית ברא אלוקים, ”at the beginning, G’d created, etc.” and ended with the words (Genesis 2,3) אשר ברא אלוקים לעשות, “which G’d had created as an ongoing process.” Joseph commenced with telling Pharaoh that first and foremost there would be an activity by G’d, i.e. את האלוקים עושה, and he concluded with the words האלוקים לעשות exactly like in Genesis 2,3.

The glory of G’d was on the top of the mountain. We know this because the Torah writes in 19,20 that “G’d descended onto the top of the mountain.” We also have a verse in Exodus 24,17 that “the appearance of G’d was like consuming fire on top of the mountain.” All of the Israelites stood at the farthest end of the mountain. Moses was allowed to enter into the cloud and ascend the mountain, as we know from 24,18 as well as from 19,9. The expression עב הענן refers to a dark cloud within which the Presence of G’d was concealed. The word חשך in our context means a type of fire (compare our comments on Genesis 1,2, page 5 my translation). The whole verse in Deut 4,11 must be understood as the following sequence: “and the mountain was burning with fire until the heart of the heaven; חשך, ענן, וערפל. The word חשך refers to a fire as we explained on Genesis 1,2; this was followed by ענן, which in turn was followed by ערפל, also described as עב הענן. In other words, there were 4 separate stages, each one on a higher level than the previous one, each higher level being “inside” the previous one, closer to the core. The lowest and outermost level was that described as תחתית ההר. This was followed by the region called ראש ההר. The next higher region to that was called ענן, whereas the highest region was called עב הענן. We find something parallel to these regions of relatively higher levels of sanctity when comparing the way the Israelite nation organised itself on earth when it erected the Holy Temple. The level of the relatively minimal decree of sanctity, corresponding to the תחתית ההר, was the שער העזרה, the entrance gate to the courtyard of the Temple. The next higher level of sanctity i.e. corresponding to ראש ההר, was the עזרה, the holy courtyard. This was followed by the היכל, the Sanctuary, which corresponded to the level of ענן when compared to what occurred at מתן תורה. Finally, the Holy of Holies, קדשי קדשים, the innermost sanctum of the Holy Temple was what corresponded to what the Torah described as עב הענן at Mount Sinai. This was equivalent to ערפל, the region where G’d concealed Himself.

כל העושה בו מלאכה יומת, “anyone performing (forbidden) work on it will be executed.” This line is immediately followed by the prohibition of lighting a fire on the Sabbath. It is possible to interpret these two verses as examples of forbidden work on the Sabbath. First the Torah prohibits the performance of certain categories of activities called מלאכה; the Torah describes the lighting of fire as an example of such a forbidden category of activity. The expression מלאכה applies primarily to activities connected to the building of the Tabernacle which are forbidden to be performed on the Sabbath. This is the reason the Torah does not speak here of כל מלאכה, “any manner of work,” as it does on other occasions when the work-prohibition on the Sabbath is mentioned (compare Exodus 20,10). Following the prohibition to perform such work on the Sabbaths during which the construction of the Tabernacle was in progress, the Torah goes on to prohibit such activities on the Sabbath for all future generations also. This is the meaning of the additional words בכל מושבותיכם, “in all your dwellings” (as opposed to G’d’s “dwelling’). The example of lighting a fire is merely representative of all the other categories of activity which are prohibited on the Sabbath. Making fire is an appropriate example of basic human activity seeing that most of the principal activities we are engaged in cannot be performed satisfactorily if one were not able or allowed to make fire. This is the reason that the sages instituted the benediction over fire during the הבדלה ritual at the end of the Sabbath to signify that this crucial activity (as well as other activities) which was prohibited on the Sabbath is once again permitted. Fire, i.e. light, was the first of the activities G’d engaged in when creating the universe (Genesis 1,2). The ritual known as הבדלה comprises a total of four benedictions (wine, fragrances, fire/light, and the benediction reminding us of the difference between the holy and the profane). This number corresponds to the letters in the holy name of the Lord, the tetragrammaton. The benediction over wine is alluded to in Genesis 1,1 in the word הארץ, a reference to Gan Eden. The grape vine was one of the trees in that garden. The benediction over the fragrances is also alluded to in the word רוח אלו-הים, “the spirit (whiff) of the Lord” in the same verse. Fragrance is central to wind, i.e. the wind carries the fragrance, the odor. It represents the air man breathes through his nostrils, the organ of smell. Finally, fire is represented in that same verse we quoted from Genesis 1,2 where the word “light” has a dual connotation, also meaning “fire,” i.e. the source of warmth. In the ritual of the הבדלה we refer to the whole concept of fire and light as a separation between light and dark.

זאת החיה אשר תאכלו מכל הבהמה אשר על הארץ, “these are the creatures which you may eat from among all the animals on earth:” If you will take a good look at this paragraph and at the paragraphs following them, you will realize that there is an overall pattern to the sequence in which they have been written. They correspond to the four basic elements of the universe which we explained in connection with Genesis 1,2. Here the Torah proceeds in an ascending manner. You are aware that in Genesis they appeared in a descending manner. The four basic materials of terrestrial earth are: fire, wind (atmosphere), water, earth. This is also the order in which Solomon arranged these four basic components of our terrestrial universe in Proverbs 30,4. He writes: “Who has ascended heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollows of his hand? Who has wrapped the waters in his garment? Who has established all the extremities of the earth?” In the paragraphs before us the order of these phenomena and allusions to them has been reversed, so that their identifying symbol instead of being ארמ'ע has been reversed to become עמר'א. Here the Torah commenced with the element earth, dust, when it wrote: “these are the creatures on earth that you may eat.” In the second paragraph the Torah speaks of the element water, telling us what creatures in the water we are allowed to eat. In the third paragraph the Torah speaks about the atmosphere, telling us which birds (categories) must not be eaten. The Torah tells us which birds or winged creatures we must abhor (11,13). In the fourth paragraph the Torah alludes to the element fire which is the fourth element, the least substantive of all. The paragraph (11,29) begins with the words: “these are the contaminated ones, (ritually impure) among the teeming animals that teem upon the earth.” Among the categories listed is the צב which consists of two groups including the salamander. it is alluded to in the word למינהו, “according to their kinds,” an expression not found with the other seven of these contaminated creatures. According to an ancient tradition this salamander has its origin in fire; it is the product of a furnace which has been heated for seven years consecutively both by day and by night. This enabled the salamander (dragon?) to mature during all this time. If it were to separate from the fire even for a moment it would die, just as fish die when they are removed from their element, i.e. water. [Our author bases himself on the Sifra of Talmudic times. Tosafot Chagigah 27, speak of such creatures which we think of as strictly belonging to mythology, Ed.] When Rabbi Akiva came to the verse והצב למינהו (verse 29), he exclaimed: “how great and marvelous are Your works o Lord, You have created them all with wisdom; You created huge monsters in the sea, huge animals on land, If the ones in the sea would be placed on land they would die at once, whereas if the huge land animals like elephants were to be placed in the sea they would drown at once. You created great creatures with fire and large creatures in the atmosphere. If the ones which thrive on fire would be placed in the atmosphere they would die immediately, whereas if the ones whose habitat is the atmosphere were to be put to the fire they would burn to death immediately. This then was what David had in mind in Psalms 104,24 when he wrote the words quoted above” (compare Sifra Shemini 8,7).

In the Sefer Yetzira, (oldest kabbalistic text) air-(רוח)- fire-water are listed as the three “mothers,” so-called because they are like mothers to all that is found in the universe. These three elements are perceived as “descended” from the other, i.e. air begets water and water begets fire. This view is supported by verses from the Scriptures, of course. When the Torah writes in Genesis 1,2: בהו, וחושך; this means that fire is descended from water. The words ורוח אלו-הים מרחפת על פני המים mean that the water is “descended” from the element רוח, “air or spirit.” This is the reason why in our daily prayers we refer to the sequence משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם, “who makes the air blow and makes the rain descend.” Support for the statement that fire is “descended” from water comes from the scientific fact that fire is [or at least may be Ed.] extracted from water. (compare Talmud Beytzah Mishnah folio 33 that “on the festival it is forbidden to extract fire from the water.”) [apparently experiments were conducted with glass bottles filled with water being exposed to intense sunlight. After a while, due to the water having become overheated, the glass burst into flames. quoted by Rashi. Ed.] Dust, i.e. earth is “descended” from fire. The reference is to the fertiliser left behind after something has been burned up. [Dust or earth in this instance refers to the earth and its ability to produce crops, etc. Perhaps the earth thrown up as volcanic ash is the best example of fire “producing” fertile earth. Ed.] When these three elements surface as part of a human being they have been metamorphosed, the white part of man corresponds to the element water; the red part of man corresponds to the element fire; the black part of man corresponds to the element dust=earth. The element רוח, “spirit,” which is a fundamental part of man is the basic element and dominates all the other elements of which he is composed.

A kabbalistic approach: The three years during which consumption of fruit during the first three years is forbidden correspond to the (three highest) emanations, כתר, חכמה, בינה. which are lumped together as one as we have no clear understanding of their workings. This concept corresponds to the period preceding creation of light, a period described in the Torah as tohu vavohu vachoshech, (Genesis 1,2) something which we also cannot fathom exactly with our minds. The fourth year of the tree yielding fruit corresponds to the emanation גבורה, (nowadays known as דין); this corresponds to what the Torah describes as “the spirit of G’d hovering over the expanse of the water,” {Genesis 1,3). This was a period not completely hidden from our ability to comprehend but also not completely revealed, made accessible to our faculties to comprehend. As a result, the Torah demands some form of פדיון, “redemption,” i.e. a process by which that which is beyond our normal capacities is made accessible before we may treat such produce as completely secular, “natural.” The fifth year corresponds to the era commencing with the creation of light, the first part of our material world. As pointed out on earlier occasions the word אור, “light” appears five times in the Torah’s report about its creation. The fifth year of a fruit-bearing tree is compared to the era of world history ushered in with the creation of light. The Torah alludes to this by writing of the fifth year להוסיף לכם תבואתו, with the letter ה added at the end [instead of the letter ו as is the spelling in our versions of the Torah, the pronoun ו “its” referring to the masculine word עץ in verse 23. The author views the letter ה which we do not have and which would be a grammatical inconsistency as an allusion to the five times the word אור, “light,” appears at the beginning of Genesis. Ed.]. In order to remind us of the relationship between the emanations and this legislation the Torah mentions the word ערלה three times in verse 23. In other words, each one of these three first years symbolizes a different concept.

Conclusion – Malchut Hashem vs. the Forces of Evil This idea is expressed poignantly by the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 2:4). The Midrash connects the four phrases describing the forces of darkness mentioned at beginning of Creation, (Bereishit 1:2) followed by the Pasuk “The spirit of Hashem hovers above the waters”, as referring to the Arba Malchuyot which will be succeeded by the Malchut Hashem. This Midrash teaches that forces of evil will be present in the world. While they will be powerful for a while, eventually they will fade away. The Ru’ach Hashem temporarily hovers over them and in the end prevails.

The attempts to recover what happened at the sea through the poem are doomed to failure, considering that the piece is constructed out of two traditional stories, the victory at the sea and the later conquest of Canaan (vv.1–12, 13–17). Further, it is set in cosmic terms. The words “Oceans” (Heb. tehomot; vv.5, 8) and ‘breath” (ru’ah; v.8) recall the primeval chaos at the beginning of Creation itself (Gen. 1:2). This technique is characteristic of much of ancient/religious literature: a great event is told in a way that reflects the beginnings of the gods and the world (this may include statements about the end of the world as well).

“When God began to create Heaven and Earth” [1:1]. In the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, the earth was desolate, empty and darkness was over the void. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:1. Rashi calls this the plain meaning of these words.) The Holy One’s Throne of Glory hovered in the air over the water. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:2.) Why did the Torah begin with [the letter] bet? It teaches us that the world is similar to the bet that has three sides and the fourth is open. So too is the world. The Holy One closed three sides and on the north side, the Holy One did not make a heaven. Why? The Holy One wanted to say to the nations of world, let your false gods come and let them close the fourth wall. Since you have chosen them as gods, let them see what they can do. (Hizkuni, Genesis, 1:1.)

Our sages said that the Holy One created the world in three ways: for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His path” [Proverbs, 8:22], for the sake of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple, which is called first, because the Temple was created before the world. The third is that the world was created for the sake of charity and tithes, which are called “the first fruits of your new grain” [Deuteronomy, 18:4]. (Genesis Rabbah, 1.4.) Since the first verse of the Torah alludes to the Temple, it also shows us how it will be destroyed. (Genesis Rabbah, 2.5.) That is why it says, “and the earth was desolate and unformed” [Genesis, 1:2]. The earth will be desolate, since the Shekhinah will depart after the destruction [of the Temple]. (B. Yoma, 21b.) Therefore, God said, “and the spirit of God hovered over the waters” [Genesis, 1:2]. This shows us that when we will be in exile, the Torah will not leave us and we will also have the Torah in exile. (Bahya, Genesis, 1:2.) Therefore, it also says, “God said, let there be light” [Genesis, 1:3]. This shows us that at the end of the exile the Holy One will create light for us and will send us the Messiah, concerning whom it is written, “Arise, shine, for your light has dawned” [Isaiah, 60:1]. This means, come arise and illumine us with your light. This passage teaches us that the Holy One tells Israel what will happen and that the world was created for the sake of the Messiah. (B. Sanhedrin, 98b.)

[33] The question might be asked, why God deemed the earthly and body-loving mind worthy of divine breath at all, but not the mind which had been created after the original, and after His own image; in the second place, what “breathed in” means; thirdly, why the breathing is “into the face”; fourthly, why, though he shows his knowledge of the word ‘spirit’ when he says “and the Spirit of God was borne above the water” (Gen. 1:2), he now says “breath” not “spirit.”

[32] Right too is his statement that “darkness was above the abyss” (Gen. 1:2). For in a sense the air is over the void, inasmuch as it has spread over and completely filled the immensity and desolation of the void, of all that reaches from the zone of the moon to us.

[22] Nay, never would it have come to them save to convict those who choose the base instead of the noble. Now the name of the “spirit of God” is used in one sense for the air which flows up from the land, the third element which rides upon the water, and thus we find in the Creation-story “the spirit of God was moving above the water” (Gen. 1:2), since the air through its lightness is lifted and rises upwards, having the water for its base.

§ 22. The air which flows up from the land. This is explained in De Somn. i. 144, where Jacob’s ladder which reached from earth to heaven is interpreted as the air, τὰς γὰρ ἀναδιδομένας ἐκ γῆς ἀναθυμιάσεις (rising vapours) λεπτυνομένας ἐξαεροῦσθαι συμβέβηκεν ὤστε βάσιν μὲν και ῥίζαν ἀέρος εἶναι γῆν. κεφαλὴν δὲ οὔρανον. The similar statement about the water which follows here is meant to explain Gen. 1:2, not to exclude the fact that earth also is a βάσις.

This term teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to revert the world to chaos and void, as it was in the beginning before Creation (Genesis 1:1–2), on account of Jehoiakim, who did evil in the eyes of God. Once He observed the people of his generation, His mind was settled. Likewise, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to revert the world to chaos and void, on account of the generation of Zedekiah, but once He observed Zedekiah, His mind was settled. This shows that the leader and his generation are not necessarily on the same level in terms of righteousness.

This remedy is beneficial for several ailments, and the Gemara presents each of these in turn: For curing the heart, the above combination should be taken with wine, and your mnemonic for this is the verse: “And wine that makes glad the heart of man” (Psalms 104:15). For curing an ailment that arises due to the wind [ruḥa], one drinks the mixture in water, and your mnemonic for this is the verse: “And the spirit [ruaḥ] of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). For childbirth [lekhuda], a woman in labor drinks the mixture with beer [shikhra], and your mnemonic for this is the verse: “With her pitcher [vekhadah] upon her shoulder [shikhmah]” (Genesis 24:15).

All of these are derived from the Torah: Heaven and earth, as it is written: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Tohu and vohu, as it is written: “And the earth was unformed and void [tohu vavohu]” (Genesis 1:2). Light and darkness; darkness, as it is written: “And darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2); light, as it is written: “And God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Wind and water, as it is written: “And the wind of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The length of day and the length of night, as it is written: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).

Why do I need “and the earth” [et ha’aretz]? To teach that heaven preceded earth in the order of Creation. The next verse states: “And the earth was unformed and void” (Genesis 1:2). The Gemara asks: After all, the Bible began with heaven first; what is different about the second verse? Why does the Bible recount the creation of earth first in the second verse? The Sage of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: This can be explained by a parable of a flesh-and-blood king who said to his servants: Rise early and come to my entrance. He arose and found women and men waiting for him. Whom does he praise? Those who are unaccustomed to rising early but yet rose early, the women. The same applies to the earth: Since it is a lowly, physical sphere, we would not have expected it to be created together with heaven. Therefore, it is fitting to discuss it at greater length.

With regard to the fate of ben Zoma, the Sages taught: There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not stand before him to honor him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: From where do you come and where are you going, ben Zoma, i.e., what is on your mind? He said to him: In my thoughts I was looking upon the act of Creation, at the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is only the breadth of a mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2), like a dove hovering over its young without touching them. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students who had overheard this exchange: Ben Zoma is still outside; he has not yet achieved full understanding of these matters.

The Gemara explains: Now, this verse: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters,” when was it stated? On the first day, whereas the division of the waters occurred on the second day, as it is written: “And let it divide the waters from the waters” (Genesis 1:6). How, then, could ben Zoma derive a proof from the former verse? The Gemara asks: And how much, in fact, is the gap between them? Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Like the thickness of a thread; and the Rabbis said: Like the gap between the boards of a bridge. Mar Zutra, and some say it was Rav Asi, said: Like two robes spread one over the other, with a slight gap in between. And some said: Like two cups placed one upon the other.

(Gen. rabba 1(21), Lev. rabba 36(1), Midrash Samuel 5[1]. The Midrashim seem to be the original source since they apply R. Eleazar ben R. Simeon’s final statement to other pairs of notions.) The House of Shammai are saying, heaven was created first and afterwards earth. But the House of Hillel are saying, earth was created first and afterwards heaven. These are bringing proof for their assertion, and those are bringing proof for their assertion. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1.) . {A parable} of a king who made a chair. After he had made it he made its footstool (Greek ‘υποπόδιον.) : the Heavens are My throne and the Earth My footstool (Is. 66:1.) . What is the reason of the House of Hillel? On the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven (Gen. 2:4.) {A parable} of a king who made a palace. After he built the foundations he built the upper structure: also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (Is. 48:13.) . Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi said, also the following supports the House of Hillel: in earlier times You founded the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands (Ps. 102:26.) . Rebbi Ḥanina said, from the place from where the House of Shammai prove their assertion, from there the House of Hillel remove them. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth. From there the House of Hillel remove them: and the earth was (Gen. 1:2.) , it already was. Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of the Sages: As for creation, the heaven preceded. As for perfecting, the earth preceded. As for creation, the heaven preceded, in the Beginning God created. As for perfecting, the earth preceded, on the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven. According to the House of Shammai, the heaven after the First waited three days, First, Second, Third, to have offspring. On the Fourth, there shall be lights (Gen. 1:14.) . According to the House of Shammai, the sea after the Second waited three days, Second, Third, Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem (Gen. 1:20.) . According to the House of Shammai, the earth after the Third waited three days, Third, Fourth, Fifth, to have offspring. On the Sixth, the earth shall produce (Gen. 1:24.) . According to the House of Hillel, the earth after the First waited two days, First and Second, to have offspring. On the Third, the earth shall be covered with grass. According to the House of Hillel, the sea after the Third waited two days, Third and Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem. Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said, I am wondering how the fathers of the world could disagree about the creation of the world. Heaven and earth were only created like a pan (Greek λοπάς.) and its cover. What is the reason? Also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (The argument is from the end of the verse, not quoted: I am calling to them, they shall stand together.) . Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon said, following this, my father’s opinion, sometimes heaven precedes earth, sometimes earth precedes heaven, which teaches that they are equivalent one to another.

“Nor the Creation to two.” Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav Jehudah: This is Rebbi Aqiba’s, but following Rebbi Ismael one investigates what happened. Since Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi was sitting and explaining that originally the world was water in water; this implies that practice follows Rebbi Ismael. Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi was preaching (The original meaning of דרש “to investigate” has been changed into the later Amoraic-Medieval “to preach” and the interpretation of the Mishnah changed accordingly.) : Originally the world was water in water. What is the reason? God’s wind was hovering over the water (Gen. 1:2.) . Then He turned it into snow, He throws his ice like small breads (Ps. 147:17.) . Then He turned it into land, for He will tell the snow, be land (Job 37:6.) . And the land stands on water, to Him Who spreads the earth over the water (Ps. 136:6. Babli 12b.) . And the water stands on mountains, on mountains shall the water stand (Ps. 104:6.) . And the mountains stand on wind, behold the Maker of mountains and Creator of wind (Am. 4:13.) . And the wind depends on storm, the wind storm executes His word (Ps. 148:3) . And the Holy One, praise to Him, turned storm into a kind of amulet and hung it on His arm, as it is said, and below eternal arms (Deut. 33:27.) .

(Babli 15a.) It also happened that Rebbi Joshua was on the road when Ben Zoma came towards him. He greeted him but he did not answer. He asked him, from where and whence, Ben Zoma? He told him, I was observing the Creation, and the distance between the upper waters and the lower waters is (one) [a full] (The corrector’s text certainly is erroneous. It uses Babli general language but contradicts the Babli here. While the Talmudim recognize units of measurement smaller than the hand-breadth, e. g., finger-widths, unless numbers are given “a hand-breadth” means a small distance of indeterminate size.) opening of a hand-breadth. It says here “hovering”, and it says there, as an eagle watches his nest, over his chicks he hovers (Deut. 32:11.) . Since in case of the hovering mentioned there it means barely touching, so the hovering mentioned here means barely touching. Rebbi Joshua said to his students, Ben Zoma is out. It was only a few days that Ben Zoma passed away.

Alexander continued to ask questions of the Elders of the Negev. He said to them: Were the heavens created first or was the earth created first? They said: The heavens were created first, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). He said to them: Was the light created first, or was the darkness created first? They said to him: This matter has no solution, as the verses do not indicate an answer. The Gemara asks: But let them say to him that the darkness was created first, as it is written: “Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2), and only then does it state: “And God said: Let there be light. And there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Why did they not say that the darkness was created first?

He said to them: Was the light created first, or was the darkness created first? They said to him: This matter has no solution, as the verses do not indicate an answer. The Gemara asks: But let them say to him that the darkness was created first, as it is written: “Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2), and only then does it state: “And God said: Let there be light. And there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Why did they not say that the darkness was created first?

Like an eagle who rouses its nestlings, Gliding down to its young, So did [God] spread wings and take them, Bear them along on pinions;

Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God יהוה made earth and heaven—

Do not turn away to follow worthless things, which can neither profit nor save but are worthless.

I look at the earth, It is unformed and void; At the skies, And their light is gone.

As Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host.

The earth was unformed and desolate, and (there was) darkness [was spread] over the surface of the abyss. The breath of [from before] Elohim hovered [blew] above the surface of the water.

And the Earth was deeply submerged, and darkness [was] on the surface of the depths, and Allah's wind would blow on the surface of the water.

And the earth was vacancy and desolation, and solitary of the sons of men, and void of every animal; and the Spirit of mercies from before the Lord breathed upon the face of the waters.

And the earth was vacancy and desolation, solitary of the sons of men, and void of every animal; and darkness was upon the face of the abyss, and the Spirit of mercies from before the Lord breathed upon the face of the waters.

And the earth was void and formless, desolate from humans and animals alike. It was empty of all planted vegetation and trees. Darkness was spread on the surface of the depths, and a merciful spirit from before God blew across the water.

2:6 One day R. Joshua was walking in a public square and noticed Ben Zoma coming toward him. Ben Zoma, however, walked past R. Joshua without offering a greeting. R. Joshua inquired about Ben Zoma's apparent preoccupation, to which Ben Zoma responded that he had been deep in thought, considering the intricacies of divine Creation. Ben Zoma revealed that he had been reflecting on the cosmic dimensions and the relative locations of the earthly and heavenly domains. He posited that there was no significant distance separating the upper and lower waters, using two Biblical verses to support his theory. The first was Genesis 1:2 which describes the spirit of God moving above the surface of the waters and second was Deuteronomy 32:11–12 which compares God’s actions to an eagle hovering over its nest. Upon hearing Ben Zoma’s interpretation, R. Joshua cautioned his disciples, suggesting that Ben Zoma's ideas were leading him outside of mainstream Jewish thought. Indeed, it wasn't long after R. Joshua expressed his concern that Ben Zoma died.

Four entered the orchard: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher (i.e., Elisha ben Avuya), and Rabbi Akiva. One looked and died. One looked and was harmed. One looked and cut down the trees. And one went up in peace and went down in peace. Ben Azzai looked and died. Scripture says about him (Ps. 116:15): "Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints". Ben Zoma looked and was harmed. Scripture says about him (Prov. 25:16): "Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee" and the continuation. [Cont. of the verse: "Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it."] Elisha looked and cut down the trees. Scripture says about him (Ecc. 5:5): "Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt" etc. Rabbi Akiva went up in peace and went down in peace. Scripture says about him (Song of Songs 1:4): "Draw me, we will run after thee" etc. They gave a parable: What is this similar to? To the orchard of a king and there is an observation deck built above it. It is upon [the man] to look so long as he does not move [his eyes] from it* (ובלבד שלא יזוז [את עיניו] ממנו; alt.,ובלבד שלא יזון ממנו "so long as he is not nourished from it" (Minchat Yitzchak)) . Another parable was given. What is this similar to? To [a street] that passes between two paths, one of fire, and one of snow. If he leans one way, he will be burnt [by the fire]. If he leans the other way, he will be burnt by the snow. A man must walk in the middle and not lean to or fro. A story of Rabbi Yehoshua [who was walking in the street and Ben Zoma came opposite him], he reached him and did not greet him. He said to him [from where and to where] Ben Zoma? He said to him: I was watching the creation, and there is not between the upper waters and the lower waters even a handbreadth. As it is written (Gen. 1:2) "and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters." And it says (Deut. 32:11): "As a vulture that stirreth up her nest," etc. Just as the vulture flies over the nest, touching and not touching, so too there is not even a handbreadth between the upper waters and lower waters. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students: Ben Zoma is already outside. In a few days, Ben Zoma passed away.

And Moses said: ‘Thus says the L‑rd: At about midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt. (Exodus 11:4) The main thing is that one’s intentions be for the sake of G‑d, even when one’s deeds are questionable, such as in the case of Lot’s daughters. (After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters engaged their father in an incestuous act; however, their intentions were for the best, as the verses say: “And the first-born said unto the younger: ‘Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.’ (Genesis 19:31-32).) And if you raise a objection from the case of Baal Pe’or, where the people’s intentions were pure, but they were punished anyway, (“And Israel joined himself to Baal Pe’or, and the anger of the L‑rd was kindled against Israel” (Numbers 25:3). The Zohar (3:238a) explains that this was done unintentionally. The worship of Baal Pe’or included defecating in front of the idol. The Israelites saw this, and assumed it to be an act of desecration, and so unwittingly participated in the ceremony.) we would have to say that deep contemplation and deliberation are needed, in order to know whether one is acting for the sake of G‑d, or not. (Literally, “If it is for G‑d or for Azazel” – a reference to the Yom Kippur service (Leviticus 16), in which two identical goats were used: one sacrificed in the Temple, and the other sent to a demon in the wilderness. The Baal Shem Tov uses the latter as a metaphor for one’s own ego.) One should seclude oneself and study Torah to attain a level of objectivity. Then the verse will apply: “And G‑d said, Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). That is, G‑d will enlighten you from His Torah as to how to proceed. This corresponds to something I wrote elsewhere, on the verse: “At about midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt.” Doubt occurs at midnight – when an issue can go either way (I.e., midnight represents the mid-point between the two possibilities.) – then “I will go out among Egypt” – into a person’s limited awareness, (The Hebrew word for Egypt, “Mitzrayim,” is related to the word metzer, which means narrowness or constriction.) to enlighten him. Ben Poras Yosef, p. 18a

Moses’ song was inspired by the immensity of the ‎miracle that he and the people had witnessed at the ‎time. They had witnessed the “death” and ‎‎“resurrection” of the universe, albeit in miniature. If ‎the letter ‎ז‎ is symbolic of the ‎עולם העשיה‎, the universe ‎after its completion on the seventh day, the letter ‎א‎ is ‎symbolic of the very beginning of creation, so that ‎Moses alluded to the process of a reversal in the ‎creative process as having occurred as part of the ‎miracle they had witnessed at that time. It is not ‎accidental that in the Torah scroll instead of writing ‎the ‎שירה‎, “song” in the normal fashion, the lines are ‎broken, interrupted so as to convey the manner in ‎which bricks are laid, not one exactly above the other, ‎but in a pattern that enables the wall to survive sudden ‎impacts. This is true even of stone walls that are not ‎joined by cement.‎ At this point the author allegorically describes ‎חיות‎, ‎the essence of “life” as the word of G’d which was the ‎cement that holds together the different parts of the ‎universe, all of which came into existence by His ten ‎oral directives enumerated in the first chapter of ‎Genesis. The empty spaces between the letters (words) ‎are an allusion to the part of the world where this ‎miracle occurred having retreated toward its origin ‎before the definite contours of that universe had been ‎finalized. ‎‎

Another approach to the last paragraph. it is the ‎duty of every Jew to serve his Creator at all times from ‎feelings of awe and fear and to look at fellow Jews with ‎a benevolent attitude, interpreting actions that appear ‎inappropriate in a favourable light, and not to harm ‎any fellow Jew; the first step in serving G’d is always ‎based on fear, awe. Man’s awe when serving G’d ‎results in a mixture of awe and satisfaction, pleasure. ‎Moses had attained this level of possessing wisdom ‎while at the same time remaining in awe of the ‎Creator, as we know from psalms 111,10 ‎ראשית חכמה יראת ‏ה'‏‎, “all wisdom has its beginning in a feeling of awe and ‎respect of G’d,” and is therefore symbolic of ‎יראה‎, while ‎Aaron’s name contains the letters ‎נהר א‎, i.e. the letter ‎אלף‎ of the word ‎יראה‎, and the letters spelling “water” in ‎the sense of a blissful stream, providing irrigation, the ‎first such water that we find in Genesis 2,10 i.e. ‎ונהר יוצא ‏מעדן‎, “and a river originated from Eden, and irrigated, ‎etc.” Awe and fear lead to satisfaction ‎תענוג‎. Seeing that ‎the term ‎יראה‎, awe, cannot be an attribute of the ‎Creator, and ‎תענוג‎, the feeling of pleasurable ‎satisfaction preceded the dispensation by G’d of His ‎largesse to Israel, (the process being comparable to ‎what our sages meant when they said that “the cow is ‎more intent of nursing the calf than the calf is ‎consciously looking for its mother’s milk,”) when it ‎comes to the results of Moses and Aaron intervening in ‎the process of preparing Pharaoh to release the ‎Israelites, Moses is mentioned first when the Torah ‎writes: ‎הם המדברים אל פרעה מלך מצרים להוציא את בני ישראל ‏ממצרים‎, “they were the ones speaking to Pharaoh to ‎permit the Children of Israel to leave ‎Egypt.”[By mentioning Aaron last, the Torah ‎associated him with the execution directly; he was ‎mentioned immediately before the word ‎להוציא‎, “to ‎release,” i.e. the type of largesse about to be dispensed ‎by G’d to the Jewish people. Ed.].‎ I have heard in the name of my revered teacher ‎Rabbi Dov Baer from Mezerich that he explained ‎Proverbs 10,1 ‎בן חכם משמח אב‎, “a wise son brings joy to ‎his father,” as Solomon paraphrasing the relationship ‎between Jews loyal to Torah and their Father in heaven. ‎When a Jew serves his Father in heaven he causes Him ‎satisfaction and joy. Similarly, when someone makes ‎complimentary remarks about fellow Jews, G’d also ‎derives pleasure from such compliments. We are not to ‎serve G’d for selfish reasons at all, such as the reward ‎we have been promised for doing this. We must strive ‎to provide G’d with satisfaction from our service to ‎Him. This is so although there are a few benedictions ‎in the 19 benedictions of the amidah, the ‎central prayer, in which we ask for something for ‎ourselves, such as intelligence to serve G’d properly, ‎the ability to repent our sins, and a cure for our ‎diseases. Seeing that G’d derives pleasure from our ‎prayers, even these benedictions in which we turn to ‎Him for help, also give Him pleasure. G’d derives ‎pleasure from the very fact that we, His people, enjoy ‎our existence on earth. This is what the sages had in ‎mind when they responded to the question ‎‎(Bereshit Rabbah 3,4) ,‎מהיכן נבראת האורה‎ “from ‎where did the light in which G’d garbed Himself ‎originate?” The word for “light” in that ‎‎Midrash is ‎אורה‎ as opposed to ‎אור‎, the light G’d ‎had created on the first day (Genesis 1,3) ‎‎[There the word for “light” was in the ‎masculine mode, whereas in the Midrash it is in the ‎feminine mode, reminding us that it was something ‎passive, received. Ed.] The answer given by ‎Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman in that Midrash is that it ‎originates from the site on which the Holy Temple was ‎built. The Talmud, pursuing this subject also asked ‎whence the light originated from.‎ ‎[I have not been able to authenticate what ‎follows, supposedly in the Talmud. Ed.]‎ The Talmud wonders whence the light in which G’d ‎drapes Himself originates. Seeing that the word ‎אורה‎ ‎used for “light,” is in the feminine mode it must have ‎been created at some time, having been the recipient ‎of input from another source. Seeing that man needs ‎to serve the Lord for the sake of providing Him with ‎pleasurable satisfaction, ‎תענוג‎, as opposed to our ‎receiving blessings and material benefits in the earthly ‎part of the universe, the question is logical. The ‎answer given in the Talmud to the question posed is ‎that G’d derives pleasure from man’s service which ‎enables Him to dispense His largesse to man. He even ‎enjoys prayer when it is offered as a means to secure ‎this largesse. The reason He does so is because the ‎very fact that He has reason to dispense this largesse is ‎a source of satisfaction for Him.‎

GOOD POINTS, OFFERINGS AND MELODIES Reb Noson next cites Chazal’s account of the communal korban tamid, daily-offering, brought in the Beit HaMikdash. Representatives of all three branches of the Jewish people—the Kohanim, Leviim and Yisraelim—participated. Reb Noson will explain how this mirrors beirur of the good points, creating melodies, and elevating the good points as the dibbur of prayer. Now, this refining of the good points from the animalistic desires finds expression in Chazal’s statement: “[There were] Kohanim with their sacrificial service, presenting the offering; Leviim on their platform, chanting and playing music; and the appointed group of Yisraelim, the maamad delegation, standing at their station and reciting passages of Torah.” (Megillah 3a; Taanit 26a ff. Chazal teach that legislation instituted in the days of David HaMelekh divided the Kohanim into mishmarot (lit. “watches”), 24 family groupings tasked with performing the service in the Beit HaMikdash in rotating shifts, a week at a time. Twenty-four mishmarot of Leviim were likewise appointed, tasked with providing musical accompaniment in rotating shifts from a nearby platform while the Kohanim presented the korbanot. The Yisraelim too were divided into 24 groups, known as maamadot (lit. “standing groups”). A delegation of each group of Yisraelim, known as anshei maamad, men of standing, would ascend to Yerushalayim as emissaries of all the people. From their station near the korbanot during the service, the anshei maamad would pray that HaShem receive the offering of their fellow Jews with favor. Meanwhile, the remainder of each maamad of Yisraelim would gather in their towns to pray, fast, and recite from the Torah’s account of Creation, showing that the world exists in the merit of the korbanot. Over time, this collection of special prayers and Torah readings came to be known as Maamadot.)

And this is the explanation of “and in the hands of the NeViim (prophets) ADaMeh (I spoke parables)” (Hosea 12:11). Through “the hands,” clapping, the words are spoken on “ADaMah (land) that is holy” (Zechariah 2:16). “NeViim” is similar to < NiV sefataim (an expression of the lips), an aspect of the spoken word of prayer>. 4. {“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw the light, that it was good, and God separated between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:3, 4).}

Sermon on Parashat Bereshit In Midrash Tehillim, it says, “’The beginning of Your words gives light’ (Psalms 119:130) – the beginning of Your words in the Creation was (Genesis 1:3), ‘Let there be light’; From there, ‘You make the fools understand,’ and they will begin with words of Torah” – and Rashi on Psalms cites this midrash. And it appears that his words can be elucidated according to the Mishnah (Avot 5:1), “With ten utterances the world was created, etc.” And see the book, Orchot Tzaddikim, as he explains that the teacher [of this mishnah] had two questions: One is, what was the benefit of having informed us that the world was created with ten utterances? And also, why was it created with ten utterances? And he answered about the first question, that an evildoer should know to be careful not to sin – for his punishment will be great, since he is destroying the world that was created with ten utterances. And about the second question, he answered that it is to give a goodly reward to the righteous. But that itself is difficult – why should the evildoer be punished with a severe punishment? As what does it matter that it was created with ten utterances, was He not able to have created it with one utterance? For if a craftsman makes a utensil in ten days that he could have made in a day, is his payment any greater as a result; and does one who breaks it have to pay any more? Likewise is it difficult – why should the righteous receive any more reward [as a result of this]? And see what he writes.

And with this we can understand [the Gemara’s statement] (Rosh Hashanah 32a), “’In the beginning’ is also considered an utterance, as it is stated (Psalms 33:6), ‘By the word of the Lord the heavens were made’” – and see Rashi’s commentary. For the holy Torah also caused and assisted the Creation, that it be able to exist – and as it is written (Kiddushin 30b), “I created the evil impulse, [and] I created the Torah as a remedy.” And this is the intent of the midrash at the beginning: That because the Holy One, blessed be He, only started using the expression, “And He said,” with, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); but, “And He said” is not said regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth – therefore [we derive that] the heavens and the earth exist on account of the Torah, and did not need an utterance [other than the Torah itself]. And that is why the Torah weakens the strength of the evil impulse. Hence the fools will understand the Torah’s uniqueness, “and they will they will begin with words of Torah.” And this is the meaning of that which is written (Jeremiah 33:20), “Were it not for My covenant […], I would not have made the laws of heaven and earth.” For the heavens and the earth were created by way of the Torah.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Bereshit, 1:3) It is said in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah, 1:1), “Rabbi Ushaya Rabba opened, (Mishlei, 8:30) ‘And I was as one brought up with him, and I delighted in him each day.’ Ammon, or ‘brought up,’ means like a tutor. (See Esther 2:7, “and he brought [omman] up Hadassa, that is, Esther.”) Also, ‘Ammon,’ he was well covered. ‘Ammon,’ he was hidden [or well cared for]. There are those who say, ‘Ammon,’ is the name of the capital (in Egypt, Alexandria was once called ‘Ammon.’) (This has another translation. Ammon means famous.) Another interpretation: ‘Ammon’ is an artisan.” We find these five interpretations of Ammon in man, who goes through five states of being from the beginning of his existence until his final completion. At first, when his father and mother conceive him, he is completely hidden, unrecognizable to any part of creation. The second state of being occurs when he is formed in his mother’s womb and becomes recognizable as a separate entity. The third, when he is born and his existence is complete. Then, all see how he a separate entity. The fourth, when he is weaned from his mother’s breast and begins to act on his own. And the fifth, when he marries a wife and begins to create new beings, built as an everlasting structure. It is towards this end that was he created. And thus, we find these five states of being in the creation of the world, which emerged from nothing and from being completely hidden to become revealed and substantive. At first the creation was called “brought up in secret,” for it was included in God’s essence, may He be blessed, and there was no sign of it emanating from Him. This was the first state of being. When the creation emanated from God and began to become revealed, it entered the second state of being, called “brought up, well covered.” This is the secret of the embryonic state, which is well covered. Afterwards, it became further revealed, called “brought up as by a tutor.” These three states of being are the first three hidden sefirot: Keter (crown), Chochmah (wisdom), and Binah (understanding). (These aspects are hidden, just as the intellectual faculties are hidden in the head, and thought is hidden from external recognition.) The Midrash explains these three sefirot from below to above. First, “raised as by a tutor” is Binah, “raised well covered” is Chochma, and “raised in secret” is Keter, the sefira so concealed that it is called “in secret.” Afterwards it revealed itself even more, called “Ammon the capital” (literally: “Greater Ammon”) as the creation began to enlarge. This is the meaning of being weaned from the mother’s breast. Afterwards, “Ammon is an artisan,” where the creation emerges into complete revelation, and started to create new creatures, according to His will. This is why we make the blessing, “who formed man in His image,” under the wedding canopy, and not at birth. Because when a person is born, he is not yet complete; only when he marries and begins to make new beings. This is what the Torah means when it says, “and the world was tohu u’vohu, chaos and void.” From the moment of conception until the embryo becomes apparent, it is called tohu, chaos or unformed. Once it is recognized it is called bohu, void; that is, seeing something and not knowing what it is. The nine months of pregnancy are called “and darkness on the face of the abyss.” At that time, though the outcome is not yet clear, we hope for and anticipate the birth. Thus we call it, “the abyss.” (Meaning, something deep and unrecognizable, which we long to know clearly.) “And the spirit of God hovered” is the moment when the woman gives birth, when both mother and child hover closer to death than life, as we find in the Midrash and Gemara (Vayikra Rabba, 27:7). “And God said, let there be light,” means complete salvation. The five times the verses mention, “light” correspond to the five states, mentioned above. The last one is “and God called the light day,” in which God realizes all of His intentions in creating the world.

For example, on the first day of the Six Days of Creation, the attribute of kindness—comprised of all His holy attributes, (Each attribute includes all the others. The specific designation denotes the dominant quality of the attribute.) with His will and wisdom and understanding and knowledge clothed in it—was revealed, and He created with it the light, through the Utterance, “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3.) which is the spreading forth and flow of the light from above into the world, and its diffusion in the world from one end to the other. This [creation of light] is the quality of kindness, yet, because it also includes the attribute of might, therefore, it [the light] was not spiritual as the actual Supernal Light, and also became clothed in this world, which is finite and limited, for it is a distance of 500 years from the earth to the heaven and from east to west. (Chagigah 13a; ibid. 12a.)

So, figuratively speaking, when the attributes of the Holy One, blessed is He, reach the level of the revelation of their action in the lower [worlds]; this revelation and the flow of this action is called “utterance” and combination of letters, for there can be no action proceeding from His attributes without [the intermediacy of] combinations which are called “letters.” For instance, for the creation of light from the attribute of kindness, there issued from it a flow of action and a power with which to produce and create the light. And the flow of this power and this life-force is designated “utterance” and [combination of] the letters of “Let there be Light.” (In Hebrew, i.e., יהי אור. Genesis 1:3.)

We similarly find this [matter] in the six days of creation. The first day is the aspect of the Chessed – Kindness of “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3) while the second day is the aspect of the Gevurah – Judgment of “Let there be a firmament,” (Genesis 1:6) as it states in the Zohar, (Zohar I 205a, and Zohar III 94b.) “Each day has its function.”

This is as stated, (Psalms 97:11.) “Light (Ohr-אור) is sown for the righteous,” and it states about light, (Genesis 1:3) “[And God saw the light,] that it was good (Tov-טוב),” just as the aspect of Yesod is called “Good-Tov-טוב,” (Zohar I 60a; Shaarei Orah of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, Shaar 2 (Yesod); Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Kuntreisim p. 224.) as in [the statement], (See Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VeHa’Emunah, Ch. 4; Also see Ma’amarei Admor HaEmtza’ee, Kuntreisim p. 5; Also see Torat Chayim, Bereishit, p. 30b and footnote 4 there.) “It is the nature of the good to bestow goodness” specifically to another.

An example is the verse, (Genesis 1:3) “And God said-VaYomer Elohi”m-ויאמר אלהי״ם.” Elohi”m-אלהי״ם represents the one hundred and twenty combinations (See Etz Chayim, Shaar 15, Ch. 6; Shaar 44, Ch. 5; Maamarei Admor HaEmtza'ee, Shemot Vol. 1, p.137 – There are 120 possible permutations of the five letters of HaShem’s-יהו״ה primary title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.) of the “Hidden Thought” that is literally in the Essential Self. This is called, “The closed saying” that is concealed within the Essential Self of HaShem-יהו"ה, He who is called the “Concealed of all concealments etc.,” to the highest heights, as in the verse, (Job 28:23) “And Elohi”m-אלהי״ם understands the way thereof etc.”

In contrast, its revelation in speech, as in the saying, (Genesis 1:3) “Let there be light (Yehiy Ohr-יהי אור),” is a separate, independent thing, which is the aspect of Chochmah of Chessed of Malchut that is drawn from the aspect of Malchut of Chochmah of Chessed of Zeir Anpin in a manner of particulars.

It is also called the Maamar Patuach-The Open Saying, as in, (Genesis 1:3) “And God said-Vayomer Elohi”m-ויאמר אלהי״ם” or as stated, (Psalms 33:6) “By the word of HaShem-יהו"ה the heavens [were made] etc.” regarding which it states, (Psalms 103:19) “His Kingship rules over all etc.” as known.

For example, the combination of the first day, “Let there be light-Yehiy Ohr-יהי אור,” which is the aspect of Chessed, (Genesis 1:3; See Or HaChayim to Zohar Bereishit 46a; Siddur Im Divrei Elokim Chayim, Shaar HaKriyat Shma 76b; Maamarei Admor HaEmtzaee, Devarim Vol. 4, pg. 1,446; Hanachot 5577 pg. 10; Torat Chayim, Bereishit 8c.) is the root of the first millennium of Briyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, as known regarding the verse, “In six days [HaShem] made etc.,” referring to the six upper days of Zeir Anpin and Nukvah of Atzilut etc., that are called, (Isaiah 63:11; Deuteronomy 32:7; See Zohar III 15a; Maamarei Admor HaEmtzaee, Vayikra Vol. 1, pg. 225; Bamidbar Vol. 2 pg. 366.) “Yemei Olam - the days of the world” [in the masculine] and “Yemot Olam - the days of the world” [in the feminine].

ויאמר אלוקים, “G-d said:” seeing that there were no intelligent creatures as yet that G-d could have spoken to, the meaning of this statement must be that “G-d spoke to His heart, to the seat of His thoughts.” Even in our physical world nowadays when a human being expresses thoughts verbally, these are products of his thought processes which preceded his thoughts being formulated. If we needed proof for the correctness of this approach, the reader only needs to look at Genesis 6,67: וינחם ה' כי עשה את האדם בארץ ויתעצב אל לבו. ויאמר ה׳ אמחה את האדם אשר בראתי וגו', “The Lord became regretful that He had created man on the earth, and His heart was saddened; He said: “I will wipe out the human race on earth, etc.”

יהי אור, “let there be light!” Before the heavens had been stretched out over the firmament the light of G-d had permeated the entire universe in equal measure. Once He had stretched out the sky like a carpet, (Psalms 104,2) the heavens formed the barrier between the rest of the universe and the תהום, the deep abyss beyond. This is why the Torah had stated that the darkness had formed a cover over that abyss. (Verse 2) This is why its creation was preceded by a commandment, seeing that the light created now was something good for all the stages of creation that were to follow.

יהי אור; three phenomena were created on the first “day;” heaven, earth and light. Each of these phenomena contributed its accessories at the appropriate time. The heaven produced its offspring, i.e. the horizon, רקיע, on the second “day,” and the earth, on the third “day,” produced simple vegetation, i.e. grass and trees. The “light” produced the luminaries and the stars on the fourth “day.” Proof that these developments were not “something from nothing,” as the first phase of the creation is that the Torah describes G-d’s commandment in each instance not with the word: “let there be,” יהי, but with the word “produce,” תוצא. This is similar to G-d’s command to Noach at the end of the deluge, when He said: צא מן התבה, “exit from the ark!” (Genesis 8,16).

ויהי אור, and “light” had materalised. The reason why on subsequent occasions, the Torah merely writes: ויהי כן, “and so it came to be,” is for the sake of brevity. Our sages therefore have taught us in Pessachim 3, that one should always strive to express one’s thoughts as concisely as possible, [while avoiding being misunderstood. Ed.] In this instance, by spelling out the word אור, the Torah did not add a single syllable beyond what was required.

"let there be light" and there was light: And that which [the Torah] did not write, "and it was so," as with the other [days] is because, when it did so with the others, it was written in order to shorten its words; since had it explained all the arrangements of creation, it would have had to have been more expansive, but here there is no more expansiveness in the word (and there was) light (vayehi ohr) than in the word, (and it was) so (vayehi khen).

Let there be light: It is known that this light is not the light that shines for [future] generations, and like other things in this section. And for this reason, it is not written concerning this, “and it was so.” Since also from the beginning, this light was only formed, so that it should be hidden for the righteous ones afterwards. So that there should not be a new creation afterwards, which was not [created] during the seven days [of creation,] God [now] said, Let there be light.” And the word, so, is to be understood as an expression of a foundation and base; like in (Proverbs 11:19), “ so (established) is righteousness for life." And for this reason, it is not written here, “and it was so.”

AND GOD SAID. Saadiah Gaon interprets va-yomer Elohim (and God said), as and God wanted. However, if this were the case Scripture should have stated God wanted (said) light to be. Therefore va-yomer Elohim is to be rendered “and God said.” (If va-yomer Elohim means God wanted, rather than God said, Scripture should have used the infinite li-heyot in place of yehi; Let there be implies a statement.) We similarly read, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made (Ps. 33:6), and For He commanded, and they were created (Ps. 148:5). (Here creation is described as coming about by God’s word. The terms used are: spoke and command. It is absurd to translate these two words as wanted.) Scripture describes creation as coming about by God’s word because it wants to teach us that heaven and earth came into being without any labor on God’s part. We may compare this to a king assigning certain tasks to his servants.

[LIGHT.] The light spoken of in this verse was above the air. (See note 88.)

And the Lord said, "let there be light:" The word, ohr [light], is written five times in this section; and on the fourth day the word, meohr [luminaries] is written five times, with the addition of [the letter] mem [to the word ohr], and there is in this an amazing intention. And that is that since we have found that the Sages, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 12a), "The light that was created on the first day was hidden" and there is [also] an opinion that says, "these are the very luminaries that were created on the first day and were not 'hung' until the fourth day;" and these two midrashic statements appear to contradict one another. But the truth is not thus, since everyone admits that the light of the first day was a great light and was [then] hidden and that those luminaries that were 'hung' on the fourth day are not the actual light [of the first day], but rather they received their light from a spark of the upper light that was created on the first day; therefore, the word, ohr, is mentioned [on the first day], since it was the actual light; but with luminaries on the fourth day, each one is mentioned as meohr, with the addition of [the letter] mem, to show that they received their light from another light - greater than them - which is what is shown by the [letter] mem [which, when in front of a word, is a prefix that means, 'from']. And according to this, the midrashic statements do not contradict one another; since the first light was hidden - according to everyone - for the righteous, and the luminaries of the fourth day received a spark of the first light; and if so, certainly, 'they are the very luminaries,' since a part [i.e., the luminaries] is included in the whole [i.e., the light created on the first day]. And with this is also resolved [why] they were created [only to be] hidden; and this is a precious explanation.

ויאמר אלוקים “G’d said, etc.” The word אמירה in this instance is a description of “will.” We find it used in this sense in Samuel I 20,4 where Yonathan uses it to indicate that whatever David desires of him he would do. Alternately, the meaning of the word is “decreed,” as we find it in Job 22,28, ותגזר אומר ויקם לך “You will decree and it will be fulfilled.” [The reason for this unusual interpretation of the word ויאמר is that there was no one for G’d to say to what He is reported as having said. Ed.].

יהי אור, ויהי אור .”let there be light; there was light.” As far as the plain meaning is concerned, the Torah speaks of two kinds of light. One kind is the kind we use in our material world, the light provided by the sun and the moon. The other category is the light preserved for the use of the righteous in a future world. This former, i.e. the light we use daily, has been “distilled,” or “set aside,” from the other light which has been stored up for the future. This is what our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 17,7 derive from our verse when they said: “the light of the higher regions has been distilled from the planet sun.” Both of these lights are alluded to in a single verse in Psalms 31,20 מה רוב טובך אשר צפנת ליריאיך “how great is Your goodness that You have in store for those who revere You.” [The reason for this whole explanation is that the Torah repeated the word אור instead of merely writing “it was so.”] The verse in Psalms continues פעלת לחוסים בך נגד בני אדם You have created in the full view of those who take refuge in You.” The repetition indicates that there is a hidden light as well as a light which has been revealed. Do not query that the whole idea is strange seeing that the luminaries had not been created until the fourth day. The fact is that when the Torah mentions the sun and moon for the first time on the fourth day it does not describe when they were created, only when they were assigned to function, to give light for the earth; the wording is להאיר על הארץ, “to shine on earth.” On the first day the light did not penetrate earthward further that the firmament רקיע . Looking at our verse from an homiletical point of view: the words “let there be light, there was light,” come to tell us that when human beings want light they must derive it from an existing source or form of light. How is it possible for man to create light out of darkness? G’d, on the other hand, produced light out of a universe wrapped in darkness. This is what Job recognised when he said (Job 12,22) מגלה עמוקות מני חשך ויוצא לאור צלמות, “He draws mysteries out of the darkness and brings obscurities to light.” Daniel phrased it similarly when he said (Daniel 2,22) הוא גלא עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהורא עמיה שרא. The word עמיקתא refers to what is known as מעשה מרכבה,”esoterics,” whereas the word מסתרתא refers to the creation of heaven and earth. The words ידע מה בחשוכא refer to the “darkness on the face of the deep,” whereas the words ונהורא עמיה שרא refer to G’d giving the directive “let there be light.” After it has become clear that G’d made light emerge out of darkness, we learn that night is part of the day, and that it is perfectly in order to refer to night as “day” as indeed we do on every festival when in our prayers we refer to יום חג המצות הזה, “this day the festival of unleavened bread,” even though the prayer in question is recited in the evening after dark. The same applies to the evening prayers of all the other festivals. On the other hand, “day” is never referred to as a part of night. Rabbi Simon in Bereshit Rabbah 3,5 draws our attention to the fact that the word אור appears five times in our short paragraph. This is an allusion to the five Books of Moses. The words יהי אור refer to the first Book of Moses seeing that we read in that Book about the creation of light. The wordsויהי אור refer to the Book of Exodus where G’d provided light for the Jewish people when He orchestrated the Exodus and they emerged from spiritual darkness as well as from physical darkness. We read in Exodus 10,23, ולכל ישראל היה אור במושבותם, “and all the Israelites enjoyed light in their respective dwellings.” The words וירא אלוקים את האור refer to the Book of Leviticus which is full of commandments all of which provide us with spiritual light. The words ויבדל אלוקים בין האור ובין החשך, “G’d separated between the light and the darkness, are a reference to the Book of Numbers wherein we find that G’d made separations between those Israelites who had left Egypt as adults and those who had been under age and therefore were allowed to proceed to the Holy Land. The words ויקרא אלוקים לאור יום are a reference to the Book of Deuteronomy which is also full of many commandments providing us with further spiritual illumination. To sum up this particular Midrash: The first light is the creation of the universe; the second light is the redemption of the Jewish people from bondage; the third light is the light of repentance (the sacrificial rites are primarily designed to facilitate forgiveness through repentance of our sins). The fourth light is the Holy Temple and the fifth light is Torah and its commandments. Looking at our verse from a rational or investigative point of view, the words “let there be light and there was light” represent the beginning of the new universe. This beginning is called the עולם המלאכים, the region of the angels. From this lofty region evolved (downwards) all other domains below it such as heaven and earth. In order to comprehend the loftiness of the domain of the angels it is well to quote Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus in his Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 3. He asks the rhetorical question: “whence were the heavens created?” He anwers: “from the light provided by G’d’s garment.” He explained to you that the very existence of heaven attested to the truth of the original light. The reason The Rabbi perceives of “light “ as the garment of G’d is that “light” is what divides Him from all His creatures. It is similar to garments worn by man which serve to separate man’s appearance from his essence. The fact is that G’d operates in His world by means of His delegates, His angels. Every single angel has specific tasks assigned to him. Bearing this in mind, the meaning of Rabbi Eliezer’s statement is: “which particular angel or delegate did G’d employ when He created the שמיםreferred to in our opening verse? Answer: “He employed the angel whose function it is to serve as the light providing His garment.” The heavens which are substantive in nature were created by this power inherent in light (our so-called sky). This world of angels consists only of צורה, form without חומר, without any substance. Those “heavens” which are substantive had need of the angel “light” which was insubstantial to create them. Form causes the creation of substance not vice versa. There are forms which are devoid of substance, whereas there is no substance devoid of form. From a kabbalistic point of view, the meaning of the words יהי אור ויהי אור is that this verse does not even describe the original creation of light at all. The existence of light had already been referred to in the verse commencing with the word בראשית. This is why the Talmud in Rosh Hashanah 12 says: “Bereshit “ (the word ראשית) is also one of the ten directives with which G’d created the universe. That directive included a reference to light which at that time was still invisible, hidden. Now that the Torah reports the directive “let there be light,” this meant that the previously hidden light now became manifest. The fact that the Torah did not report that ויהי כן, “so it came to be,” is a hint that the light was not something new; the only thing new was its visibility. You should know that this “visible” light is what is called טוב, “good.” It is this light which David referred to in Psalms 31,20 when he mentioned the “goodness G’d has in store for the righteous and added the words: ‘in full view of man.’” He referred to the kind of light which had become visible. There are numerous references to this light commented upon by Midrash Tehillim 27 on the words קל ה' ויאר לנו “G’d is powerful, He shone for us;” or ה' אורי וישעי, “G’d is my light and my help. You need to appreciate that the real beginning of the creation of the physical universe commenced with this directive of “let there be light.” This occurred on the 25th day of Ellul, the number 25 corresponding to the numerical value of the word יהי. As to the statement in the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 27) that the world was created in the month of Tishrey, the reference was to the creation of Adam, the first human being. Creation of man constituted the completion of the creative process and this is what the Talmud referred to. Man is the “seal” of all of G’d’s activities up until then. The Talmud could not say that the universe was created in Ellul as it concerned itself with a finished product only. You should also know that the period of time that Torah preceded creation of the universe until the directive of “let there be light,” has also been hinted at in the word ב-ראשית. The letter ב in that word alludes to the two thousand years Torah preceded our universe, a period called “beginning,” i.e. ראשית. We find some proof of this in the Bereshit Rabbah 3,7 which points out that the Torah did not write יהי ערב, “let there be evening,” but only ויהי ערב, “it remained evening,” i.e. there had already been a system called time, [though time was not counted in terms we are familiar with. Ed.] We must concede that the concept of time itself was a creative act and prior to that act “time” did not exist. Nonetheless we find time prior to the creation of the universe referred to specifically in several instances throughout the Bible. When the sages spoke about “two thousand years” which the Torah preceded the universe they did not refer to days or years in the manner we count days or years nowadays. The element of “time” in that context is not subject to investigation by the human intellect. Job 36,26 referred to this phenomenon when he wrote הן קל שגיא ולא נדע מספר שניו ולא חקר; “Here G’d is greater than we can know; the number of His years cannot be counted.” Another reference to this kind of time is found in Job 10,8 הן כ-ימי אנוש ימיך , “are Your days to be compared to human days?” or Psalms 102,28 ימי שנותיך לא יתמו, “the days of Your years are never ending.” During those “times,” it occurred to G’d to creative 1000 generations (of human history); however 974 of these generations were wiped out (compare Chagigah 13-14). This means that these 974 generations were “wiped out” from G’d’s original plan. They had not ever been created in the flesh. As a result of these 974 generations never having seen the light of day the Torah was given to the Jewish people after man existed for 26 generations. The reason G’d reconsidered His original plan was that He foresaw that the people in those generations would all be wicked. G’d advanced the giving of the Torah so that He would thereby advance the cycle that would otherwise have taken 1000 generations. This is the meaning of Psalms 105,8 “He is ever mindful of His covenant, the promise He gave for a thousand generations.” The words “for a thousand generations” mean: “at the end of one thousand generations.” These “lost “ generations are referred to by our sages in Chagigah 13 when they quoted Daniel 7,10 נהר דינור נגיד ונפיק מן קדמוהי אלף אלפין ישמשונה ורבו רבבן קדמוהי יקומון דינא יתיב וספרין פתיחו, “A river of fire streamed before Him; thousands upon thousands served Him; myriads upon myriads attended Him; the court sat and the books were opened.” The Talmud asks” “whence did the river originate?’ The answer given is that it was the result of the sweat of the beasts. To the question where this river Dinor ended, the answer given is “on the heads of the wicked in hades,” seeing that we have a verse in Job 22,1 אשר קמטו ולא עת נהר יוצק יסודם; “how they have shrivelled up before their time, and their foundation poured out like a river.” Rabbi Acha bar Yaakov interpreted the first half of this verse as describing G’d’s anger. Rabbi Shimon ben Chasidah understands this verse as a reference to the 974 generations which had originally been planned by G’d to come into existence prior to the universe as we know it. What did G’d do with them? He suspended them in that river. Some appear in each generation and they are the ones whose main purpose in life is to mock G’d. Thus far the discussion in Chagigah.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי אור ויהי אור. The light was already in the heaven, seeing that the luminaries were created together with the planets. Daniel 12,3 refers to this when he compares the radiance of the knowledgeable people in the future to the radiance of the expanse of the sky, describing the latter as זהר הרקיע. In Exodus 24,10 the visions experienced by the elite of the Israelites is compared to וכעצם השמים לטוהר, “as pure as the radiant light of the heavens.” What had been lacking was only that this light had not illuminated the face of the deep as this had not been equipped to reflect such light as yet. Seeing that the directive concerned only the creatures in the “lower universe,” G’d did not introduce His creative activities with the words: יהי שמים, “let there be a heaven,” but the Torah wrote simply: “He created heaven, etc., ברא.” Once the various planets were placed in orbit to perform their orbits [I suppose that the sun only is meant, Ed.] every 12 hours the “lower” part of the universe would be in darkness. At the end of the first period of 12 hours, G’d issued the directive: “let there be light”, i.e that light should replace the darkness in that location. When the wind blows over the water it dries some of the surface of the waters enabling the waters to be illuminated faintly by the daylight above. The primordial light had not become distinct, strong, until the fourth day. Possibly, the words זהר הרקיע describe the light by means of which the heaven itself shines, radiates light, as we have written. In that event, the light described here refers to a different period of 12 hours, a whole day comprising 24 hours. This light would have become missing on the first day from the “lower regions” of the universe. With the absence of this light darkness would have ensued in that region. During the first three days of the creative period, the only reason for such absence of light from part of the universe would be the fact that it was the will of the Creator that it be so. This can be so only if we adopt the view that the light prevailing during the first three days of that period was none other than the “natural” light radiated by the רקיע, the firmament. If, on the other hand, we assume that the light under discussion is the light of the sun, which up until then had shone weakly, seeing that the atmosphere had not been conditioned to let its rays traverse it without hindrance, and that as a result of this during these three “days” total darkness pervaded the universe, there can be no question that these regions had not been conditioned to receive the light from heaven at all, not even a weak diffused kind of light. Total darkness would have prevailed during these “days.” It follows that the reason for this total darkness during these three “days” must have been none other than G’d’s will, His pleasure that it be so. Clearly, although G’d saw that the light “was good,” He decreed in His wisdom that light not be present at all times in all locations. The reason is that the universe needs darkness also, why else would G’d have created it as we know from Psalms 104,20 תשת חשך ויהי לילה, “You bring on darkness and it is night.” Maimonides writes (chapter 30, second part of Moreh) that the principal cause of the coming into existence and the destruction of celestial forces such as the planets is light and darkness respectively, both of which are forces to which these phenomena are drawn. The constant change from extremes of heat and cold subject these celestial bodies to wear and tear. Climates are affected through the change from light to darkness, as well as the properties of the planets themselves. These changes reflect the will of higher forces, i.e. G’d, Who wishes rain, change of climate to occur on earth at certain times. Darkness is the natural state of the “lower regions” of the universe, light acting as something reviving these regions. The scholar Ibn Ezra writes that the light of which our verse speaks originated in the regions above the רוח, the wind (spirit) operating within the atmosphere. When the Torah wrote ויאמר, commonly translated as “He said,” this is merely a figure of speech, just as when David wrote in Psalms 33,6 בדבר ה' שמים נעשו, “that the heavens were created by the word of G’d.” These formulations are used by the Torah to describe expressions of G’d’s will.

AND G-D SAID, ‘LET THERE BE LIGHT.’ The word “saying” here indicates Will, as in the verse, What dost thy soul say, that I should do it for thee? (I Samuel 20:4.) which means, “What do you want and desire?” Similarly, And let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Eternal hath spoken (Genesis 24:51.) means, “…as He hath willed, for such is the Will before Him.” Or, it may be [that the word “saying” here means] “thinking,” as in the verses, Thou sayest in thy heart; (Isaiah 47:8.) And the chiefs of Judah shall say in their heart. (Zechariah 12:5.) The purport is to state that the creation was not done with toil. Our Rabbis have also called this “thought.” Thus they have said: (Bereshith Rabbah 12:14.) “The thought [concerning what was to be created on a particular day] was during the day; the deed itself was at sunset.” This teaches that creation was thought out, that there is a reason for everything created, that creation was not a simple manifestation of mere Will alone. The word “being” [Let there ‘be’] indicates a deed for the present time, (Thus unlike Rashi and R’dak (Rabbi David Kimchi), who hold that the reference here is to the creation of the luminaries, such as the sun, moon, etc., which were not suspended in the firmament until the fourth day (see Rashi, Verse 14), Ramban explains that the light of the first day was of a special substance; hence Scripture does not say, And it was so, since that light did not remain forever in its original state.) just as: And thou wouldst be their king (Nehemiah 6:6.) [meaning: their king from this moment on]. Therefore Scripture says that when He created the substance of the heavens, He said that from that substance there should come forth a shining matter called “light.”

AND THERE WAS LIGHT. The verse does not say, “And it was so,” as it is said on other days, because the light did not remain in this state all the time, as did the other creations. Concerning this matter, our Rabbis have an interpretation with a profound secret. (Ramban’s hint here is to the Sefer Habahir, 190. See my Hebrew commentary pp. 15—16.) Know that the term “day” as used in the story of the creation was, in the case of the creation of heaven and earth, a real day, composed of hours and seconds, and there were six days like the six days of the workweek, as is the plain meaning of the verse. In the profounder sense, the Emanations issuing from the Most High are called “days,” for every Divine Saying (The tenfold expression, And G-d said, found in the chapter of Creation.) which evoked an existence is called “day.” These were six, for Unto G-d there is the greatness, and the power, etc. (I Chronicles 29:11.) The Sayings, (The tenfold expression, And G-d said, found in the chapter of Creation.) however, are ten because regarding the first three Emanations, the term “day” does not apply at all. The explanation of the order of the verses in terms of this profound interpretation is sublime and recondite. Our knowledge of it is less than that of a drop from the vast ocean.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי אור, by means of this directive G’d meant to correct the fact that up until then everything was in complete darkness,

אור — verwandt mit עור wach werden, für äußere Eindrücke empfänglich werden oder sein, (daher auch: Haut, das allgemeine Organ der Empfindung), einigemal auch: wach machen, wecken, — ist das weckende Element, das alle Kräfte zur Entfaltung wachruft. (Mit רוא ist auch bielleicht חור, das in vollem Lichte erscheinende Weiße und Freie, verwandt, und auch חור, die Lichtung, das Lichte, die Öffnung in einem übrigens Geschlossenen). Dem רוא steht חשך gegenüber, das durch seine Verwandtschaft mit חזק, עשק, חשך das Entzogensein, somit den Zustand bezeichnet, in welchem die Wesen nicht dem weckenden Einflusse des Lichtes bloßgestellt sind.

"Let there be light" - this is the light of the seven days [i.e., Or HaGanuz], which was for the use of those created without seed, and it will be [again] in the future, as the words of the Sages (may their memories be a blessing) Shabbat 30b: it will then be for that which is the future will "bring forth baked treats and fine clothing" without [needing] the power of seed.

And God said: It portrays God as a king who commands and everything happens with His word, to [show] that the action of God is not like the action of a man that makes [things] with his hands but - metaphorically - like one who commands others to make [things]; even though here there was no one to command (and so is the opinion of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra).

"Let there be light:" It appears to me that it is for [the following] reason that He [started] with the creation of the light: Since most nations worshiped the sun because of its great [effect] on [people], through [its] light and heat; hence, He started [with it] to make known that also before there were luminaries, there was light and there was day and night, as everything [only] existed through the word of God.

The process of Creation begins: God said: Let there be light, and there was light. It is difficult to understand the meaning or significance of the phrase “God said.” The most that can be understood from this cryptic description is that God transmitted a kind of message that there should be light, and His instruction came to pass. Light was the first creation to emerge from tohu vavohu . It was unlike any form of light known to mankind; it did not emanate from a prior source. Perhaps it was not even a physical light, but a unique phenomenon.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי אור, “G’d said: ‘let there be light!’ The word ויאמר, i.e. אמירה, is puzzling, seeing there was no one to say anything to. What is meant by the word here is that it was addressed to the existing raw material known as שמים, heaven. The Creator wished to produce something bright, shiny. This came into existence without any effort. When the Torah continues with the words ויהי אור, instead of saying ויהי כן, which is the usual formula, the reason is that the light created at this stage did not endure but was withdrawn after Adam had sinned. The expression ויהי כן is only used in conjunction with phenomena which endured.

“God said, let there be light and there was light” [1:3]. The Holy One created two lights. One light is the sun and the other light is the moon. They illumine the world, and the Holy One created another light for the righteous for when the Messiah will come. That light is very great, but the world was not worthy of such a great light. Therefore, the Holy One hid the light for the righteous [in the world to come]. (Genesis Rabbah, 12.6.) Rabbi Simeon said: (Genesis Rabbah, 3.5.) Light is mentioned five times in this [Torah] portion for the five books that comprise the Torah, since the Torah is compared to a light. The first, “let there be light,” relates to the book of Genesis, with which the Holy One created the world. The second time it says “let there be light” relates to the book of Exodus, when Israel left the Egyptian exile, from the darkness to the light, as it is written concerning the redemption, “but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings” [Exodus, 10:23]. The third time it says “And God saw the light” [1:4] relates to the book of Leviticus that is full of laws and rules that illumine like a light. The fourth time it says, “God separated the light [from the darkness]” [1:4]. This relates to the book of Numbers in which the Israelites were separated from their previous evil deeds. The fifth time it says “God called the light day” [1:5] relates to the book of Deuteronomy, which is nothing but commandments and laws that shine like a light. This shows us that there are five lights. One light is that the world was created. The second light is the redemption, which is compared to a light. The third light is the light of repentance. When one repented, he attained the light. This is the book of Leviticus that teaches about the sacrifices the person brought when he repented of his sins. The fourth light is the Temple. The fifth light is the Torah and its commandments. The verse “let there be light” [1:3] teaches us that God created the world from the light. As soon as the Holy One said, “let there be light,” the world began to be created. The word “And it was” has the numerical value of twenty-five, which shows that the world was created on the twenty-fifth of Ellul. As the Talmud says, the world was created in Tishrei. (B. Rosh Hashanah, 27a.) That is to say, the creation was completed in Tishrei, since Adam was created on Rosh Hashanah, which is the same as Rosh Hodesh Tishrei. (Pesikta de-Rab Kahana, 23.1.) When Adam was created, the creation of the whole world had been completed, and everything had been created previously. Adam was created, in the expectation that the person should not be arrogant. He should think that the wild and domestic animals are better than the person, since they were created first. (B. Sanhedrin, 38a.) Another explanation is that before the person was created, all of creation was created, so that the person would find everything prepared. (B. Sanhedrin, 38a.)

Now that I have explained to you the topic of Kiddush, I will explain the topic of Havdalah, so that nothing will be missing from your table whether it is an ordinary day or Shabbat, for indeed Havdalah is a way of honoring Shabbat, to remember the day of Shabbat both when it comes and goes, as our rabbis z”l taught in a midrash, “’Remember the Sabbath day’ (Ex 20:8.) – remember it both at its entrance and its departure.” (Maimonides, Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, M”A 155, and in Hilkhot Shabbat 29a.) And know that Havdalah with its four blessings is hinted at in the first parshah of Genesis: the first blessing – borei pri ha-gafen – “who creates the fruit of the vine” – is hinted at in the first verse in the word ha-aretz – “the land” (Gen 1:1.) – which is the garden and the vine in the garden, and this is the wine preserved in its grapes from the six days of creation. (B. Berakhot 34b. The wine that will be served at the messianic banquet at the end of time comes has been preserved in the grapes of the first vine God created in the six days of creation.) The second blessing: “atzei besamim”– “spices from a tree” (Technically, one needs to specify in the blessing the type of spice: atzei besamim – “spices from a tree,” such as cinnamon or nutmeg; esvei besamim, “spices from grasses,” such as mint or tarragon. However, taking into account that not everybody knows how to tell the difference between types of spices, the more inclusive formulation minei besamim– “different kinds of spices” was instituted, to avoid having people say the wrong blessing (Chavel).) is hinted in the expression, “a wind [ru’ah] from God sweeping over the water,” (Gen 1:1.) because smell – re’ah – is sensed by means of the wind – ru’ah. The third blessing: bore’ me’orei ha-esh – “who creates the lights of fire,” is what is written in “Yehi ‘or” – “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3: “’Or” and “me’orei” are from the same Hebrew root that means “light.”) The fourth blessing – Ha-mavdil – “Who separates” is what is written in “and God separated [va-yavdel] the light.” (Gen 1:4.) And just as we found the act of separation – Havdalah – in the Holy One Blessed be He at the beginning of His rule with the creation of the world and its renewal, so we found in Him the sanctification – kiddush (Its root, kadosh, in its adjectival and verbal forms means literally to “be set apart” or “to set apart.”) – of the day of Shabbat on which work is forbidden, which is written: “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy [va-yikadesh ‘oto].” (Gen 2:3. What follows is more or less a quotation from Genesis Rabbah Parshah 11, with some omissions.) He “blessed” it providing an extra portion of the manna for it and “declared it holy” by prohibiting the gathering of manna on it.

And of these five senses, two are physical, three are spiritual. We have found them in the Holy One Blessed be He: “And the Lord saw;” “and the Lord heard;” and “the Lord smelled;” (Gen 5:5, Nu 11:1; Gen 8:21, respectively.) but not so the other two. We were given five senses to correspond to the five books of the Torah, and to the five references to “light” in the first chapter of Genesis, (Gen 1:3 (2x), 4 (2x), 5.) and the five names of the soul. (According to Bereshit Rabbah 14:11, they are nefesh, ruah, neshamah, yehidah(“unity”), and hayah (“animal”).) Indeed they are the body’s perfection because they are the palace of the soul, and the soul reveals its actions through them. And the natural scientists said that it was from the wisdom of the design of nature that human beings were created with five fingers on each hand to serve the five senses. Each and every finger has its own sense to serve. The biggest (the thumb) is for wiping the mouth, the index finger for the nostrils, the middle finger for the sense of touch to feel all the parts of the body because it is the longest of all (and can reach everywhere), the ring finger to wipe the eye, and the pinky, which is the smallest of all, to clean the ear. So it is from the wisdom of nature that each and every finger goes to its proper sense organ instinctively and unconsciously. About the order of the fingers our sages z”l said: (B. Ketubot 5b.) ”This pinky [is for…], this ring finger [is for…], this middle finger [is for…], this pointer [is for…], this thumb [is for…].” And they already explained at the beginning of tractate Ketubot that each of these five fingers had their own mitzvah: This pinky for measuring the hoshen – the High Priest’s breastplate; this ring finger for the priest’s meal-offering, this index finger [amah –‘the cubit measure’] for building and tools; this index finger [ha-‘etzba’] for sprinkling (the blood of the sin offering)– “he shall sprinkle it with his finger [be-‘etzba’o],” (Lev 16:14.) and this ‘biggest’ which is the widest of all of them, namely, the thumb of Aaron’s hand for purifying someone stricken with skin rot. (These explanations of the purpose of each finger are not the ones the Gemara brings, but are brought by Rashi in his commentary to this passage in b. Ketubot (Chavel).) So you find yourself learning that the five fingers on the human body meet the needs of both the individual and of God. And you will find among the wonders of human being’s design that the ability to feel is extended throughout the whole body, and the sense of smell is extended outside the body, and that the sense of hearing is extended even further than smell to the extent that humans need it more, and that the sense of sight is extended even further than hearing because humans need it more. So behold how great a matter this is to all who look into it, for it instructs us about the perfection of human beings with their five senses, for “these are the work of God!” (An allusion to Ex 32:16, referring there to the tablets of the covenant, and hence hinting at R. Bahya’s previous association of the five senses with the five books of the Torah.)

Darkness struck at the statement, "Let there be light."

THE term male is a homonym which denotes that one substance enters another, and fills it, as “And she filled (va-temalle) her pitcher” (Gen. 24:16); “An omer-full (melo) for each” (Exod. 16:32), and many other instances. Next, it signifies the expiration or completion of a fixed period of time, as “And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled (va-yimleü)” (Gen. 25:24); “And forty days were completed (va-yimleü) for him” (Gen. 1. 3). It further denotes attainment of the highest degree of excellency, as “Full (male) with the blessing of the Lord” (Deut. 33:23); “Them hath he filled (mille) with wisdom of heart” (Exod. 35:35) He was filled (va-yimmale) with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning” (1 Kings 7:14).

25. The Rabbi: To this belongs the 'Book of Creation' by the Patriarch Abraham. Its contents are very profound, and require thorough explanation. It teaches the unity and omnipotence of God by means of various examples, which are multiform on one side and uniform on the other. They are in harmony with regard to the One, their Director. This results in the three factors: S’fār, Sēfer, and Sippūr (Sefer Yetzirah 1:1). As to S’fār it means the calculation and weighing of the created bodies. The calculation which is required for the harmonious and advantageous arrangement of a body is based on a numerical figure. Expansion, measure, weight, relation of movements, and musical harmony, all these are based on the number expressed by the word, S’fār. No building emerges from the hand of the architect unless its image had first existed in his soul. Sippūr signifies the language, or rather the divine language, 'the voice of the words of the living God.' This produced the existence of the form which this language assumed in the words: 'Let there be light,' 'let there be a firmament.' The word was hardly spoken, when the thing came into existence. This is also Sēfer, by which writing is meant, the writing of God means His creatures, the speech of God is His writing, the will of God is His speech. In the nature of God, therefore, S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer are a unity, whilst they are three in human reckoning. For man wills with his reason, speaks with his mouth, and writes such speech with his hand. These three factors characterize one of God's creatures. Man's will, writing, and word are marks of the thing, but not the nature of the same. The will, however, expressed in the word of God signifies the essence of the thing, and is at the same time His script. Imagine a silk weaver considering his work The silk obeys him, accepts the colours and patterns which he has contrived. The garment therefore comes into existence by his will and design. If we were able when speaking of, or drawing a human figure, to produce a human form, then we should have the word of God in our power and could create, just as we are able to do partially in forming objects in the mind. Spoken or written words have certain advantages over each other. In some cases the name fits the object exactly; in others less so. The language created by God, which He taught Adam and placed on his tongue and in his heart, is without any doubt the most perfect and most fitted to express the things specified, as it is written: 'And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof' (Genesis 2:19). This means that it deserved such name which fitted and characterized it. This shows the excellence of the 'holy tongue' as well as the reason why the angels employed it in preference to any other. Writing is judged from a similar point of view. The shapes of the letters are not the result of accident, but of a device which is in harmony with the character of each letter. Thou shouldst not, now, deem it impossible that names and combinations of letters, whether spoken or written, have certain effects. In either case, calculation, viz. the thought of the pure, angelic soul precedes the act. Thus the three factors: S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer become a unity, and the calculation appears as if a being, endowed with a pure soul, had made, spoken, and written it. The book further states with regard to God: He created His world with three Sefīrāh factors: S’fār, Sippūr, and Sēfer. In God's nature they are all one, but this one forms the beginning of the 'thirty-two miraculous and mysterious ways of the divine wisdom,' composed of the ten Sefirōth and the twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet]. This points to the actuality of existing things and their differences with regard to quantity and quality. Quantity means a number. The mystery of the number is in the number ten, as is expressed in the passage: 'Ten Sefīrōth without anything else; ten and not nine, ten and not eleven' (Sefer Yetzirah 1:4-5). A deep secret lies in the fact that the counting stops at ten, neither more nor less. The next sentence, therefore, runs: 'Understand judiciously and judge intelligently, examine and search them, mind, weigh, and consider, render everything lucid, and place the Creator in His sphere; their measure is ten in endless progression' (ibid. 4-5). This is followed by a division as to quality. The twenty-two letters are divided into three groups, viz. three mothers, seven double, twelve single [consonants]. The three mothers are alef, mem, shin. They cover a great and profound secret; for from them emanate air, water, and fire by means of which the universe was created. The grouping of these consonants united with the order of the macrocosm and the microcosm, viz. man, and the order of time into one line, called 'true witnesses,' viz. universe, soul, year. This also demonstrates that the one order is the work of a one-Master, who is God. And although things are multifarious and different from each other, their difference is the result of the difference of their material, which is partly of higher and partly lower order, and of impure or pure character. The giver of forms, designs and order, however, has placed in them all a unique wisdom, and a providence which is in complete harmony with this uniform order, and is visible in the macrocosm, in man, and in the arrangement of the spheres. It is this that is called the 'true witnesses' of His Oneness, viz. universe, soul, year. This yields approximately the following table--

10. The Rabbi: It runs parallel with the history of creation. The words: 'He who covereth Himself with light' (Psalms 104:2), correspond to 'Let there be light, and there was light' (Genesis 1:3). The words: 'He stretcheth out the heavens like a carpet' run parallel to 'Let there be a firmament'; the words: 'He who layette the beams' to 'the water above the firmament' (Psalms 104:3). He then describes the atmospheric phenomena, clouds, winds, fires, lightnings, and thunder, which all stand under God's guidance, as it is written: 'For by them judgeth He the people' (Job 36:31). In the psalm this is described in the words: 'He who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the winds, who maketh the winds His messengers, and His ministers a flaming fire' (Psalms 104:3-4). This means that He dispatches them whither and on what errand He desires. Thus far the phenomena of the atmosphere. The psalm, then, passes on to 'let the waters . . . be gathered . . . and the dry land appear' (Psalms 104:9), which is parallel to: 'He founded the earth on its bases.' According to its nature water would close up above the earth, covering it completely, hills and dales, like a garment, as the psalm hath it: 'With the flood, as with a robe, Thou coveredst it; waters stand above the mountains.' Divine Providence, however, obviated its natural inclination, and sent it down to the ocean's deep, to let animals arise and God's wisdom appear. The words: 'At Thy rebuke they flee,' describe the retirement of the water in the seas and underneath the earth. The same condition is alluded to in the words: 'To Him that spread out the earth above the water' (Psalms 136:6), a sentence which seemingly contradicts the other: 'With the flood as with a robe Thou coveredst it,' the latter corresponding to the nature of the water, whilst the former describes God's wisdom and omnipotence. Then the psalm continues: 'Thou didst appoint a bound, that they might not pass over, nor turn again to cover the earth' (Psalms 104:9). All this is intended for the benefit of mankind. By means of certain clever works and dykes man keeps off the floods of rivers, utilising only so much water as is required for mills and irrigation. The psalm now says: 'He sends forth springs into the valleys' (Psalms 104:10), that they should 'give drink to every beast of the plain' (Psalms 104:11), as soon as the wild beasts were created. The words: 'Upon them dwell the birds of the heaven' (Psalms 104:12) refer to the creation of the birds. The psalm, then, passes on to 'Let the earth bring forth' (Genesis 1:11) in the words: 'To the mountains He gives drink from His upper chambers' (Psalms 104:13). This is only another expression for: 'But there went up a mist from the earth' (Genesis 2:16) likewise for the benefit of Adam and his posterity. The psalm says: 'He causes grass to spring up for the cattle' (Psalms 104:14), lest the grass be despised, since it is of service for the domestic animals, oxen, sheep, and horses. This is described in the words: 'Service of man,' (ibid.), viz. agriculture, by means of which he produces corn for himself, as is expressed in the words: 'To bring forth bread from the earth.' This is parallel to the verse: 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, viz. the corn for man, and the chaff for the rest of creatures' (Genesis 1:29), as it is said: 'And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven . . . every green herb for meat' (Genesis 1:30). The psalm then mentions the three foods gained from the soil, viz. corn, wine and oil, which are comprised in the term leḥem, and their usages as follows: 'Wine which gladdens man's heart, to make his face shine more than oil,' 'and bread,'--viz. the loaf--sustains man's heart' (Psalms 104:15). Then he mentions the importance of rain for the trees in the words: 'The trees of the Lord have their fill' (Psalms 104:16). These high trees have a use for some animals, as is expressed in the words: 'Wherein the birds make their nests' (Psalms 104:17), just as the high mountains serve other animals, viz. 'The high mountains are for the wild goats, the crags a refuge for the coneys.' Thus far the description of the dry land. The psalm then discusses the Biblical words: 'Let there be lights' as follows: 'The moon He made to measure time,' (Psalms 104:19). After this is mentioned the utility of the night which is not the work of accident, but of intention. There is no trifling in His work, nor even in the accidental consequences of the same. The night is but the time of the absence of sunlight, yet instituted for a purpose. This is expressed in the words: 'Thou makest darkness, and it is night' (Psalms 104:20). This is followed by the description of beasts dangerous to man, which go forth at night and hide by day, whilst man and domestic animals sleep at night and walk abroad during the day. 'Man goes forth to his work and to his labour until the evening' (Psalms 104:23). Having thus included all terrestrial animals in the discussion of the rivers and heavenly lights, and having also mentioned man, there only remain the animals which live in water, the life of which is very little known to us, because Divine Wisdom lavished on them is not so manifest to us as in the former. Speaking of the wisdom which is visible, the psalmist breaks out in praise and says: 'How manifold are Thy works, O Lord!' (Psalms 104:24). He then resumes the subject of the ocean and what is therein, concluding with the words: 'Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever; let the Lord rejoice in His works' (Psalms 104:31). This is a rendering of the words: 'And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good' (Genesis 1:31). At the same time it is an allusion to the seventh day in the words: 'He rested,' 'He blessed,' 'He sanctified,' because it marked the completion of the works of nature, which had a time limit, and placed man on a par with angels, which, being spirits, are above natural impulses, and not bound by time in their works. Intellect can, as we see, picture heaven and earth in one moment. This is the world of celestial life and bliss where the soul finds ease at the moment when it reaches it. The Sabbath is, therefore, called 'a taste of the world to come.'--Let us now resume the discussion on the opinion held by philosophers that the elements having entered various combinations relative to the variety of climes, atmosphere, and constellations, received a variety of forms from the Giver of forms. All minerals are, therefore, but the sum total of the specific powers and faculties. Others assert that the powers and qualities of minerals are the product of combination only, and consequently do not require forms of divine origin. The latter are only necessary for plants and animals to which a soul is attributed. The finer this mixture is, the nobler is the form proper for it in which the divine wisdom manifests itself in a higher degree. It becomes a plant which is possessed of some feeling and perception, penetrates the earth, and derives nourishment from good, moist soil and sweet water, avoiding the contrast. Thus it grows, until it comes to a stand-still, having given life to another like it and produced seed. This seed, then, according to a wisdom implanted in it, pursues a similar course. Philosophers call this nature, or rather powers which guard the preservation of the species, since the essence of the individual cannot be preserved, it being composed of various component parts. A thing which possesses these powers of growth, propagation and nourishment, is devoid of the power of motion, and is, in the opinion of philosophers, guided by nature. As a matter of fact, it is God who controls it in a certain condition. Call this condition what thou wilt, nature, soul, power, or angel. If the mixture is still finer, and fit to be impressed by the divine wisdom, it is favoured with a higher form than the bare physical power. It is able to bring its food from a distance, and is possessed of organs subject to it, which cannot move except by its desire. It has more control over its parts than the plant with which the wind plays, which cannot ward off damage, nor obtain what is useful to it. The animal has limbs to move about from place to place. The form allotted to it above its physical life is called soul. The souls vary greatly according to the preponderance of one or the other of the four elements. The wisdom of Providence has also constituted each living being for the benefit of the whole world. We may not be aware of the use of most of them, any more than we know of the use of ships' implements, and consider them therefore useless, whilst the master and builder of the ship knows it. We would not know the purpose of many of our bones and other organs if they lay detached before us, and so we are in ignorance of the purpose of every bone and limb, although we use it, and are convinced that if we lacked one, our actions would be impaired, and we could not do without it. All atoms of the world are known to, and mustered by, their Creator, and nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken away from it. It is necessary that souls should differ from each other, and that the organs of each soul should be suitable to it. For this reason He endowed the lion with organs for seizing its prey, such as teeth and claws, in addition to courage; but to the hart He gave the means of flight as compensation for its timidity. Every soul instinctively uses its faculties according to their nature, but nature does not reach perfection in any part of animal life, and consequently has no desire to obtain a form higher than the living soul. This, however, is possible in man, in whom it strives for a higher form. The Divine Influence grudges nothing. It bestows on him a higher form, called material or passive intellect. Men differ from each other, because most of them are physically of different constitutions, and the intellect follows the latter. If his gall be yellowish, he is quick and alert; if blackish, he is quiet and sedate. The temperament follows the mixture of humours. If an individual is found of evenly balanced humour, which controls his contrasting dispositions (like the two scales of a balance in the hand of the person who weighs and regulates them by adding or subtracting at his will), such a person possesses without doubt a heart which is free from strong passions. He covets a degree of divine character above his own. He is perplexed, not knowing which inclination should have preponderance. He does not give way either to anger, or to lust, or to any other passion, but controls himself, and seeks divine inspiration to walk the right path. This is the person on whom the divine and prophetic spirit is poured out, if he is fit for prophecy, but if he stands below that degree, he is only endowed with inspiration. In the latter case he is a pious man, but no prophet. There is no niggardliness with God, who allows every one his due. Philosophers call the giver of this degree Active Intellect, and regard it as an angel below God. If a man's intellect is in conjunction with the former, this is called his paradise and lasting life.

And because these empires have importance within the world, therefore there must be within the world exactly four empires corresponding to the differentiation inherent in this world [as we've seen, represented by the number 4]. And there does exist in the world an aspect of unity, and corresponding to this is Yisrael, who are unified. However, in truth, it's fitting that there should be these four empires connected and joined together with Yisrael, and enjoined to Yisrael until everything is one! But on account of the lack inherent in a created entity, which is inherent within creation, which definitionally must lack perfection, it's impossible for our creation to be as such, for [as we have seen] the creating entity must be distinct from the created entity. And specifically in our time before the Kingship of Yisrael. On account of this [the lack of Kingship of Yisrael] we deviate from the Unity of Hashem until the four empires end and the King, the Messiah, comes. Therefore vis-a-vis this lack, the four empires became distinct, but when their rulership ends, so the world will indeed become complete as has always been fitting. Therefore, in conjunction with the creation of the world, these four empires were hinted at and concealed. And also Yisrael, as it's written in the verse: "And the LORD said Let there be light etc..", and this is the light of the Messiah. For all this [the unfolding of world history in this order] was necessary from the outset of creation, no later than when Hashem actually made his world. Therefore Daniel said in his prophecy: “In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea." He [Daniel] said that these four winds were stirring up the great sea, as we have said, that these four are lie the four directions which differ, as we have explained. As such, it was said in Daniel (7:2-7)- “In my vision at night, I saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. Four mighty beasts different from each other emerged from the sea." And it is said these [specifically] four winds stirring up the sea as we explained, for these four are like the four directions which [represent] differentiation [in this world] as we have explained.

And it was appropriate that it would be on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, since the light emerges at that time. Because it was on the twenty-fifth of Elul that the light was created in the world, since the world was created on the first of Tishrei, and on it was created the Man that was created in the six days of creation; and the light that was created on the first day, it was on this twenty-fifth day of Elul that the light was created. And light has four boundaries: One boundary, [which is] that the light is at the end of its increasing and the darkness is at the end of its contraction, and from there the light begins to contract and the darkness to increase, and this is Tamuz [i.e., summer solstice]. And there is a [second] boundary where the light and the darkness are equal, and from there on the light begins to contract and the darkness to increase, and this is the month of Tishrei, since at that time the light and the darkness are equal and from there on the darkness increases and overcomes the light [i.e., autumnal equinox]. And there is a [third] boundary where the darkness overcomes the light completely, and this is in the Month of Tevet, and from then on the light begins to increase [i.e., winter solstice]. And there is a [fourth] boundary where the light and the darkness are equal and afterward the light proceeds to increase, and this is in the month of Nisan [i.e., vernal equinox], since at that time the light and the darkness are equal and afterward the light increasingly strengthens until the month of Tamuz, and thus it repeats. And behold, the beginning of the light that emerges from the darkness is on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, since the creation of the light of the world was at a time in which the day and night were equal, and this was on the twenty-fifth of Elul - or on the twenty-fifth of Adar according to the opinion (Rosh HaShanah 11a) that the world was created in Nisan - in which case the beginning of the light was on the twenty-fifth of Kislev since at that time the light began to increase. And therefore the miracle with the oil was made, and the light on the twenty-fifth was even if there was no oil to light, and the miracle was for all eight [days] when it was at that time which is singled out for the beginning of the light.

...which are the Seven Days of Creation... This is clear proof – for everything that was created is surely included in these seven days alone. Even according to the self-evident, simple meaning of the Bible, if everything came about in these seven days, it means that these seven days are sufficient to serve as the root. All the more so when we already know that kabbalistically, the seven days constitute the actual rule of the seven Sefirot, in that each one functions according to its power on that day. (See Ramban, Commentary on the Torah, Genesis 1:3.) Since everything came forth in the Seven Days of Creation, it must certainly be the case that everything came out of these Sefirot.

This defect, therefore, is the mystery of yod heh, (The first two letters of the Tetragrammaton. Cf. n. 18 above.) which refers to wisdom and Kabbalah. (Ḥokhmah and Binah. Cf. n. 33 above.) This he removes, causing “poverty” in place of the “riches” emanating from Tiferet, which is the mystery of the river mentioned previously. “Length of exile” is the mystery of the “waters” left the “sea” [signifying that] the Shekhinah left for exile. (See n. 23 above.) This was explained by Rabbi Simeon bar Yoḥai, peace upon him, in another place. [He stated] that the mystery of the earth was formless and void [refers to the period] after the destruction of the First and Second Temples. And God said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3)—this [refers] to the mystery of the future redemption. I dealt with this matter in my book, Or Yakar. (Moses Cordovero, Or Yakar, vol. 1 (Jerusalem, 1965), pt. I, sec. 1. The relevant passage is Zohar I, 25b.)

Rabbi Bun sat, and also expounded: What is the meaning of the verse (Isaiah 45:7), "He forms light and creates darkness"? Light has substance. Therefore, the term "formation" is used with regard to it. Darkness has no substance, and therefore, with regard to it, the term "creation" is used. It is similarly written (Amos 4:12), “He forms mountains and creates the wind." Another explanation is this: Light was actually brought into existence, as it is written (Genesis 1:3), "And God said, let there be light." Something cannot be brought into existence unless it is made. The term "formation" is therefore used. In the case of darkness, however, there was no making, only separation and setting aside. It is for this reason that the term "created" is used. It has the same sense as in the expression, "That person became well.”

Rabbi Rahumai said: Illumination preceeded the world, since it is written (Psalm 97:2), "Cloud and gloom surround Him." It is thus written (Genesis 1:3), "And God said, 'let there be light,' and there was light." They said to Him, "Before the creation of Israel your son, will you then make him a crown?" He replied yes. What does this resemble? A king yearned for a son. One day he found a beautiful, precious crown, and he said, "This is fitting for my son's head." They said to him, "Are you then certain that your son will be worthy of this crown?" He replied, "Be still. This is what arises in thought." It is thus written (2 Samuel 14:14), “He thinks thoughts.”

Rabbi Berachiah said: What is the meaning of the verse (Genesis 1:3), "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light"? Why does the verse not say, "And it was so"? What is this like? A king had a beautiful object. He puts it away until he had a place for it, and then he put it there. It is therefore written, "Let there be light, and there was light." This indicates that it already existed.

3. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם said ‘Let there be light.’” (Genesis 1:3)

When Yod (י) emerges from avyr (air) , aur (light) , is revealed. And this is: (Gen. 1:3) And ELQYM said: ‘Let there be light’... And there are five mentions of ‘light’ in the act of creation, and they are Hei (ה) (5) .

And when it is extended to be revealed, there emerges from this AVYR (air) a single point Yod, and what remains is AUR (light) . And this is the primordial light of the act of creation. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:3) And ELQYM said: ‘Let there be AUR (light) ’ – let there be Yod (י) – so as to make AVYR (air) . And this mystery has been transmitted to the wise of heart.

And because of Her, it is stated: (Ex. 3:2) And an angel of Y”Y appeared to him, in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush... Five times the word ‘bush’ (sneh) is mentioned in that passage, and five times ‘light’ (aur) correspond to them, in ‘the act of creation’, and they are: (Gen. 1:3–5) Let there be light... and there was light... the light for it was good... ELQYM divided between the light... And ELQYM called the light...

And at that time, it will be considered as though the world had newly been created, and the lights will be arranged as they are meant to be. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:5) And ELQYM called the light ‘day’, and the darkness He called ‘night’.

"And God said, Let there be light." and, behold, Rabbi Yitzchak said, "There was"

“And God said, Let there be light, and there was light” {Gen. 1:3}.This is the primal light which God made. It is the light of the eye. This light God showed to Adam, and by means of it he was enabled to see from end to end of the world. This light God showed to David, and he, beholding it, sang forth his praise, saying, “Oh how abundant is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee” {Ps. 31: 20}. This is the light through which God revealed to Moses the land of Israel from Gilead to Dan.”...

“Let there be light, and there was light” {Gen. 1:3}. To whatsoever the word vayehi {and there was} is applied, that thing is in this world and in the world to come.” “Rabbi Isaac said: At the Creation, God irradiated the world from end to end with the light, but then it was withdrawn,

(Genesis 1:3) "And Elohim said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light". From here, from this saying, we can begin to learn the secrets of how the world was created in details, because until now, the Creation was discussed only generally, in the verse "In the beginning Elohim created..."(Ibid. 1) After this, the description returns to the general, then the particular, and then the general again.

And God said: 'Let there be light', and there was [ויהי] light" [Bereshit 1:3]. This is what is written: "For He spoke and there was [ויהי]" [Psalm 33:9]. He by himself. Afterwards they returned [to] one יהוי, [to] יהו [to] וי [to] ו, the last one [is] the Shekhinah below, as the ה is found [as] the Shekhinah. And they were weighed in one balance.

"She opened her mouth with wisdom," is that it is the first Hei of the holy name Yud Hei Vav Hei, which is Binah, in which everything is contained. It is concealed and revealed, comprising both what is above and below.

He said to him, Rabbi, we have studied the verse, "Let there be light," (Beresheet 1:2) which means let there be secret, because Light is the secret of redemption. [And the numerical value of Or ('light') is Raz ('secret'). Thus, the verse, "let there be light," hints that the time of redemption will be a secret unknown to all men. Again, he said that through repentance everyone will rise from the dead early]. Rabbi Yehoshua said, Unless you said so, we would not have left an opening for those waiting daily for redemption, as it is written, "a store of salvation" (Isaiah 33:6). What is this "salvation"? It alludes to those who seek salvation daily.

“Was [vayhi].” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Every place that vayhi is stated, it is trouble or joy; if it is trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bat Naḥman came and made a distinction: Every place thay vayhi is stated it is trouble, [every place that] vehaya [is stated, it is] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: That light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day, a person could look and see from one end of the world to the other end. When the Holy One blessed be He saw the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion, He stood and sequestered it, and designated it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “But the path of the righteous is like a radiant light, growing brighter until noon”’ (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vayhi] evening; it was [vayhi] morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as everything created on the first day is destined to erode, as it is stated: “For the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment, and its inhabitants, likewise, will die, but My salvation will be forever and My righteousness will remain unbroken”’ (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: All the instances of vayhi during the six days of Creation. He said to them: ‘They, too, are not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., mustard requires sweetening, lupines require boiling, and wheat requires grinding.’ They raised an objection to him: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph, and he was [vayhi] a successful man and he was [vayhi] in the house of his master, the Egyptian” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as the bear (This is a metaphor for Potiphar’s wife.) solicited him.’ “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [to erect the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built.’ “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, Nadav and Avihu were killed.’ But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua; his renown was throughout the land”? (Joshua 6:27). ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, he rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments, fell on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel”’ (Joshua 7:6). But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king was settled in his house”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, Natan the prophet came to him, and the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “However, you will not build the House”’ (II Chronicles 6:9). But is it not written: “The one who presented his offering…was [vayhi]”? (Numbers 7:12). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as it was seen before the Holy One blessed be He that they (The heads of the twelve tribes, who brought the offerings when the Tabernacle was erected.) would go with Koraḥ and his assembly in his dispute.’ Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Levi ben Perata: This is analogous to the son of a high ranking official who stole in the bathhouse. The bathhouse attendant feared identifying him by name. Nevertheless, he publicized him as a certain lad garbed in white. So, even though it [the Torah] did not explicitly mention the names of the princes who participated with Koraḥ and went along with him, it publicizes them by means of allusion: “Princes of the assembly, the distinguished of the convocation, people of renown” (Numbers 16:2), just as it says: “These are the distinguished of the assembly, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they are the heads of the thousands of Israel” (Numbers 1:16). “People of renown [shem],” as their names [shemotan] were mentioned in the census of the banners, just as it says: These are the names of the men who will stand with you…” (Numbers 1:5). They said to him: ‘We have said ours; you say yours.’ (We cited proof that vayhi could also connote joy. You rejected those proofs. Now, prove your claim that vehaya connotes joy. ) He said to them: ‘Everywhere that vehaya is stated, it is joy. “It will be on that day, that the mountains will drip nectar…” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that spring water will emerge from Jerusalem” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue, [setting His hand a second time to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be on that day, each man will maintain a young cow [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that [it will be said of] the remaining in Zion…[Holy, for everyone written for life in Jerusalem]”’ (Isaiah 4:3). [They said to him:] ‘But is it not written: “It was when Jerusalem was captured”? (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: ‘that, too, is not trouble, but joy, as on that day Menaḥem (A name for the messianic king.) was born and Israel paid off their debt for their iniquities, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Israel paid off their debt for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your iniquity is completed, daughter of Zion; He will not continue to exile you”’ (Lamentations 4:22).

Another matter, “toward the front of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall illuminate” – you must not demean the candelabrum. (Do not think that the candelabrum is superfluous since God does not need the light.) That is: “For who scorns the day of small things? They will rejoice and see the tin lump of the plumb line in the hand of Zerubavel. These seven…” (Zechariah 4:10). “These” – these are the candelabrum. “Seven,” – these are the seven lamps, corresponding to the seven planets that “rove throughout the earth” (Zechariah 4:10). They are so dear, you must not demean them. This is why it is stated: “Toward the front of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall illuminate” – so your inclination will not mislead you to say that He needs the light. See what is written regarding the windows: “There were narrowing windows for the cells and for their pillars from within…and likewise for the halls…like those windows [kehaḥalonot]” (Ezekiel 40:16, 25). Kaḥalonot is not written here, but rather kehaḥalonot, (This is an allusion to the fact that they shall be opaque (kehot), that light would not enter through them.) that they shall be wide from without and narrow from within, so they can cause the light to emerge outward. Rabbi Berekhya HaKohen said in the study hall of Rabbi: This lightning is a product of the supernal fire, and it emerges and illuminates the entire world, as it is stated: “The likeness of the creatures, their appearance was like fiery coals, burning like the appearance of torches…and from the fire, lightning would emerge” (Ezekiel 1:13), and illuminate the entire world, and I need your light? Why, then, did I say it to you? It is in order to elevate you. Rabbi Ḥanina said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The eyes that you possess have in them white and black, and you do not see through the white, but rather, through the black. If your eyes, that have in them black and white, you see only through the black, the Holy One blessed be He, who is completely light, does He need your light?’ Another matter, “toward the front of the candelabrum” – flesh and blood kindles from a kindled lamp. Could he, perhaps, kindle from darkness? It is stated: “Darkness upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). What is written thereafter? “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). [God said:] ‘From the darkness I produced light, and I need your light? I said it to you only to elevate you: “to kindle a lamp continually”’ (Exodus 27:20).

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon began: “He reveals the deep and the hidden [umsatrata]” (Daniel 2:22). “He reveals the deep” – this is Gehenna, as it is stated: “He does not know that the ghosts are there; [her guests are in the depths of the netherworld]” (Proverbs 9:18). And it says: “He deepened [he’emik] and widened” (Isaiah 30:33). “And the hidden [umsatrata]” – this is the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “For protection and refuge [ulmistor]” (Isaiah 4:6). And it says: “Conceal them [tastirem] in the hideaway of Your presence” (Psalms 31:21). Another matter, “He reveals the deep and the hidden [umsatrata]” – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “Those who go deep from the Lord” (Isaiah 29:15). Umsatrata – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “To conceal [listor] counsel” (Isaiah 29:15). “He knows what is in the darkness” (Daniel 2:22) – these are the actions of the wicked, as it is stated: “Their actions are in the darkness” (Isaiah 29:15). “And the light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22) – these are the actions of the righteous, as it is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light” (Proverbs 4:18), and it says: “Light is sown for the righteous…” (Psalms 97:11). Rabbi Abba Sarongaya said: “And the light rests with Him” – this is the messianic king, as it is stated: “Arise, shine, [for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you]” (Isaiah 60:1), etc. in Pesikta. (The Midrash refers us to Pesikta Rabati parashat Kumi ori, where the idea of light representing the Messiah is expounded further. (According to some, the word בפסיקתא is a scribal error and should be deleted.)) Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, “He reveals the deep and the hidden” (Daniel 2:22). [The verse states:] “In the beginning God created [the heavens]” (Genesis 1:1) – but it did not elaborate. (As to how they were created.) And where did it elaborate? It was elsewhere: “Who spread the heavens like a curtain” (Isaiah 40:22). [It states further:] “And the earth” (Genesis 1:1) – but it did not elaborate. And where did it elaborate? It was elsewhere: “For He says to the snow: Become the earth” (Job 37:6); “when the dust consolidated into a mass…” (Job 38:38). [It states:] “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – but it did not elaborate. Where did it elaborate? “Enveloping with light as if with a cloak” (Psalms 104:2).

Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “The beginning of Your word is truth…” (Psalms 119:160) – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world [it can be seen that] “the beginning of Your word is truth” – “in the beginning, God created.” “But My Lord God is truth” (Jeremiah 10:10), (This verse shows that God is the epitome of truth, and it is fitting that He should establish this truth right at the beginning of the Torah. This truth is the unity of God, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) “All Your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalms 119:160) – as each and every edict that You decree upon Your creations, they accept the judgment upon themselves and receive it faithfully, and no person can come and say that two authorities created the world: (Other versions add: Or that two authorities gave the Torah.) “God [Elohim] spoke [vaydaberu]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God spoke [vaydaber];” (Although the word Elohim is grammatically a plural form, the Torah constantly uses singular verbs with it, proving that God is indeed one. ) “God [Elohim] said [vayomeru]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God said [vayomer]”; “In the beginning God created [bare’u]” is not written here [in plural], but rather [in singular], “God created [bara].”

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verses regarding the generations. “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – this is Adam the first man, who became oblivion and nothingness. “And disorder” – this is Cain, who sought to restore the world to emptiness and disorder. “And darkness” – this is the generation of Enosh, (They profaned God’s name (Genesis 4:26; Bereshit Rabba 23:7). ) based on the verse: “Their actions are in the dark and they say: Who sees us and who knows of us?” (Isaiah 29:15). “Upon the face of the depths” – this is the generation of the Flood, as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the great depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). “And the spirit [ruaḥ] of God was hovering over the surface of the water” – based on the verse: “God passed a wind [ruaḥ] over the earth” (Genesis 8:1). (Ruaḥ, too is an allusion to the Flood.) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Until when will the world conduct itself in darkness? (In the darkness of idol worship.) Let some light come.’ “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – this is Abraham. That is what is written [regarding Abraham]: “Who roused [he’ir] righteousness from the east?” (Isaiah 41:2). Do not read it as he’ir, (Spelled with an ayin, meaning roused.) but rather, he’ir. (Spelled with an alef, meaning illuminated.) “God called the light, Day, and the darkness, He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). “God called the light, Day” – this is Jacob. “And the darkness, He called Night” – this is Esau. “It was evening” – this is Esau; “and it was morning” – this is Jacob. “It was evening” – the evening of Esau; (The period of Esau’s waning power.) “and it was morning” – the morning of Jacob. (The period of Jacob’s rising power.) “One day” – as it is stated: “There will be one day, it will be known to the Lord, that is not day and not night…” (Zechariah 14:7). (This is an allusion to the ultimate redemption, when Jacob’s ascendance over Esau will be asserted.) Alternatively, “one day” – which the Holy One blessed be He provided him. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. (Even in this world there is one day when there is light for Jacob and darkness for the forces of evil.)

Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, Rabbi Abahu said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. That is what is written: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalms 1:6). (See Bereshit Rabba 8:4.) “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” – these are the actions of the righteous. But I do not know which He desires, whether it is the actions of these, or the actions of those. When it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – this shows that He desires the actions of the righteous, and does not desire the actions of the wicked. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the Temple built, destroyed, and rebuilt. “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” – that indicates [the Temple] being built, as it says: “To plant the heavens and to lay the foundation of the earth and to say to Zion: You are My people” (Isaiah 51:16). “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – that indicates [the Temple] destroyed, just as it says: “I have seen the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). “God said: Let there be light” – that indicates [the Temple] being built and perfected in the future, as it says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come” (Isaiah 60:1), and it is written: “For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, and nations, a fog; but upon you the Lord will shine and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

“God said: Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). “God said: Let there be light” – Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “Your opening words enlighten; they bring understanding [to the simple]” (Psalms 119:130). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: The light was created first. This is analogous to a king who sought to build a palace, but that location was dark. What did he do? He kindled lamps and lanterns to ascertain how he would lay the foundation. So, too, the light was created first. Rabbi Neḥemya said: The world was created first. This is analogous to a king who built a palace and adorned it with lamps and lanterns. Up to this point, Rabbi Yudan expounded. (Rabbi Yudan expounded the verse: “Your opening words enlighten” as support for the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda that the light was created first.) Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon, and Rabbi Ḥanon came and began in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak: “Your opening words enlighten; they bring understanding to the simple” – the opening of Your mouth for us was light: “God said: Let there be light…”

Rabbi Berekhya began in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” (Psalms 33:6). Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: It was not with toil and not with exertion that the Holy One blessed be He created His world, but rather, “by the word of God,” and the heavens were already made. Here, too, “and there was [vehaya] light” (Indicating that the light came into existence gradually.) is not written here, but rather, “vayhi light” – it immediately came about.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai began: “There is joy for a man in the pronouncement of his mouth, and how good is a word at its time” (Proverbs 15:23). “Joy for a man [ish]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is a warrior [ish milḥama]; the Lord is His name” (Exodus 15:3). “In the pronouncement of his mouth” – “the Lord said: Let there be light.” “And how good is a word at its time” – “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4).

Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, saying to him: ‘Since I have about you that you are a master of aggada, [I ask you:] from what was the light created?’ He said to him: ‘It [the verse] teaches that the Holy One blessed be He wrapped himself in it like a garment, and the aura of its radiance shone from the end of the world to its end.’ He said it to him in a whisper. (This is because one does not expound regarding the mysteries of Creation in public.) He said to him: ‘It is an explicit verse: “Wrapped in light as if with a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and you say it to me in a whisper? This is bewildering.’ He said to him: ‘Just as I heard it in a whisper, so I said it to you in a whisper.’ Rabbi Berekhya said: Had Rabbi Yitzḥak not expounded this (The exposition of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak in the previous paragraph.) in public, it would not have been possible to say it. Beforehand, what would they say? (How did they expound the verse before having heard Rabbi Shimon’s exposition?) Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: It is from the site of the Temple that the light was created. That is what is written: “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the direction of the east…[and the earth shone with His glory]” (Ezekiel 43:2). And his glory is nothing other than the Temple, just as it says: “Throne of glory, exalted from the first, the place of our Temple…” (Jeremiah 17:12).

Rabbi Simon said: Light is mentioned five times here, corresponding to the five books of the Torah. “God said: Let there be light” – corresponding to the book of Genesis, in which the Holy One blessed be He engaged in creating His world. “And there was light” – corresponding to the book of Exodus in which Israel emerged from darkness to light. “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Leviticus, which is full of multiple halakhot. (Hence the two positive expressions: “light” and “good.”) “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Numbers, which distinguishes between those who departed from Egypt and those who entered the land. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – corresponding to the book of Deuteronomy, which is full of multiple halakhot. The students raised an objection to Rabbi Simon: ‘But is the book of Leviticus not full of halakhot [just like Deuteronomy]?’ (Regarding Leviticus, the double expression indicated the multiplicity of halakhot. Why does Deuteronomy, which is just like Leviticus, not have a the double expressionof light?) He said to them: ‘In its regard, too, it said a second word.’ (The verse corresponding to Deuteronomy also contains two positive expressions, “light” and “good.”)

“God called the light, Day” – are “light” and “day” not the same thing? This is bewildering. It is taught: The light that was created during the six days of Creation cannot illuminate by day, because it would make the orb of the sun seem dim [by comparison], nor can it [illuminate] at night, as it was created to illuminate only during the day. Where is it, then? (Since it does not illuminate the world at any time.) It was stored away, and is designated for the righteous for the future, as it is stated: “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). This is bewildering: (The verse just cited, which refers to the shining of the great light of Creation for seven days. ) “Seven [days]”? Are they not three? Is it not so, that the lights were created only on the fourth day? It is, rather, like a person who says: This and that I am preparing for the seven days of the wedding feast. (He says this even if his preparations are for only one or two of the seven days.) Rabbi Neḥemya said: These are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Methuselah, during which the Holy One blessed be He conferred extra light upon them. “God saw the light, that it was good, and God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). “God saw the light, that it was good” – Rabbi Ze’eira son of Rabbi Abahu preached in Caesarea: From where is it derived that someone does not recite a blessing on the candle [at havdala on Saturday night] until he avails himself of its light? It is from here: “[God] saw…and [God] distinguished [vayavdel].” Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: He set it aside (Vayavdel (“He distinguished”) can also mean He set aside.) for Himself. (As it is said (Daniel 2:22): “Light dwells with Him.”) The Rabbis say: He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. This is analogous to a king who had a fine portion of food and set it aside for his son. “God called the light, Day, and to the darkness He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). Rabbi Berekhya said: This is what two eminent men of the world, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded: “[God] distinguished” – this refers to distinguishing in the literal sense. (Unlike the previous explanations.) This is analogous to a king who had two commanders, one to be in charge by day and one to be in charge by night. They were arguing with one another. This one said: ‘I will be in charge by day,’ and that one said: ‘I will be in charge by day.’ The king summoned the first one and said to him: ‘So-and-so, the day will be your realm.’ Likewise for the second one, he said to him: ‘So-and-so, the night will be your realm.’ So, too, “God called the light, Day” (This can also be translated: “God called out to the light: Day [will be your realm].”) – He said to it: ‘The day will be your realm.’ “And to the darkness He called Night” – He said to it: ‘The night will be your realm.’ Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That is what the Holy One blessed be He says to Job: “In all your days, have you commanded the morning and apprised darkness of its place?” (Job 38:12) – have you informed it of its place, where it is? This was a rhetorical question. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source for this: “He forms light and creates darkness, He makes peace” (Isaiah 45:7) – after they were created, He made peace [between them]. “God called the light, Day” – Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One blessed be He never associates His name with the bad, but only with the good. “God called the light, Day and to the darkness God called night” is not written here, but rather, “to the darkness He called night.” (Regarding darkness, the pronoun “He” is used instead of God’s name.)

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: “It will be evening” is not written here, but rather, “it was evening” – from here we learn that there had been an order to time even beforehand. (Even before the creation on the fourth day of the sun and the moon, which are the conventional means of marking time. “It will be evening” would have meant that on the first few days, it was noted that later on there would be evening and morning.) Rabbi Abahu said: This teaches that He continuously created worlds and destroyed them, until He created the current one, and said: ‘This one pleases Me, those did not please Me.’ Rabbi Pinḥas said: The source for Rabbi Abahu is: “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31) – this pleases Me, those did not please Me. (“Behold” implies that there was a new, improved situation that had not been there before.)

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

Rabbi Shmuel bar Ami said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He desired to enter into a partnership with the creations below. (To have his Divine Presence rest among His creations.) Either way, it [the wording of the verse] is difficult. If it [the counting of the days] was for the purpose of a tally, it should have said: ‘One, two, three,’ or else ‘first, second, third’; is it proper to say: ‘One, second, third?’ This is bewildering. (The explanation is that “one day” is an allusion to the one God, who attached His name to the day when the creation of the world began to show His desire to be together with them.) When did the Holy One blessed be He repay them? (By altering the proper wording of the numbering of days, it is as if God owed them something.) It was later, at the establishment of the Tabernacle, as it is stated: “The one who presented his offering on the first day” (Numbers 7:12) – [alluding to] the first [day] of the creation of the world. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is as though I created the world on that day.’ (It was on that day, which was the day the Tabernacle was erected, on the first of Nisan (Exodus 40:17), when God’s original desire was realized and His Divine Presence rested among His creations below..) It was taught: That day was conferred with ten crowns. It was the first day of the act of Creation; (It was a Sunday, the first day of the week.) the first day for [years of] kings; (The years of Jewish kings are counted from the first of Nisan.) the first day for the princes; (The princes’ offerings were presented for the dedication of the altar.) the first day for the priesthood; (Aaron and his sons began to serve as priests after the Tabernacle was dedicated. Moses had filled that role during the preceding seven days of Inauguration.) the first day for the Divine Presence [on earth], as it is stated: “They shall craft a sanctuary for Me [and I will dwell in their midst]” (Exodus 25:8); the first day for blessing; (The Priestly Benediction.) the first day for sacrificial service; the first day for the prohibition of improvised altars; the first day for slaughtering [sacrifices] in the north; (Offerings of the most sacred order were to be slaughtered in the north of the courtyard.) and the first day for descent of fire [from heaven], as it is stated: “Fire emerged from before the Lord…” (Leviticus 9:24).

Another interpretation, “it was in the days of Amrafel” – Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The following exposition was brought with us in our hands when we came up from the Diaspora: (When the exiles of Israel returned to the land of Israel with Ezra from Babylon.) Wherever it is stated: “It was [vayhi] in the days,” it indicates trouble. (Vayhi is seen as a combination of the words vay and hi, both expressions of woe and misfortune.) “It was in the days of Amrafel” – what was the trouble there? “They waged war” (Genesis 14:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: There are five such instances. (For the other four instances, see: Isaiah 7:1; Jeremiah 1:3; Ruth 1:1; Esther 1:1.) This is analogous to a friend of a king who lived in a certain province, and for his sake the king took an interest in that province. Once some barbarians came to attack him, and they said: ‘Woe unto us, as the king will not show favor to the province as was his wont if they kill his friend.’ That is what is written: “They turned back, and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7) – Rabbi Aḥa said: They came only to fight against the eyeball [ein] of the world; (Abraham is called the eyeball of the world, because it was only for his sake that God took an interest in and looked out for the benefit of the people of the world.) they sought to blind the eye [ayin] that overcame the attribute of justice [mishpat] in the world. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rav Aḥa said: Hu is written. It is he [hu] who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. When the barbarians came to attack him, everyone began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel.” “It was in the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). (Israel was under attack from all sides.) This is analogous to a king’s son, whose caretaker resolved to kill him. He said: ‘If I kill him, I will be liable to execution by the king. Instead, I will take away his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own.’ So, too, Aḥaz said: ‘If there are no kids, there will be no goats, and if there are no goats there will be no flock, and if there is no flock there will be no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there will be no world.’ (That is, the world will not be able to function in its conventional manner.) That is what Aḥaz thought to himself: ‘If there are no children [in school], there will be no students, if there are no students there will be no scholars, if there are no scholars there will be no elders, if there are no elders there will be no prophets, if there are no prophets the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence upon them [Israel]. (Consequently, he closed all the schools.) That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥonya bar Rabbi Elazar said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he locked up [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: Isaiah said: ‘“I will hope for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no moment that was as grim as that time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But at that very time, I [Isaiah] hoped for Him, as it is written [immediately afterwards]: “For it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). (When God said that He would hide His face from Israel, He continued, that nevertheless the Torah would never be forgotten by them.) Of what use was it to him [Ahaz]? (Despite his best efforts, the Torah continued to be taught, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) [Of no use, as Isaiah declared:] “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord gave me, are to become signs and wonders in Israel”’ (Isaiah 8:18). Were they (The young men Isaiah was referring to.) his children? Were they not actually his students? However, we learn from here that they [his students] were as beloved to him as sons. When he [Aḥaz] locked up the synagogues and study halls, people began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥaz.” “It was in the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? [It was as Jeremiah prophesied:] “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to a king who sent a proclamation throughout the province. What did the residents of one province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. Thus it is stated: “It happened that as Yehudi would read three or four sections…” (Jeremiah 36:23) (It was the Book of Lamentations that was being read.) – this means three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse, “Its besiegers have become dominant” (Lamentations 1:5) – “He cut it up with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When everyone saw this, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was in the days that the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) (A more literal translation would be, “in the days of the judging of the judges.”) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tax to the king. The prince sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do to him? They took him and beat him. They then said: ‘Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these events; what he sought to do to us, (Subdue us.) we did to him.’ So, too, in the days of the judging of the judges – when a person of Israel would engage in idol worship, and the judge sought to implement against him the attribute of strict justice, (And decree for him corporal punishment.) he would come and flog the judge. He said: ‘What he sought to do to me, I did to him.’ (“The judging of the judges” is interpreted to mean that the people committed acts of judgment and punishment against their judges.) They said: ‘Woe [vay] to the generation that judges its judges.’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). “It was in the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [Haman’s decree:] “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews]” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a certain vineyard, and three enemies rose up against it. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began cutting off the clusters, and the third began uprooting the vines. So too, Pharaoh [said]: “Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar [exiled] “the ḥarash and the masger, (These are two classes of Torah scholars (Gittin 88a).) one thousand” (Jeremiah 29:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: One thousand ḥarash and one thousand masger; the Rabbis said: They were one thousand altogether. Haman sought to uproot the entire vineyard, as it is stated: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews…” (Esther 3:13). When everyone saw that it was so, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥashverosh.” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers either to trouble or to joy; if the context is one of trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is one of joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and made a distinction: Everywhere that vayhi is stated, (Even when it is not connected with “in the days of.”) it alludes to trouble, and vehaya [alludes to] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “And there was [vayhi] light”? (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as the world was not privileged to use that light. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, He hid it away for the righteous in the future. That is what is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light, growing brighter until the day is established” (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day”? (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wear away, as it is stated: “For the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will wear away like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), “…a third day” (Genesis 1:13), “a fourth day” (Genesis 1:19), “a fifth day” (Genesis 1:23), “a sixth day”? (Genesis 1:31). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete [joy], as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires some act [to perfect it], e.g., mustard requires sweetening, wheat requires grinding, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph”? (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as that bear (Potifar’s wife.) then accosted him. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned”? (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as Nadav and Avihu died [that day]. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle”? (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it was hidden away with the building of the Temple. (Moses’ Tabernacle was stored away forever when the permanent Temple was built.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua”? (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it became necessary for him to rend his garments. (Joshua 7:6.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) resided in his house, and the Lord had given him respite…”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: It was nevertheless not complete joy, as Natan then came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House…for My name” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We have said our [arguments], now you say yours. He said to them, (To prove his contention that vehaya always alludes to a joyous event.) is it not written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge…” (Zechariah 14:8). It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man will keep a calf of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue…[to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). They raised an objection to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That was nevertheless joyous, as on that day, Israel gained atonement for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel gained great atonement for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, He will not continue to exile you again” (Lamentations 4:22).

Was light created on the first day? Is it not written (Gen. 1, 17) And God set them in the expansion of the heaven, and further it is written (Ib. 1, 19) And it was evening and it was morning the fourth day? We must therefore explain this as R. Elazar said: "The light which the Holy One created on the first day, was so bright that Adam saw by its means from one end of the world to the other. As soon as the Holy One, praised be He! observed the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, and looked into their corrupt deeds, He took the light from the world and concealed it for the righteous in the world to come, as it is said (Job 38, 15) But from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken. And for whom was it concealed? For the righteous in the future world, as it is said (Gen. 1, 3) And God saw the light, that it was good (Tob). And the word Tob applies to righteous, as it is said (Is. 3, 10) Say ye to the righteous that He hath done well (Tob). And whenever He looks at the light which He has concealed for the righteous. He rejoices, as it is said (Ps. 13, 9) The light of the righteous rejoiceth. In this, however, the Tanaim of the following Baraitha differ: "The light which the Holy One, praised be He! created on the first day was so great that Adam looked and saw by its means from one end of the world to the other." This is the opinion of R. Jacob. But the sages say: "This refers to the luminaries which were created on that first day, but which were not hung up until the fourth day."

For the most part, classic Bible commentary from Rashi (eleventh century) to the Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin of Volozhin, author of Ha’amek davar among other works.) (nineteenth century) assumes the task of interpreting the text, rather than offering a homiletical approach to it. (See, for example, Rashi’s programmatic statement in his commentary on Genesis 3:8 (“ vayishme’u…”) and the Rashbam’s on the necessity of explaining the plain sense of the text in his commentary on Genesis 37:2 (“eila...”) Also note the distinction the Ramban draws between the plain sense of the text and its mystical meaning in his commentary on Genesis 1:3 (“yehi ohr...”). We may assume that commentators who do not make programmatic statements of this sort also share the goal of explaining the plain sense of the text since they often argue the merits of their reading (or disagree with others’ readings) on the basis of the distinction between the plain sense of the text and a homily.) Even in instances when biblical commentary of this type spills over into homiletics, the homily is usually an aside, parenthetical to the overall agenda of the commentator.

[(Gen. 32:4 [3]:) THEN JACOB SENT MESSENGERS. (The bracketed portion extends through the first words of the next section.) This text is related (to Prov. 25:26): A MUDDY SPRING, A POLLUTED SOURCE, IS A RIGHTEOUS PERSON WHO WAVERS BEFORE SOMEONE WICKED. (Tanh., Gen. 1:3; Gen. R. 75:2.) R. Judah b. R. Simon said: Just like a muddy spring and a polluted source, so it is when a righteous person wavers before someone wicked. Another interpretation: < Just as > it is possible for a spring to be muddy and a source to be polluted; < so > it is possible for a righteous person to waver before someone wicked. And who was this < waverer >? This was Jacob when he came from Paddan-aram. What does he < do > ? He sends out and says to Esau (according to Gen. 32:5 [4]): THUS YOU SHALL SAY TO MY LORD ESAU…. Ergo (in vs. 3): THEN JACOB SENT MESSENGERS.

(Numb. 1:1:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.” This text is related (to Jer. 2:31), “0 generation, understand the word of the Lord, ‘Have I been a desert for Israel or a land of thick darkness?’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Because you said to Moses (in Numb. 21:5), ‘Why did you bring us up from Egypt to die in the desert?’ (Numb. R. 1:2.) (Jer. 2:31:) ‘Have I been a desert for Israel?’ Did I act like a desert to you? Is it customary for a king of flesh and blood, when he leaves for the desert, [to find] easy living [there] just like that which he had found in his palace, either [palace] food or [palace] drink? However, when you were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and when I brought you out from there, I had you lie down on couches, as it states (Exod 13:18), ‘And the Lord made the people circumvent (Vayasev) through the desert.’” What is [the meaning of] ”circumvent?” It teaches that He made them recline in the way that kings dine (mesavin), reclining upon their beds. “And I did not even bring three fleas to trouble you. And I even raised up three redeemers for you to serve you, as stated (in Micah 6:4), ‘and I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.’” Through their merit, Israel was able to travel. Through the merit of Moses there was manna, as stated (Deut. 8:3), “And He subjected you to hunger [and then gave you manna to eat].” Through the merit of Aaron I surrounded you in clouds of glory, as stated (Exod. 13:21), “And the Lord went in front of them during the day [in a pillar of cloud. And it is written (in Ps. 105:39), “He spread a cloud for a cover.” There were seven clouds: one from above, one from below, one from each of the four directions, and one going before them. [That last one] smote snakes and scorpions, leveled the mountains and valleys for them, and burned the thornbushes so that they sent up smoke. When all the kings of the East and West saw this, the peoples of the world said (in Cant. 3:6), “Who is this that comes up from the desert [like columns of smoke]?” It is also written (in Deut. 29:4), “your clothes did not wear out from upon you.” In the case of a baby, all the time that it was growing, its garments and clothes were growing along with it. Now the well [came] through the merit of Miriam, who uttered a song by the waters [of the Reed sea]. (See above, Lev. 7:7.) R. Berekhyah the Priest said in the name of R. Levi, “[The matter is comparable to] a king of flesh and blood who has a province. So he sends high ranking people into its midst to conduct their affairs and administer their justice. Who has to be responsible for their maintenance? Do not the people of the province have to be responsible for their maintenance? But the Holy One, blessed be He, did not act like that. Instead he sent out Moses, Aaron, [and Miriam], as stated (in Micah 6:4), ‘and I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.’” Thus through their merit, Israel was sustained. The manna was through the merit of Moses. You yourself know that it is so. When Moses passed away, what is written (in Josh. 5:12)? “The manna ceased on the next day (i.e., the day after Moses died).” (Heb.: MMHRT. The midrash understands MMHRT (“on the next day”) as two words, MHR and MT, which can be translated: “On the day after he died.” In adopting this interpretation the midrash goes against the weight of Rabbinic and other traditions that Moses died sometime during the month of Adar, usually on the seventh of that month (as in Qid. 38a; etc.), since (according Josh. 5:12) the manna did not cease until the sixteenth of Nisan. The interpretation here and in Numb. R. 1:2 may result from the simple assertion commonly found in Rabbinic sources (e.g., in TSot. 11:8 [10]; Ta‘an 9a.) that, when Moses died, the manna ceased.) The clouds of glory [came] through the merit of Aaron. You yourself know that it is so. When Aaron passed away, what is written (in Numb. 21:4)? “But the temper of the people grew short on the way,” because the sun was shining down upon them (without a cloud cover). And the well [came] through the merit of Miriam, (See above, Lev. 7:7.) since it is stated (in Numb. 20:1-2), “and Miriam died there and was buried there. Now the congregation had no water.” And how was [the well] constructed? Like a kind of boulder or a type of hive or a type of ball. It rolled along and came with them on the journeys. (See above, Lev. 7:7; below, Numb 6:35, 47-50.) When the standards [for each tribe] came to rest and the tabernacle arose, the rock would come and settle down in the court of the tent of meeting. Then the princes would stand beside it and say (in the words of Numb. 21:17), “Rise up, O well”; and the well would rise up. After that, I brought them quails (cf. Numb. 11:31). (Jer. 2:31:) “Have I been a desert for Israel?” Have I treated you like a desert? (Ibid., cont.) “Or a land of utter darkness?” Did not I become a light for you, a light by My own glory? It is so stated (in Exod. 13:21:) “And the Lord went….” Another interpretation (of Jer. 2:31): What is the meaning of “utter darkness? Have I [ever] said to you that I am bringing a benefit and delayed it? Utter darkness (rt.:'pl) can only be a term of delay, as it is used (in Exod. 9:32), “But the wheat and the spelt were not hurt, because they ripen late (i.e., are delayed: rt.:'pl).” (Below, Numb. 10:7; I Corinthians 10:4.) Joshua said (in Josh. 21:45), “Not a thing has failed (npl) of any good thing which the Lord (your God) promised unto (you); it all came to you.” [And how are we to understand the rest of the verse] (in Jer. 2:31), “why did my people say, ‘we have let loose (radnu - rt.: rwd)’?” What is the meaning of “radnu?” The word is mishnaic (as in ter. 10:3), “one who removes (rwdh) a hot loaf” (adhering to an oven). (Bread is usually baked adhering to the roof or wall of the oven with the fire beneath.) They (i.e., Israel) said, “When the bread is baked in the oven and is taken out of it, can it stick (Rt.: QB‘ (which normally means “fix in” or “fix on”). On the translation of this root, see Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol, 1971/72), vol. II, p. 647, n. 2, which regards it here as the equivalent of the root DBQ (which means (“stick to”). In a similar vein, see Wolf Einhorn’s commentary, Perush Maharzaw, on Numb. R. 1:2. Since the root QB‘ can also mean “rob” or “defraud,” the meaning for Israel would be that, as bread removed from an oven cannot stick to it again, neither can Israel once removed from Jerusalem ever defraud again.) to the oven again? Now we in Jerusalem were as in an oven, as stated (in Is. 31:9), ‘says the Lord, who has a fire in Zion and has an oven in Jerusalem.’ Now You exiled us to Babylon. ‘What do you still want from us?’” [That is the meaning of] (Jer. 2:31:), “why did my people say, ‘radnu’” (i.e., he has already removed us from the oven of Jerusalem). Another interpretation (of Jer. 2:31), “why did my people say, ‘radnu?” What [is the meaning of] “radnu (rt.: rwd)?” Compare what is said (in I Kings 5:4), “For he subjugated (rwdh) everything beyond the river (i.e., West of the Euphrates), from Tipsah to Gaza.” They said to [the Holy One, blessed be He,], “You have destroyed for us the sanctuary, and You have taken away your Divine Presence from us. ‘Now what do You still want from us?’” (Jer. 2:31) [Why did my people say, “He has dominion over us (radnu)]”; He said to them, “Would that I were now in the desert, where I did those miracles for you.” And so does it state (in Jer. 9:1), “Would that I were in the desert, at an inn for wayfarers….” Where? Where I was praised, (Rt.: QLS, a word related to the Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”).) as stated (in Is. 42:11), “Let the desert and its cities lift up [their voice].” [The matter] is comparable to a prince who entered a metropolis. When the inhabitants of the metropolis saw him, they fled. He entered a second one, and [again] they fled from him. He entered into another city that was ruined (harevah); and when the inhabitants saw him, they praised him. That prince said, “This city is better than all the metropolises. Here I will build myself a lodging place (Gk.: xenia (“guestchamber”).) ; here I will dwell.” Similarly, when the Holy One, blessed be He, came to the sea, it fled from Him, as stated (in Ps. 114:3), “The sea saw [Him] and fled.” He revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, [it also] fled, as stated (in Ps. 114:4), “The mountains danced like rams.” When he came to the desert wasteland (harevah), it received Him and praised Him, as stated (in Is. 42:11), “Let the desert and its cities lift up [their voice].” He said, “This city is better than all of the cities. Here I will build a lodging place.” When He came down into its midst, they began rejoicing, because the Holy One, blessed be He, was dwelling in their midst, as stated (in Is. 35:1), “The desert and the arid land shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice and blossom like a crocus.”

And it was on the eighth day: Rabbi Tanchuma, Rabbi Chiya, Rabbah and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is nothing but a term of grief [hinting to the sound, (vay), meaning woe]." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "This midrash came up to our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a term of grief.'" And there are five: (1) "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1). What grief was there over there? They made a war to kill Avraham, our father, as it is stated (Genesis 14:2), "made war." [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then people] came and grappled with him with words. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no longer be concerned about the province as he was." So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be blessed." And when the kings came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It (hee) is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he (hu) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified (hu kidesh) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah 9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own." So did the evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the message; seal the instruction with My disciples." And when they saw that the things were like this, they all started to cry out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable] to edicts of the kings that were brought to the provinces of the kingdom. In each and every province, when it came to their hands, everyone would stand on their feet, uncover their heads and read them with fear, trembling and perspiration. But when they were brought to the province of the king, they tore them up and burned them: When the Holy One, blessed be He, sends His messenger to the nations of the world, they repent, cover themselves in sackcloth and fast - as did the people of Nineveh, as it is stated (Jonah 3:7), "from the order of the king and his principals, etc." They, may their memory be blessed, said, "One who had a beam or a stone that was stolen in his house would destroy the house and remove it and return the theft." And because of this did Yonah fear to prophesy to Nineveh. As Rabbi Tarfon said, "The fish was designated, etc." And the nations of the world are afraid in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, and [so, they are] close to repentance, whereas Israel is stiff-necked. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree that is hanging over us." And the other (4) - "And it was in the days of Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: The king is King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He; His vineyard is Israel, as it is stated (Isaiah 5:7), "For a vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel"; [And] their three enemies are Pharaoh, Nevukhadnetsar and Haman. Pharaoh began with the small berries, as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar ripped the clusters, as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths." Who are the craftsmen (charash)? These are the ones that pray the mute prayer silently, and are victorious with their prayer over all the nations of the world. The smiths? That all the nations of the world come in a vice in front of them but [then] flee, as they put a vice on all the nations - and Nevukhadnetsar come to destroy them; and he destroyed the craftsmen and the smiths, and exiled them. The evil Haman [then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe," and they mourned in front of the Omnipresent. (5) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was famine there; and what grief is greater than famine? And from where [do we know] that there was famine? As it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and there was a famine in the land." And why was there a famine? Because Israel and the judges were not judging true judgement; as it is is stated, "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" - [and] we find [following it], "he", which indicates evildoers. [As] so do we find, "he was Datan and Aviram" (Numbers 26:9); "he was Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1); "he was [...] Achaz" (II Chronicles 28:22). So too were the judges. And to what is the matter comparable? To a province that was liable a tax to the king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time, as Elimelekh would judge the judges; [since] he was a strongman and there were many men below him. He saw the distress and the famine, but he did not warn the sinners to repent from their evil. And he stopped living in Beit Lechem for himself to live in the field of Moav - to sustain his soul during the famine, and the soul of his wife during the famine, and the soul of his sons; and he did not know that [it is] the Torah that sustains its masters and not the vanities of the world. And he was one who was important, as it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and a man went from Beit Lechem, Yehudah." And we only say, "man," about an important man, as it is stated (Numbers 12:3), "And the man, Moshe, was very humble." As Elimelekh was an important man, as they would consider him [so] in his place - and [yet] he went to save his soul and the soul of his household, and did not trouble himself about the matters of the community; even as he was an important man and they would have believed his words, [such as] to make them repent from their evil and bring them to repentance. And therefore, it occurred to him as it is written in the verse (Ruth 1:3), "And Elimelekh, the husband of Naomi died." And so [too,] his sons died, as it is stated (Ruth 1:5), "And [...his] two [sons,] Machlon and Khilyon died, and the woman survived her two children and her husband." As so were they judging their judges, like Sodom. Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is used for grief and it is used for joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." (The text is missing the following integral part of the midrash, found in Bereishit Rabbah 42:3 and other places: Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy; [but] 'and it was' [is for] grief.") The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, "Vayehi (here used as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them. That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' - 'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin, fell at that time; as it is stated (Joshua 7:5), 'And the men of Ai smote of them, like thirty-six men' - and the master said, 'That is Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9), 'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1), 'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written (Jeremiah 38:28), 'vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed, Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

… it is written there “Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You…” (Melachim I 8:27) and here it is written “…the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” (Shemot 40:35) R’ Yehoshua of Sachnin said in the name of R’ Levi ‘to what is this likened? To an open cave at the edge of the sea. When the sea storms the cave is filled, but the sea is not reduced. So too, even though it is written that ‘the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle’ the upper and lower worlds did not lose anything of the brilliance of the glory of the Holy One, just as it is written “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? says the Lord.” (Yirmiyahu 23:24) Therefore it is written here ‘And it was’. Just as the Divine Presence was here below at the beginning of the creation of the world but withdrew to above, now it returned to be below as it had been “And it was that on the day that Moses finished…” (Bamidbar 7:1) ... [Another explanation. “And it was that on the day that Moses finished erecting the Mishkan…” (Numbers 7:1)] R’ Simon said: at the time when the Holy One told Israel to erect the Tabernacle, He hinted that when the Tabernacle below is erected, the Tabernacle above is erected, as it says “And it was that on the day that Moses finished…” (ibid.) It does not say ‘erecting the Tabernacle’ but rather ‘erecting this (et) the Tabernacle.’ This refers to the Tabernacle above. The Holy One said: in this world, when the Tabernacle was erected, I commanded Aharon and his sons that they bless you. In the time to come I, in my glory, will bless you. So it is written “May the Lord bless you from Zion, He Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalms 134:3)

There (in the north) is the abode of the destroying spirits, earthquakes, winds, demons, lightnings and thunders; thence evil issues forth into the world, as it is said, "Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jer. 1:14). Some say by ten Sayings was the world created || and in three (Divine attributes) are these (ten Sayings) comprised, as it is said, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens, by his knowledge the depths were broken up" (Prov. 3:19, 20). By these three (attributes) was the Tabernacle made, as it is said, "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge" (Ex. 31:3). Likewise with these three (attributes) was the Temple made, as it is said, "He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and knowledge" (1 Kings 7:14). By these three attributes it will be rebuilt in the future, as it is said, "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge are the chambers filled" (Prov. 24:3, 4).

Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile: (From Babylonia. Presumably, this is a way of stating that it is an ancient tradition.) Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, [it alludes to] trouble. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, it can serve [to allude to] either trouble or joy. If it is trouble, there is none like it. If it is joy, there is none like it. Rabbi Shmuel said: There are five [instances of] “during the days of [bimei].” “It was [vayhi] during the days of [bimei] Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1) – what was the trouble there? They waged a war. [It is analogous] to the friend of a king who was located in a certain province. Because of him, the king took care of the province. One time, barbarians came and beset him [the king’s friend]. They say: Woe for us, the king will no longer care for the province as he had done. Likewise, the entire world was created only due to the merit of Abraham our patriarch; that is what is written: “They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat, (Ein Mishpat literally means ‘eye of justice’.) which is [hi] Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Aḥa said: They came to beset the eyeball of the world. (Abraham.) The eye that overcame the attribute of justice in the world you seek to blind? (The midrash is rhetorically addressing the kings that attacked Abraham.) “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu Kadesh. (The word hi, meaning ‘which is,’ is spelled with a vav as the middle letter, which could be read as the masculine hu. The midrash is reading hi Kadesh as hu kidesh, he sanctified.) He [Abraham] sanctified [kidesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. (See Tanḥuma, Lekh Lekha 6.) When everyone saw that all the kings came to beset him, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “It was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11) – [it is analogous] to the son of a king who had a tutor who sought to kill him. He [the tutor] said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So did Aḥaz say: If there are no kids, there are no rams, and if there are no rams there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd. So Aḥaz thought to say: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, cannot rest His Divine Presence in the world. Therefore, I will seize all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Avin: Isaiah said: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as difficult for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face” (Deuteronomy 31:18) – in this world. But from that moment, “I hoped for Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Was it [this verse] fulfilled for him [Isaiah]? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me” (Isaiah 8:18) – were they his [Isaiah’s] children? Were they not his students? It teaches that they were as dear to him as his sons. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: that is, “It was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, and the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23) – [it is analogous] to a king who sent a proclamation to a province. What did the residents of the province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. They said: Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these matters. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), (This is the fifth verse of the first chapter of Lamentations.) immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the end of the scroll, upon the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [It was] “to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). [It is analogous] to a king who entered a vineyard and three enemies beset him: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third sought to uproot all the vines. Likewise, the wicked Pharaoh begin picking the unripe grapes; that is what is written: “[Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:] Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22). The wicked Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “[He exiled Yehoyakhin.…] and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:15–16). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All of them were one thousand. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars. Haman the wicked sought to uproot the entire egg; (Egg, in the sense of the very origins of Israel.) [as] they say buy [the hen] with the egg (A aphorism meaning that he sought to complete the task, leaving no future.) – “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) – [it is analogous] to a province that owed a tax to the king. What did the king do? He sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They took him, struck him, and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: What he sought to do to us we did to him. Likewise, during the days when the judges judged, an Israelite person would worship idols, and a judge would seek to bring him to trial, and he would come and flog the judge. He would say: What he sought to do to me, I did to him. Woe unto a generation whose judges are judged; (The midrash is reading the verse to mean that it was in the days that the judges were judged, i.e. punished.) that is, “It was during the days when the judges judged.” Shimon bar Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that it [“it was,” vayhi] is stated, [it alludes to] trouble or to joy; if trouble, there is no trouble like it, if joy, there is no joy like it in the world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a [different] distinction: Everywhere that it says, “it was [vayhi],” [it alludes to] trouble, everywhere that it says “it will be [vehaya],” joy. But it is written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light.” He said to them: Even that is not light of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When He perceived that the wicked were destined to appear, like the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion, (After the Tower of Babel.) and like the people of Sodom, He took it [the light] away. That is what is written: “From the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). He sequestered it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11). They objected to him: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as the heavens are destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6). They objected to him: Is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day.… third.… fourth.… fifth.… sixth” (Genesis 1:8–31). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., it is necessary to sweeten mustard, lupines must be sweetened, and wheat requires grinding. But it is written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written: “For they placed me in the pit” (Genesis 40:15). But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed [assembling the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built, as it is stated: “Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:35). (The verse does not seem to be related to the point. Perhaps it is brought to communicate that even on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the celebration was tempered by the fact that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when Joshua was [at Jericho]” (Joshua 5:13). He said to them: That too is not joy, as Joshua rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6). (After the setback at Ai.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1). (The day of the dedication of the Temple.) He said to them: That too is not joy, as on that day Nadav and Avihu died. (See Leviticus 10:1–2.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) dwelled in his house” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That too was not joy, as it was then that Natan the prophet came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours. (Prove that every place it says vehaya it is an expression of joy.) He said to them: It is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second time, [to recover the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep [a calf of the herd and two sheep] alive” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, [and they will come…and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that one who is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem [will be called holy]” (Isaiah 4:3). They objected to him: It is written: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Israel made complete penance for their iniquities, on the day that the Temple was destroyed. Conclusion of the prologue to Rut Rabba

Another interpretation: “This month shall be for you” – that is what is written: “He made the moon for festivals; the sun knows its setting” (Psalms 104:19). There are many [of God’s] deeds that Moses recorded in the Torah that are unclear and David arose and explained them. We find in the act of Creation, that when He created the heavens and the earth, He created light, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1), and afterward: “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). David explained it: After God created light, He created the heavens, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and then, “He stretches the heavens like a curtain” (Psalms 104:2). Here we have learned that after He created light He created the heavens. Three creations preceded the world: Water, air [ruaḥ], (The Hebrew word ruaḥ can mean air, wind, or spirit. ) and fire. Water became pregnant and gave birth to darkness. Fire became pregnant and gave birth to light. Air became pregnant and gave birth to wisdom. With these six creations the world is conducted, with spirit, with wisdom, with fire, with light, with darkness, and with water. That is why David said: “May my soul bless the Lord. Lord my God, You are very great” (Psalms 104:1). A person sees a beautiful pillar and says: Blessed is the quarry from which this was quarried. The world is beautiful; blessed is the Omnipresent who quarried it and created it with speech, happy are you O world, that the Holy One blessed be He reigns over you. [A person of] flesh and blood etches [tzar] his image on a wooden tablet, and the tablet is larger than his image. God, may His name be blessed, is great, and His image is great. The world is small, and He is greater than the world, as it is stated: “For the Lord is God, an everlasting Rock [tzur olamim]” (Isaiah 26:4). (In contrast to an image created by flesh and blood, where the image is necessarily smaller than the object upon which it is drawn, God’s image is greater than the world.) What is taught when Scripture states: Tzur olamim? Relative to Him, the two worlds [olamim] (This world and the World to Come.) are considered nothing. That is why it is stated: “Lord my God, You are very great.” After He covered Himself with light, He then created the world, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment; [He stretches the heavens like a curtain]” (Psalms 104:2). [A person of] flesh and blood, after he builds the house, he builds the upper story. God is not like that; after He built the roof, He built the upper story, and after He built the upper story, He positioned it on the atmosphere of the world, on nothing. Then He installed His chariots, clouds; and then His dais on the storm. Who informs you about all these matters? It is David, who explained the deeds of God to inform all humanity of His might, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot” (Psalms 104:3); not from copper, not from iron, but with balconies of water. Then He constructed the upper stories, not from stone and not from hewed stone, but from layers of water, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of Your upper chambers in the waters.” [A person of] flesh and blood makes his chariot strong to bear his entire burden, and he makes it from iron, bronze, silver, or gold. But God, may His name be blessed, a cloud has no substance, and He makes clouds His chariots, as it is stated: “He makes the clouds His chariot.” Flesh and blood, if there was a muddy path before him, he walks on stones that are hard. But God is not so; rather, He leaves the visible cloud and walks on the invisible wind, as it is stated: “Who walks upon the wings of the wind” (Psalms 104:3). Flesh and blood conscripts strong, powerful soldiers capable of wearing helmets, and armor, and weapons. But the Holy One blessed be He conscripted His soldiers that are invisible, as it is stated: “Who makes winds His messengers” (Psalms 104:4). The wind emerges, followed by lightning, as it is stated: “The flaming fire His servants” (Psalms 104:4). After He created the sky, He created angels on the second day, and on that same day He created Gehenna, as “that it was good,” is not written about it [the second day]. Like [a person of] flesh and blood who acquires slaves and says [to his associates]: ‘Make swords.’ They say to him: ‘Why?’ He says to them: ‘So if they rebel, they will receive a death sentence.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said: I created Gehenna [on the second day], about which “that it was good” is not written, so if people sin, they will descend into it. From where is it derived that Gehenna was created on the second day? It is as the prophet explains: “For Hell has been prepared from yesterday” (Isaiah 30:33), from the day that a person could say yesterday. When would a person be able to say yesterday? It is on the second day, as the first day of the week precedes it. Afterward, He created dry land on the third day, as it is stated: “He established the earth upon its foundations” (Psalms 104:5). At that moment, one was naked and one was clothed, like [a person of] flesh and blood who has two servants; he stripped the garment off of one and clothed the other with it. So, God said: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9) – He exposed the earth and covered the depths. So said David: “You covered the depths as with a garment” (Psalms 104:6). “From Your rebuke they flee” (Psalms 104:7) – like flesh and blood who saw his winepress filled with grapes and a vineyard to harvest. People said to him: ‘Where will you put the rest of the grapes, since the winepress is small?’ He said to them: ‘I will make a winepress that will hold all the grapes in the vineyard.’ What did he do? He trampled the grapes and trod on one [pile] after another, and then brought the grapes that were in the vineyard, and the winepress held all the grapes. (The winepress could not contain all the grapes at once but could contain all the juice. ) So, the entire world was filled with water, and the earth was immersed in the water. The Holy One blessed be He said: “Let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). The waters said: ‘We fill the world, and until now it is crowded for us; where will we go?’ May His name be blessed, He kicked Ocean and killed it, as it is stated: “With His power, He calmed the sea, and with His understanding, He crushed [maḥatz] Rahav” (Job 26:12). Maḥatz means nothing other than killing, as it is stated: “She crushed [maḥatza] and pierced his temple” (Judges 5:26). (This is a description of how Yael killed Sisera.) When he killed it, some say that it is crying until today, as it is stated: “Have you entered into the springs of [nivkhei] (The midrash reads nivkhei as though it derives from the term bekhi, weeping.) the sea?” (Job 38:16). Why did He kill them? It is because a house that holds one hundred living people holds one thousand dead. That is why Ocean is called the Dead Sea; but the Holy One blessed be He is destined to heal it, as it is stated: “To the sea it will flow, and the water will be healed” (Ezekiel 47:8). When the rest of the waters saw that He kicked Ocean, its fellows fled at the sound of its scream. It is like a donkey driver of flesh and blood who was walking and there were two servants in front of him; [when the donkey driver whips the donkeys], those [servants] in front [of the donkeys] run and flee. So, the rest of the water in the world fled at the sound of the scream of Ocean, as it is stated: “From Your rebuke they flee.” They fled, but they did not know to where they were fleeing, as it is stated: “They rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys, to this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8). It is like a servant of flesh and blood to whom his master said: ‘Wait for me in the marketplace,’ but did not tell him where to wait. The servant began saying: Perhaps he told me to wait for him near the basilica, perhaps he told me near the bathhouse, or perhaps he told me alongside the platform. He [the master] entered [the city], found him and slapped him. He said to him: ‘I sent you to the gate of the prefect’s palace.’ So, the waters were wandering, when they heard that He said to them: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” (Genesis 1:9). He did not say to them to the north or to the south, but rather they scattered, “they rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys.” The Holy One blessed be He slapped them. He said to them: ‘I said to you to go to the place of the leviathan.’ From where that it is so? It is as it is stated: “To this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8), and that is the place of leviathan, as it is stated: “This leviathan, whom You created to frolic in it [the sea]” (Psalms 104:26). “You set a boundary that they may not cross” (Psalms 104:9). Like flesh and blood that put his animal into a pen and locked the gate before it so it would not go out and graze on the grain. So, the Holy One blessed be He locked the sea with sand and administered an oath to it that it would not go beyond the sand, as it is stated: “That I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22). “Who sends springs through the ravines” (Psalms 104:10) – like [a person of] flesh and blood who has baskets [for the pressing] of olives. He pressed the beam onto them, and the oil came out from above and oil descended below. So, the mountain from this side and the mountain from that side press on the springs and they burst forth and emerge from between the mountains. That is why it is written: “Who sends springs through the ravines.” Afterward, what did David say? “He made the moon for festivals” (Psalms 104:19) – the Holy One blessed be He created three hundred and sixty-five windows in the firmament; one hundred and eighty-three in the east and one hundred and eighty-two in the west; some of them He created for the sun and some of them He created for the moon, so that the world would follow it. The sun goes through all of them, as does the moon except for eleven windows that the moon does not enter any of them. This is like a prefect and a duke who were receiving gifts. The prefect took commensurate with his honor and the duke commensurate with his honor. So, the sun is called great and the moon is called small. This is why the sun is called great, because it is eleven days greater than the moon. (The solar year is roughly eleven days longer than twelve lunar months.) This is why He created the moon for the festivals, so that Israel would increase and decrease like the moon [waxes and wanes]. But this [waxing and waning] is not harmful to it [the moon], but it is for the setting of the festivals. (Similarly, though Israel’s fortunes increase and diminish, it will ultimately prevail.) All the years are counted by the sun [by the solar calendar], the years of the world and the years of [the lives of] people, and it [the sun] knows the span of every person, how long he saw the sun. All this to say that He created the moon for the festivals? David rose and explained: “He made the moon for the festivals.” They said to David: ‘While we were in Egypt, we received [the consecration of] the month by the moon’; that is what is written: “This month shall be for you” (Exodus 12:2).

Another matter, “they shall craft an Ark of acacia wood.” What is written above? “They shall take Me a gift” (Exodus 25:2). Immediately, “they shall craft an Ark of acacia wood.” Just as the Torah preceded everything, so too, in the crafting of the Tabernacle, the Ark preceded all the vessels. Just as light preceded all the acts of Creation, as it is written: “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), in the Tabernacle as well, the crafting [needed to house the] Torah, which is called light, as it is written: “For the commandment is a lamp, the Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23), preceded [the crafting of] all [other] vessels. Another matter, “they shall craft an Ark.” Why is it that regarding all [other] vessels, “you shall craft” is written, and regarding the Ark, “they shall craft” is written? Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom said: The Holy One blessed be He said to [Moses]: ‘Let everyone come and be involved in the Ark so that all of them will acquire the Torah.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: There are three crowns: The crown of kingship, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of Torah. (Mishna, Avot 4:13.) The crown of kingship, this is the table [for the showbread], in whose regard it is written: “A golden crown [zer] all around” (Exodus 25:24). The crown of priesthood, this is the altar, in whose regard it is written: “A golden crown [zer] all around” (Exodus 30:3). The crown of Torah, this is the Ark, in whose regard it is written: “A golden crown [zer]” (Exodus 25:11). Why is it written zar and pronounced zer? (The word zer could have been written zayin-yud-reish, but it is written without the yud, so that it can also be vocalized zar. ) It is to say to you that if a person merits, they become a crown [zer] for him, but if not, they become estranged [zar]. Why is it written regarding all of them, “you shall craft for it” (Exodus 25:24; 30:3), and regarding the Ark, it is written: “you shall craft upon it”? It is to teach you that the crown of Torah is superior to all of them. If a person acquires Torah, it is as though he acquired all of them.

Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Ḥiyya say, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i: This midrash came up from the Diaspora in our possession. Wherever it is stated, “it was in the days,” it is nothing other than trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: They are five. “It was in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war, etc.” (Genesis 14:2). This is analogous to the friend of a king who entered a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. Barbarians came and confronted him. When they came and confronted him, everyone said: ‘Woe unto us, for the king will not attend to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the entire world. The Chaldeans came and confronted him. [People] said: ‘Woe unto us that the Holy One blessed be He will not attend to His world the way that He once did.’ That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: They sought to confront only the eyeball [galgal eino] of the world. (Abraham was as precious to the world as the eyeball is to a person. ) They sought to blind the eye [ayin] that confronted the attribute of justice in the world. (The name Ein Mishpat is interpreted as a reference to eye [ayin] and justice [mishpat]. ) “Which [hi] is Kadesh,” Rabbi Aḥa says: Hu (The word “which” is pronounced hi, but written hey-vav-aleph, such that it can be read hu, which literally means “he.” is written, [indicating that] it was he who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He, and descended into the fiery furnace. When the kings came to confront him, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai]; “it was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel the king of [Shinar].” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1). What trouble was there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west; [they devour Israel with an open mouth]” (Isaiah 9:11). This is analogous to a king who entrusted his son to a steward, but the steward hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will become liable to be executed by the king. Rather, I will withhold his wet nurse from him and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats, there is no flock, and if there is no flock, there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there is no world. So said Aḥaz: If there are no children, there are no students,17If there are no children at the beginning stages of their studies there will be no students at the intermediate level. and if there are no students, there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there is no Torah, if there is no Torah, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was his name called Aḥaz? Because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: You may derive it from this [verse]: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim as this time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). From that moment “I sought Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me [are to become signs and wonders in Israel]” (Isaiah 8:18).18This is stated by the prophet Isaiah. Despite the attempts of Aḥaz, Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. But were they his children? Were they not merely his students? Rather, it is derived from here that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not]” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to letters of a king that entered a province. In each and every province that his letters would reach, the residents of the province would stand on their feet, bare their heads, and read them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. But when they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, when Yehudi read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they saw this, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a vineyard and three enemies confronted him. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Every son who is born [you shall cast him into the Nile]” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “And the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:16).19This is a reference to the social elites, who were exiled in the exile of Yehoyakhin, eleven years before the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbi, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda says: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths, and the Rabbis say: Both together were one thousand. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: These are Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are the benefactors. The Rabbis say: These are the counselors. The wicked Haman began uprooting the vines. That is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel. He sought to purchase every foundation.20A literal translation of the Hebrew is: “He sought to purchase every egg,” meaning to control and extinguish all future potential before it could be developed. When everyone saw that Aḥashverosh was selling and Haman purchasing, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tribute to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did residents of the province do? They arose and hung him and appropriated it from him. They [then] said: ‘Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters, that we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us.’ So too, when one of the people of Israel would do something improper, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You demean your judges; as you live, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to withstand.’ What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Shimon bar Rav Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Wherever [the term] vayhi is stated, it refers to trouble or joy; if trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if joy, unparalleled joy. Rabbi Yishmael came and suggested a different distinction: Wherever vayhi is stated there is no joy; wherever vehaya is stated, there is no trouble. They raised an objection: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: With the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day a person could observe and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh and the actions of the generation of the Flood were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “The light is withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening [and it was morning, one day]” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to come to an end. That is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth [will be tattered like a garment]” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), [and] third, fourth, fifth, the sixth.21The same phrasing is used in the descriptions of the creation of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth days. See Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation require completion; wheat requires grinding, mustard requires sweetening, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, for as a result, that wicked woman confronted him. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day [Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [erecting the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on the day of the Temple’s construction, it was sequestered.22The Tabernacle was not permanent, and was hidden when the Temple was completed. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as Ya’ir, who was equivalent [in stature] to the majority of the Sanhedrin, was killed. That is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, approximately thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather approximately, or like, thirty-six; that is Ya’ir ben Menashe, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin. They raised an objection: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written there: “Saul was hostile to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him respite” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who will build [Me] a house” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.23We have stated our objections; now you state the proofs to your position. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep alive a calf of the herd [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water” (Psalms 1:3). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, [in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the flocks of sheep]” (Micah 5:7). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That, too, is not trouble, as on that day, Israel received retribution for its sins, as Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Naḥman said: Israel received great retribution on the day that the Temple was destroyed.24Israel was punished for its sins through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Were it not for that, the entire populace would have been killed as a result of their sins (Etz Yosef). That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, and He will not continue to exile you” (Lamentations 4:22).)

Rabbi Avina said two [statements], Rabbi Berekhya said two, and the Rabbis said two. Rabbi Avina said: This orb of the sun is one of My attendants, (This is stated from the perspective of God. ) and when it emerges to the world, there is no creature that can feast its eyes upon it. That is what is written: “A river of fire emerged and flowed from before Him” (Daniel 7:10). Do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness; He will make the Torah great and glorious” (Isaiah 42:21) – I commanded it only to accord you merit. Rabbi Avina said another [statement]: Lightning is one of the byproducts of the supernal fire, and its light shines from the end of the world to the other end. Do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness,” – as stated previously. Rabbi Berekhya said: This orb of the eye, a person does not see via the white that is in it, but rather, via the black. The Holy One blessed be He said: If from the darkness I created light for you, do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said: “The Lord is desirous for the sake of His righteousness.” Rabbi Berekhya said another [statement]: “The earth was emptiness and disorder, [and darkness was upon the face of the deep]” (Genesis 1:2). What is written thereafter? “God said: Let there be light; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The Holy One blessed be He said: If from the darkness I created light for you, do I require your light? Rabbi Aḥa said… The Rabbis said two [statements]: The Holy One blessed be He says to a child: ‘All those nine months that you were in your mother’s womb, I would illuminate for you; do I require your light?’ The Rabbis said another [statement]: “He reveals the profound and the obscure; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22). The Holy One blessed be He said: The light rests with Me; do I require your light?

The time to do this is during the month of Nissan as one recites the words, “Who sheds light upon the earth and those who dwell upon it” [the blessing Yotzeir Ohr in the morning service]. A person should request in his heart that the Holy One Blessed is He in His mercy should shed light upon the world to elevate us along with the rejected souls. These are alluded to in the word “light,” as the Ari has stated (Likkutei Torah, Bereishis 6a; Sefer HaLikkutim, Bereishis 1b) in connection with the verse, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’” (Bereishis 1:3). It is not by chance that the Satan “dances” between the horns of the ox, for that is the main place where its pride is displayed, just as a rooster’s pride is displayed in its comb. Thus the Satan takes up residence there because it is a center of pride. This should serve as an open rebuke to those who glory in their wealth, cleverness, lineage, learning or whatever it might be. For even if they also engage in study, as long as they are guilty of pride, they act as thrones for the Sitra Achara. This follows from what we have explained — that the Satan dances between the horns of a black ox because they are the locus of his pride.

While the Holy Temple was standing two lights emanating from two supernal worlds shed their illumination upon Israel. Concerning these it is stated, “Let there be light and there was light” (Bereishis 1:3). From the same two supernal worlds derive the souls of the Matriarchs Rochel and Leah, both of whom contributed to the building of the Jewish nation. They also caused the Samech Mem and his consort Lilis to be humbled, depriving them of the power to cause Israel any harm. The numerical value of “light” — אור — is 207. Thus two “lights” equal 414, identical with the numerical value of laughter” — שׂחוק. But after the Holy Temple was destroyed our iniquities caused these supernal lights to depart. Then the two shells of impurity mentioned above gained dominion. From that time forth the evil Lilis laughs at us, on account of our many sins. Therefore we are not to rejoice or laugh in this world. But when our Moshiach arrives, “then our mouth will be filled with laughter.” A person must realize, then, that if he wishes to appease his Creator he must not display any jocularity at all as long as the Temple lies in ruins, for it is forbidden for us to laugh. Whoever is careless about this lends power to the spleen and causes the two shells of impurity mentioned above to wax in strength. But it is not only filling one’s mouth with laughter that is forbidden. All forms of rejoicing other than those connected with a mitzvah are forbidden. And in connection with a mitzvah one should not rejoice excessively, as our Sages have intimated.

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

The Torah now continues with the blessings the Priests are to confer on the people (6,23-27). I have already mentioned earlier that the universe was created with the letter ב, which symbolizes ברכה, blessing. The presence of this blessing on an ongoing basis was spoiled due to the cursed activity of the serpent, which in turn led to the situation where ban איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאת האדם, of "man or woman who commit any sins due to the all pervading influence of Adam" (5,6). It is Aaron's function to restore the natural state of the world as it was prior to sin. We have elaborated on the fact that Aaron was the תקון, the "repair, or correction," of Adam. When the Torah introduces the blessings with the words: "כה תברכו," the word כה, whose numerical value is 25, refers to the 25th of Elul, which is the date on which G–d commenced creating the universe, according to the view of Rabbi Eliezer (Vayikra Rabbah 29,1). A further allusion to this is the fact that G–d commenced His creation by saying: "יהי אור", let there be light, the word יהי having the numerical value 25.

According to my approach what Aaron was interested in was to provide education, i.e. consecration for the world. G–d said to him concerning this desire of his, that his share would be greater than that of the Princes, since he would kindle the lights, a reference to the Original Light, the first act of creation, something which included all future creatures. Now this light in the Tabernacle would correspond to the light of the seven days of Creation. This is why the Torah emphasises that the seven lights of the candelabrum should provide light (8,2).

We find an allusion to this function of the letters in G–d's name in their use in the first acts of creating the physical universe, i.e. the directive י-ה-י אור ו-י-ה-י אור. The letters of the Ineffable Name, slightly re-arranged, appear constantly again in such statements of the Torah as ו-י-ה-י ערב, ו-י-ה-י בוקר, ו-י-ה-י כן. This list can be expanded- as you are all aware....

When G–d began the work of Creation, He said: "Let there be light," the foundation of fire. There is both visible and hidden fire. This is the mystical dimension of the Torah's commandment in Exodus 35,3: לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם ביום השבת. "Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day." The Torah singled out this prohibition of work (whereas none of the other 38 basic prohibitions of work is named).

When Moses refers to G–d having "arrived from Sinai" (33,2), he refers to an event which occurred on the third day of the week, i.e. the numerical value of the word בא in this verse is 3. You will now understand why the Torah commences with the letter ב as a symbol of blessing. There is an interesting Aggadah in the Otiyot d'Rabbi Akiva: They asked the letter ב who had created it, whereupon the letter pointed at the letter א with its עוקץ, the "sting" projecting from the right side of the bottom of this letter. It is a fact that when the Torah was actually given to the Jewish people, i.e. when G–d revealed Himself by means of communicating the Ten Commandments, these commandments commenced with the letter א i.e. אנכי ה' אלוקיך. This shows that the letter א is the true root of blessing. This root is אור, light, the original light which was concealed from this earth at the time Adam sinned in Paradise. We quoted the Midrash as saying that the world was created for the sake of Torah which is called ראשית; we may deduce that the letter ב preceding this word is a reference to the two Torahs, i.e. the written and the oral Torah. These two Torahs may also be meant when the Torah reported the creation of the "two great luminaries, the great luminary and the small luminary" (Genesis 1,16). The "great" luminary would be the מעשה מרכבה, the esoterics, as expressed by the written Torah which is a combination of letters of the Holy Name of G–d; the "small" luminary would refer to what the Talmud describes as the הויות של אביי ורבא, the discussions exploring the oral law which were carried on by such Talmudic giants as Abbaye and Rava. The written Torah is symbolized by the letter א, the great light which nowadays is kept hidden and which contains the secrets called "the soul of souls" (Zohar on פרשת בהעלותך). These secrets will remain hidden till such distant future when Man too will be able to wear the garments made of אור, light -as had been the case before the sin- and to benefit from this great light. Nowadays, when we are forced to make do with כתנות עור, garments made of hide, i.e. a corrupt form of "light" spelled with the letter ע, we must be content with "only" seventy facets of the written Torah, i.e. with the letter ע symbolizing the light of the written Torah. Once our world will be filled with knowledge of G–d as envisaged by Isaiah 11,9 this letter ע will be replaced by the mystical dimension of עין, "eye." At that time all the hidden secrets which no human eye has ever beheld will be revealed. Why does the "sting" of the letter ב point at the letter א? Because the oral Torah [being merely based on unwritten tradition. Ed.] is always at pains to demonstrate its validity by establishing a link with the written Torah. The relationship of the oral to the written Torah is similar to the relationship between the first woman and the first man, about which Adam said: כי מאיש לוקחה זאת, "for she has been detached from Man" (Genesis 2,23). The oral Torah is perceived of as having been derived from the written Torah. The relationship of איש to אשה is the same as the relationship of זה וזאת; hence the relationship of the written Torah to the oral Torah is as the relationship of זה to Tת. Oral Torah in fact has its origin in the written Torah. This is the reason why the Talmud keeps raising the question: מנלן, i.e. "where is the source for this teaching in the written Torah?" The word אור appears five times in the story of creation. This alludes to the five books comprising the written Torah.

This message is also alluded to in the wording of Genesis 1,3 where G–d gave the directive יהי אור, and the Torah reports: ויהי אור. The letters in G–d's name י-ה-ו-ה, are really only י-ה-ו, seeing that the letter ה appears twice. If Adam had not sinned, the name would have been י-ה-ו-ה. Unfortunately, the spiritual level necessary for that name never existed, not even when we merited the building of the Holy Temple, at which time the Ineffable Name of G–d was of the י-ה-ו-ה variety. This is what Solomon refers to in Kohelet 11,3 that במקום שיפול העץ שם י-ה-ו, the word שם has to be vocalised Shem, i.e. the Name will consist of the letters Yud-Heh-Vav. Genesis 1,3 hints at G–d's original plan which provided for יהי instead of יהו. When the Torah reports ויהי אור, i.e featuring the three letters of the present "full" name of G–d, this is a hint that part of the "great light" was already withheld; G–d anticipated Adam's נפילה, "fall." אדם הראשון caused that "fall"' by eating from the tree of knowledge. The meaning of Kohelet is now clear. "The place the tree fell is the cause that the letters in the name of G–d remain י-ה-ו. The world as it is cannot rise above that level of G–d's name. When G–d says of Abraham in Genesis 18, 18 that ואברהם היו יהיה לגוי גדול, we have the implied promise that in the future, as a result of someone like Abraham, that configuration described as “היו,” will eventually be changed to the configuration “יהיה.” If Abraham is previously described as standing under the "tree,” this is a hint that he "stands guard,” insures that the original design for the world will materialise: that the fall from grace due to having eaten from the tree will be reversed.

The subject matter this Midrash concentrated on is the קליפה, peel, that was created by Adam's sin, which caused the brilliant light prevailing at the time of Creation to be withdrawn, and which can only be regained through efforts to refine oneself and to repair the damage done by Adam. The means to achieve such refinement is the series of exiles. Once having lived through these exiles, Israel's sins will be expiated, the Messiah will arrive and the world will once again be bathed in the brilliant light that prevailed when Adam and Eve wore clothes woven of light. The experience of the Jewish people in Egypt was of a similar nature. Israel, which still suffered from a degree of pollutants absorbed through the serpent, was cleansed and left Egypt with its head held high. All the judgments visited upon the Egyptians were in the nature of what our sages call חידוש העולם, a renewal of universal dimensions. The phenomena displayed testified to the fact that it was G–d who had created the universe and who could work His will upon it. We have explained all this in its appropriate place. G–d had already alluded to the other exiles at the time he concluded the original covenant with Abraham reported in לך לך chapter 15. The operative words at the time were: אימה, חשיכה גדולה נופלת עליו.

What all this has to do with Samael injuring the כף ירך יעקב, the thigh joint of Jacob, is simple. Our sages say on 32,26: וירא כי לא יוכל לו, ויגע בכף ירכו ותקע כך ירך יעקב, that the thigh joint of Jacob refers to the later descendants who experienced the harsh decrees by the various nations who were their hosts in exile. When the Hasmoneans overcame the Greeks, they reversed this injury, i.e. the כף became a פך a cruse of oil. What had been a vulnerable part of Jacob's ירך now became the solid basis of the candelabra, ירך מנורה.

Thus it is altogether necessary to establish a firm belief in the benefits of blessings and the harmful effects of curses, in the imagination of the masses. (They are to believe this) especially in those instances where distinctive configurations are used, such as those that we utilize today that involve excommunication, and even more so the bed and horns. (5. Rabad, in his strictures to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, Hil. Shevuot 11:13, similarly refers to the Geonic practice of excommunication accompanied by horns, extinguished candles, and overturned beds, all intended to overwhelm those present. These and similar practices, as carried out by the Geonim, are documented in S. Assaf, Ha-‘Onshin Aḥar Ḥatimat Ha-Talmud (Jerusalem, 1922), pp. 32 ff. On the use of such customs as an aid in Kaspi’s exegesis, see above Chapter 2 and chap. VI, n. 6. The present instance is consistent with Kaspi’s insistence (cf. ’Adnei Kesef AK 152) that prophetic actions were designed so as to have maximum impact on the masses.) It was particularly for this reason that Moses instituted “these shall stand … to bless … and these shall stand … to curse …” (6. Deut. 27:12.) And therefore Moses preceded (that ceremony by stating) in Genesis—which related past events—that God Himself blessed some of His creatures and cursed others. (7. Gen. 1:3 et al.) After that (Moses relates that) Noah cursed Canaan and blessed his other sons. (8. Gen. 9:25.) Moses similarly spoke at length of the rivalry of Jacob and Esau to receive the blessing of their zealous father, Isaac. (9. Gen. 25:29 ff.) (In regard to that incident (10. Here Kaspi appears to direct these parenthetic remarks to contemporary allegorists (see Chapter 2) who attempted to explain certain patriarchal narratives as more symbolic than real. The narrative of the blessing of Jacob at the expense of Esau, with its moral problems and issues, would have been a likely candidate for such allegorical interpretation.) ) if the truth be that Esau and Jacob never existed, then neither did Moses and Aaron, and if Rebecca (likewise did not exist), then neither did Miriam exist. (11. Regarding Job, Kaspi makes a similar assertion when he says (AS I 137): “The verse says, ‘there was a man in the land of Uz …’; accordingly, how could the early and late commentators doubt that he existed,” for one would then have to doubt the existence of all the personalities in the Bible.)

TABLES OF STONE. I have already explained this. (See I.E. on Ex. 24:12.) [WITH THE FINGER OF GOD.] Scripture’s statement with the finger of God is an anthropomorphism, (The Torah employs human language so that those who hear its words will understand.) for the Lord’s will is accomplished by the word coming out of God’s mouth. God’s mouth is employed metaphorically. God is said to act like human kings. This is how For He commanded, and they were created (Ps. 118:27) is to be understood. (I.E. makes the same point in his comments on Gen. 1:3.) God’s words appear to man to be standing in heaven. (So Weiser. Literally, God’s words standing in heaven with regard to the lowly.) Scripture clearly states, Thy word standeth fast in heaven (Ps. 119:89). (“Your decrees stand in heaven” (I.E. on Ps. 119:89).) The intelligent will understand. (That the Torah employs human language. So Weiser.)

“and this language produces them aid” [Zohar I.75b], since it [language] is one of the binding conditions for drawing energy from above, and these [conditions] are: thought, speech and act. And already earlier, because in this way the world was created and came into actuality, since in the beginning was the upper thought in essence, and after this “and God spoke”[Genesis 1:3], and this is speech, and after this was the act, as it is said “on the day of HaShem Elohim’s making of earth and heavens” [Genesis 2:4]. And it’s [the Zohar’s] saying is “since in the work and in the speech of the mouth depend these words, to fix the intention of the heart.” [Zohar I.75b], and it starts with the act in its saying “since in the work and in the speech…”etc., since Elohim has done the other way around. And therefore it is necessary below to begin with the act and after that the speech and to attach the thought to the heart. And this preservation is the essence, and Performance of the Sacrifices [in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah] will show [it].

Malbim sees the action of Providence in the way the light intensifies only gradually at dawn, allowing time for the eyes to adjust to it. He notes that even at his own time, the middle of the 19th century, the nature of light and how it propagates is still an unsolved riddle: is it a 'fluid substance' (from the German Ausstremungsystem) or an 'aerial propagation' (in German: Vibrationsystem) that is generated by the motions of the source of illumination? ( The former refers to the Newtonian corpuscular theory of light and the latter to Huygens' wave theory. Rosenbloom (p.258) points out that Malbim was one of the few Jewish scholars of his time to mention both theories. Most of the others, following Mendelssohn (Biur, Genesis 1.3), opted for the wave model.)

Let us (Rabbi Foa begins this passage with the expression, rayui ladaat, literally,”It is fitting to know” - I have taken liberties in translating it to make it fit the context.) understand why the sages refer to God as Makom. If (the purpose of this expression is) to separate God from the finite, then calling God “Place of the world” still leaves us in doubt. (Makom suggests God has spatial limitations.) When we call God Makom, it implies that there is a place that is not God’s place. However, if we are speaking of the supernal light that is found at the beginning of existence, the first cause, we would not know what to call it, since it fills up everything. Before God created this world, the light that filled everything was so luminous that it was impossible to imagine the world (outside of it). God contracted Himself, so to speak, (Kivaychol, כִּבְיָכוֹל is the word used when speaking in metaphorical terms about divinity. So to speak - Don’t take these words literally.) in the way that He contracted Himself within the ark, leaving a place free outside of God’s essence. But since the light was still too great, God contracted a second time as Scripture states, “Let there be light…and there was light” (Gen. 1:3) “Let there be light” allowing the emanation of the Sephirot (Sefirot meaning emanations, are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms (Seder hishtalshelus). (Wikipedia) Sefirot - Wikipedia) (liha’atzeel bo atzilut) for this would be like darkness, like bats who become blind in the light of the sun. “And there was light,” this is not the light referred to in the expression, “Let there be light.” Makom refers to the second light of contraction. The first sparks of light of contraction led to emanation, creation and fashioning. In the second contraction, God created all that Moses our teacher knew as well as much more. The second contraction was a second removal of light from “the place of the first Makom, before the contraction. This is referred to in Scripture, ““See, there is a place near Me.” (Exodus 33:21) Since the light of God’s Presence is similar to it at first, and nothing in all of creation can speak of its praise, therefore, all the names, praises and blessings are referred to as the “Place.” And it is to this Makom, “Place,” that we are referring when we say Baruch HaMakom, “Praised is the Place.” All the words of the sages are true and certain; they are meant to be understood literally, and not as metaphors or analogies. This is true in all places and one who understands them can find answers. The Exodus was a renewal of the world both in general and in particular, as both ancient and contemporary sages state, each according to the Pardes. (Pardes (פרד"ס) is a Kabbalistic theory of Biblical exegesis first advanced by Moses de León. The term, sometimes also rendered PaRDeS, is an acronym formed from the initials of the following four approaches: Peshat (פְּשָׁט‎) – "surface" ("straight") or the literal (direct) meaning. Remez (רֶמֶז‎) – "hints" or the deep allegorical meaning beyond just the literal sense. Derash (דְּרַשׁ‎) – from Hebrew darash: "inquire" ("seek") – the midrashic meaning, as given through similar occurrences. Sod (סוֹד‎) – "secret" ("mystery") or the esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation. Each type of Pardes interpretation examines the extended meaning of a text. As a general rule, the extended meaning never contradicts the base meaning. Pardes (exegesis) - Wikipedia) Therefore the Maggid uses the language in the Haggadah to give thanks and praise God as much as possible based on the kindness that God did for us and our ancestors. We bless God for giving the Torah to the people of Israel through which we are able to know the wondrous miracles God performed for our ancestors in Egypt, like the fifty plagues with which he smote the Egyptians, as we shall explain with God’s help.

ולתטאת ולאשם, and for the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. These words clarify two separate aspects of the descent of the sparks of sanctity into the nether regions which we referred to earlier. The sparks of sanctity which descended at the time the world was still in chaos, Tohu Vavohu [before the period which commenced with G'd creating light at the beginning of the Torah's report in Genesis 1,3 Ed.], are here referred to as לחטאת, i.e. "the Torah of the sin-offering," whereas the sparks of sanctity which descended into the realm of Satan after Adam sinned are referred to as לאשם, i.e. "the Torah of the guilt-offering." The Torah had to inform us of this division in order for us to appreciate that not only can it help us locate and isolate i.e. identify these sparks of sanctity in an environment inherently hostile to sanctity, but Torah can also be the instrument of rescuing these sparks of sanctity from their exile. The Torah alludes to this when it writes: ולמלואים, i.e. "to make them fill their original places." The word למלואים refers to the original place assigned to the sparks of sanctity which descended into chaos before G'd created order in the physical universe. The words ולזבח השלמים refer to the sparks of sanctity which descended into the clutches of the spiritually negative forces rampant in our world after Adam's sin. The expression זבח in this connection reminds us of Psalms 50,23: זובח תודה יכבדני אראנו בישע אלוקים, "he who offers a thank-offering honours Me….and I will show him salvation." Sanhedrin 43 comments on this verse that the person the Psalmist refers to sacrifices his evil urge. Slaughtering, זובח, means vanquishing that which one slaughters. By vanquishing one's evil urge one can again isolate the realm of good which had been inextricably fused with the forces of evil while that soul had been in the clutches of Satan, i.e. of the evil urge. This is a tremendous spiritual accomplishment as commented upon by David in Psalms 109,22 who viewed himself as לבי חלל בקרבי, "my heart was slain inside of me." David refered to having killed the evil urge within him. This is a very great spiritual accomplishment but it cannot be achieved except through Torah as we mentioned when we quoted the Talmud in Kidushin 30. The Talmud there also quotes G'd as saying: "whereas I have created the evil urge within you I have also given you a remedy to overcome it, i.e. the Torah."

Why did the Torah repeat the words 'ויהיו כל הפקודים וגו' once more in verse 46 before proceeding to inform us of the total number? It is possible that the first time the word ויהיו occurs it refers to the number, whereas the second time the word refers to the קיום of these people, i.e. that they all remained alive (did not die except at the command of G’d). There was a need for this blessing as the evil eye exerts its influence on all matters which have undergone counting. This is also why, during the Torah’s report of the six days of creation, the word ויהי is used again and again to act as a counterweight to the power of the evil eye. The word ויהי in connection with what G’d created during those days means that He decreed that it should endure and not become extinct. When you look at Jeremiah 31,34-35 you will find that the prophet uses the word מהיות, to indicate the eternal existence of the Jewish people as comparable to the eternal existence of the universe G’d had created during those six days.

King Solomon compared the soul of a righteous person to אור, “a great light,” seeing that the soul provides spiritual light. It is derived directly from the celestial throne of glory. This light is not a derivative, but originates with G’d’s essence. By contrast, Solomon compared the soul of the wicked to a lamp, suggesting that it is merely a derivative, has no staying power of its own. It depends on oil and wick to keep it going. It is not a “self-starter.” As soon as either the oil supply fails or the wick develops some problem, the lamp is extinguished, i.e. the person dies. In other words, the body serves as the oil and wick of the soul of the wicked and it cannot survive the failure of his body. The reason is that the soul of the wicked does not derive his joy except from matters innately related to his body Although, technically speaking, a soul does not die, the punishment such a soul experiences may be far worse than death (compare author on Leviticus 18,29). Seeing the wicked person did not pursue the path of light but the path of darkness, the attribute of darkness will be applied to him. This is a kind of destruction of the soul, an ongoing process involving unending painful afflictions. Solomon stated this explicitly when he said in Proverbs 11,7: “when a wicked man dies his hopes perish.” Note that he did not say במות רשע, “when the wicked dies,” but במות אדם רשע, “when a wicked man dies.” The word אדם is meant to alert us that anyone who patterns his life after the attractions provided by what is earthly, אדמה, is considered a wicked individual. This is why, at the time of his death, he loses all the things he put his hopes in. After all, his hopes had focused only on matters of the body. He had not displayed any interest in matters spiritual, matters which should have been the prime concern of his soul. The word ידעך “will be extinguished,” is most appropriate to describe the demise of such a soul as it implies the cessation of light and constitutes the punishment of the sinful soul. We may consider that the word דעיכה does not describe a total extinction of light but rather that the soul in question no longer experiences the amount of light which would be appropriate for it. We find the word used in Job 18,5 where Bildod speaks of the light of the wicked failing, (ידעך), “in that the flame of his fire does not shine.” In other words the meaning of that word is not exactly the same as כבוי, which would be a total extinction of the light. Isaiah 43,17 supports our point. The prophet says: ישכבו בל יקומו דעכו, כפשתה כבו, “they lay down to rise no more as they were extinguished; quenched like a wick.” It appears that the prophet speaks of two successive stages of light going out, the last stage כבו being the absolute extinction of any light. However, in lauding the virtues of the righteous, Solomon mentions the word ישמח, “rejoice.” The righteous rejoices with the reward he receives for his righteousness. The expression שמחה is invariably applied to spiritual enjoyment due to the soul having attained new dimensions of Holy Spirit. Examples of such in Scripture are found in Psalms 104,31, ישמח ה' במעשיו, ”may the Lord rejoice in His works.” Another such example is found in Psalms 104,34 אנכי אשמח בו, “I will rejoice in Him (the Lord).” Seeing that the righteous serve the Lord joyfully while they are on earth they will enjoy an added degree of joy in the hereafter. There is yet another reason why Solomon compared the soul of the righteous to light; the reason is that the souls were created on the first of the six days of creation simultaneously with the original light. (Compare author’s commentary on Genesis 1,4). There is a specific verse speaking about the souls in Chronicles I 4,23: ”These were the potters who dwelled at Netaim and Gederah; they dwelled in the king’s service.” (According to Bereshit Rabbah 8,6 the reference is to the souls of the righteous in the proximity of the King of Kings, the Lord). These souls were meant to benefit from this light which was created on the first day. In that particular passage in Genesis the Torah spoke of five different categories of light; we also find the נפש, “soul” appearing under five different names they are: רוח, נשמה, נפש, חיה, יחידה. Concerning this relationship between light and soul, David said in Psalms 119,130: פתח דבריך יאיר מבין פתיים, “the words You inscribe give light and understanding to the simple;” our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 3,1 comment on this verse that the opening words of the verse i.e. פתח דברים mean that as soon as G’d opened His mouth light came forth. The message is that as soon as “G‘d opens His mouth,” illumination, wisdom emerges. When the Torah writes; “G’d said let there be light, and there was light,” the meaning is that that this light came forth from the original darkness. It was quite unlike light produced by man. When man produces light he lights one candle from another, i.e. he adds light from an existing source of light. This matter is clear from the Torah’s description that there was only darkness over the entire expanse of the “deep” (Genesis 1,2). Job 12,22 confirms this state of affairs; “He draws mysteries out of the darkness and brings obscurities to light.” Another verse along the same lines is found in Daniel 2,22: הוא גלא עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהירא עמה שרא, “He reveals deep and hidden things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells within Him.” The word עמיקתא, “hidden things,” are understood by our sages as a reference to the מעשה מרכבה, “the mystical dimensions of what goes on in the celestial regions.” The word וסתרתא, on the other hand, refers to the mysteries of the process of creation. Seeing that G’d produced light out of darkness, it is quite clear that He does not need man-made light (such as supplied by the Menorah in the Tabernacle). In Psalms 139,12 David spelled this out when he said: ”darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same.” [the author quotes more such verses which I omitted. Ed.] Although we have seen that G’d is certainly not in any need of light supplied by man He legislated that the Tabernacle, His residence, be lit up internally by means of the lampstand, מנורה.

We know that the name אלו-הים, with which the Torah describes G’d during the report of the creation of the universe describes Him as the king of the universe. This name is identified with the concept תשובה, another name for the emanation בינה. [In plain English, the attribute with which G’d created the universe is that which is active in the emanation בינה, the third emanation counting from the highest emanation, i.e. כתר, down. Ed.] We acknowledge this attribute especially on Rosh Hashanah, the “birthday” of the universe, (creation of man) and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when we conclude the third of the blessings in the עמידה prayer by saying המלך הקדוש, “the Holy King,” or המלך המשפט, “the King who dispenses justice,” instead of הא-ל הקדוש, “the Holy G’d,” or מלך אוהב צדקה ומשפט, “the King who loves righteousness and justice.” There is no King without a people or man that He can be King over. When the Torah reports G’d’s directive (Genesis 1,3) as יהי אור ויהי אור, “let there be light and there was light,” this light came into existence by means of the power of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth which is also known as אלו-הים. The repetition of the word אור in that directive and the report that it had been carried out, suggests that there were two kinds of light. You do not find the subject of the directive repeated when the Torah reports what G’d created on the other days. In the Torah’s report of the directives G’d issued concerning the other days you only find the expression ויהי כן to indicate that the universe had responded to G’d’s directive. You should realise that though the Torah appears to speak of two kinds of light, the meaning is not that there were actually two entirely different kinds of light. What is meant is that this light embodied two sources of power, of energy. One of these forces is essentially male, the other essentially female. The creation of the original light, however, was the product of a single source of energy, one which combines within it both male and female elements. This original light later on enabled the sun, the moon, and the stars to be derived from it and to be concretised. [The original light was independent of any physical matter, sunlight is not. It requires the sun, i.e. a physical body, in order to dispense it. Ed.]. I have explained this in my commentary on Genesis 1,14. The sun was endowed with the male properties of the original light, whereas the moon was endowed with the female properties of the original light.

Seeing that this Book is the fifth and last of the five Books of the Torah I want to explain to you the reason why the Torah has been divided into 5 separate Books and why the sequence is that which we find in front of us. You are aware already that although this fact has already been alluded to (Midrash on Genesis 1,3 on the words “let there be light”) these “Books” are essentially all closely tied to one another. The reason that the Torah commenced with the Book of Bereshit is that the record of the world coming into existence is a basic foundation of our faith. Without this knowledge the concept of G’d supervising and taking an interest in all life on earth would not exist and all of us would consider ourselves as being no more than “accidents” on earth. Once we have established that G’d the Creator takes an interest in what He has created, and especially in the human beings, it follows that there is such a thing as “reward and punishment.” Seeing that these concepts are critical to the Torah they have all become part of the Book of Genesis. The Book of Bereshit therefore had to include some basic commandments, else, the fact that a system of reward and punishment for obedience to the Creator exists could not be demonstrated. These commandments must include positive as well as negative commandments. As far as the reward for observing the commandments is concerned, the expulsion of Adam from Gan Eden illustrates punishment on a personal level, whereas the deluge demonstrates punishment on a collective level. Noach’s being saved demonstrates reward on a personal level. The prediction of both this reward and punishment demonstrated to both the victims and the survivors that G’d must be Master of the universe, i.e. of nature, ergo its Creator. What befell the people concerned proved that He (unlike a painter who completes a painting) did not sit back and leave His universe to self-destruct but made sure that it would endure (even while allowing man free will). After conclusion of the Book of Bereshit, the second Book of the Torah commencing with the names of the sons of Yaakov is the corollary of the story of the patriarchs who imbued their descendants with this faith in G’d and His Justice. Once a person possesses faith in the fact that G’d was the Creator, it is only a small step to believe that He is Unique, and the Only G’d. The second Book of the Torah which contains so many examples of the Uniqueness of the Creator, and His revealing Himself to the people of Israel is a natural sequence to the Book of Bereshit. The Book Vayikra, the Book dealing with the sacrificial service, follows next seeing that the sacrifices represent the bringing closer together and unifying the various forces in this universe until they ultimately reach the Original Cause. The righteous person succeeds in unifying these apparently different and heterogeneous forces through his devotions. Once the unifying force of these sacrifices has been demonstrated the next Book is that of Bamidbar Sinai which contains the story of Eretz Yisrael. It is the logical corollary of the Book of Vayikra, to point out that the sacrificial legislation applies only to the land of Israel. As soon as the Israelites had received the Torah, and the legislation concerning the sacrifices, they were meant to proceed directly to the land of Israel. Had it not been for the sin committed by the spies (and the people who accepted their estimate of their situation), the people’s progress would not have been delayed for 40 years by their wandering in the desert. After the Book of Bamidbar has been concluded and the people’s unity with G’d had been restored we come to the fifth Book, אלה הדברים. Seeing that the principal residence of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael was not the period during which the two Temples stood, but commences only with the final redemption which is not followed by another period of exile, the Torah wanted to conclude with a Book in which the ultimate redemption is discussed or alluded to. This will be an event comparable to a renewal of the universe itself (compare author’s comments on Deut. 30,3). This event will represent the true purpose and culmination of the creation of the universe, i.e. essentially another Book of Bereshit.

ויאמר אסתירה פני מהם, “He said: ‘I will hide My face from them.’” I have already mentioned in Genesis 1,3 that the term אמירה, i.e. ויאמר, when applied to G’d reflects a benevolent kind of utterance or thought [when it was not uttered in someone’s hearing such as at the time when there were no creatures as yet who could hear the utterance. Ed.]. We may understand the words אסתירה פני as 'אסתיר ה', “I will hide the attribute ה which is “My face.”

The fact that the quails were something extant in the terrestrial part of the world is the reason the Torah did not apply to its becoming available the word ותהי, which always refers to the coming into existence of something new (a derivative of what we previously described as the אור עליון, a light in the celestial regions), but wrote only ותעל, the same word used to describe the sudden manifestation of the frogs (Exodus 8,2). When describing the major miracle of the arrival of the manna from the celestial regions the Torah considered it appropriate to use wording normally reserved for the six days of G’d’s creative activity, i.e. היתה, “it had come into existence.” When the original light materialised the Torah also described this by using the verb הוה, by writing יהי אור, ויהי אור.

ונסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד, “and a drink-offering of one quarter hin wine for the one sheep.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes that as soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation the deputy High Priest would wave the flag-like cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. A the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the assembled people would bow down and after every section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the burnt-offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid 7,3). The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1 as that psalm dealt with aspects of the creation of the universe, recalling that everything had been void and empty before. The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד to commemorate the directive “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse 4 of that psalm the separation between different levels of holiness is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the Azarah, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah speaks of separation between upper and lower waters (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse 4 of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible (Genesis 1,9). This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they sat in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah (G’d) also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day i.e. psalm 94, which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to the people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81 which amongst other matters deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea-monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21). On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendor. It was the day that man, the most perfect of the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even nature, i.e. was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on the different days of the week. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.

It is important to understand a very important saying found in the Sefer HaBahir (item 16, Margolies edition) on this subject. Rabbi Rechumai is quoted as saying the fact that light was created before the universe was created is documented in Genesis 1,3 where G’d said: “let there be light and there was light.” G’d’s advisors said to G’d: “before You create Your son Israel (or man) make a crown for him.” G’d responded positively. He said to them that the matter was comparable to a king who was very anxious to have a son. He found a beautiful crown whose beauty he praised by saying: “this crown will be fit for my son.” They said to him: “does he know that the son will be worthy of such a crown?” The king retorted (angrily) ‘be silent,’ this is what I have in mind.” To this they applied the verse from Samuel II 14,14 which we quoted that “He made plans so that no one may be kept banished.” Thus far the quotation from Sefer HaBahir. The saying is an illustration of the חסד of the Lord Who created a mechanism designed to forestall the permanent loss of a Jewish soul. This idea is spelled out in Sahedrin 90 where the Talmud states that all Israelites are entitled to a share in the world to come. In support of this the Talmud quotes Isaiah 60,21 “and Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for all times. They are the shoot I planted, My handiwork in which I glory.” Solomon referred to this mystical dimension when he said (Kohelet 1,9) “whatever has been that shall be, etc.” He also said: “a generation departs and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever the same” (Kohelet 1,4). Had Solomon meant what the superficial reader believes he meant he should have said: “a generation comes and a generation departs, etc.” The fact that he employed the reverse sequence, i.e. speaking of those who have departed the earth as if they had never made an appearance on earth first, indicates that he refers to the dead who will be reincarnated in order to ensure that no one will be lost permanently. In fact, the word דור used by Solomon, a word we usually translate as “generation” is closely related to כדור, “ball, globe,” i.e. something that has neither end nor beginning. The word indicates that the people of whom Solomon speaks will resurface at a time when it pleases the Lord.

כל העושה בו מלאכה יומת, “anyone performing (forbidden) work on it will be executed.” This line is immediately followed by the prohibition of lighting a fire on the Sabbath. It is possible to interpret these two verses as examples of forbidden work on the Sabbath. First the Torah prohibits the performance of certain categories of activities called מלאכה; the Torah describes the lighting of fire as an example of such a forbidden category of activity. The expression מלאכה applies primarily to activities connected to the building of the Tabernacle which are forbidden to be performed on the Sabbath. This is the reason the Torah does not speak here of כל מלאכה, “any manner of work,” as it does on other occasions when the work-prohibition on the Sabbath is mentioned (compare Exodus 20,10). Following the prohibition to perform such work on the Sabbaths during which the construction of the Tabernacle was in progress, the Torah goes on to prohibit such activities on the Sabbath for all future generations also. This is the meaning of the additional words בכל מושבותיכם, “in all your dwellings” (as opposed to G’d’s “dwelling’). The example of lighting a fire is merely representative of all the other categories of activity which are prohibited on the Sabbath. Making fire is an appropriate example of basic human activity seeing that most of the principal activities we are engaged in cannot be performed satisfactorily if one were not able or allowed to make fire. This is the reason that the sages instituted the benediction over fire during the הבדלה ritual at the end of the Sabbath to signify that this crucial activity (as well as other activities) which was prohibited on the Sabbath is once again permitted. Fire, i.e. light, was the first of the activities G’d engaged in when creating the universe (Genesis 1,2). The ritual known as הבדלה comprises a total of four benedictions (wine, fragrances, fire/light, and the benediction reminding us of the difference between the holy and the profane). This number corresponds to the letters in the holy name of the Lord, the tetragrammaton. The benediction over wine is alluded to in Genesis 1,1 in the word הארץ, a reference to Gan Eden. The grape vine was one of the trees in that garden. The benediction over the fragrances is also alluded to in the word רוח אלו-הים, “the spirit (whiff) of the Lord” in the same verse. Fragrance is central to wind, i.e. the wind carries the fragrance, the odor. It represents the air man breathes through his nostrils, the organ of smell. Finally, fire is represented in that same verse we quoted from Genesis 1,2 where the word “light” has a dual connotation, also meaning “fire,” i.e. the source of warmth. In the ritual of the הבדלה we refer to the whole concept of fire and light as a separation between light and dark.

I believe that there is a common denominator between the creatures of the atmosphere and those of the element fire, seeing that in introducing them the Torah used the expression אלה, “these,” and ואלה, “and these,” respectively (compare 11,13 and 11,31). The very word אלה has a spiritual connotation as it is the singular of the word אלה-ים. The last two letters in the word אלהים are simply plural ending. What the Torah alludes to by using the word אלה in connection with the creatures whose habitat is the atmosphere or fire is that both these two elements are devoid of substance, not really tangible. This is the reason that they appear so often in connection with the word אלהים. The idea is that the less tangible something is the closer it is to celestial domains rather than terrestrial domains. The word אלה occurred when the people who asked the Israelites to worship the golden calf said: אלה אלוהיך ישראל,”these” are your gods o Israel, a call to idolatry. You are no doubt familiar with certain nations who worship fire and wind respectively. They do so because they realise the lack of physical substance of both of these elements. By serving them they hope to benefit by increased success and good fortune.

A Midrashic approach (based on Bereshit Rabbah 3,3). The words שמחה לאיש which Solomon speaks about in Proverbs 15,23 are a reference to G’d, seeing G’d (the Lord) is described as ה' איש מלחמה, “The Lord is a man of war” (Exodus 15,3), similarly, the expression במענה פיו, “with the expression of his mouth,” refers to the timing of G’d saying: “let there be light and it was light” (Genesis 1,3). The words ודבר בעתו מה טוב, “and how good is a word spoken at its appropriate time,” reflect what the Torah said “G’d saw the light and it was good,” i.e. He had given the directive at precisely the right time, [having waited 974 generations for that moment according to our tradition. Ed.] Thus far the Midrash.

A kabbalistic approach: The three years during which consumption of fruit during the first three years is forbidden correspond to the (three highest) emanations, כתר, חכמה, בינה. which are lumped together as one as we have no clear understanding of their workings. This concept corresponds to the period preceding creation of light, a period described in the Torah as tohu vavohu vachoshech, (Genesis 1,2) something which we also cannot fathom exactly with our minds. The fourth year of the tree yielding fruit corresponds to the emanation גבורה, (nowadays known as דין); this corresponds to what the Torah describes as “the spirit of G’d hovering over the expanse of the water,” {Genesis 1,3). This was a period not completely hidden from our ability to comprehend but also not completely revealed, made accessible to our faculties to comprehend. As a result, the Torah demands some form of פדיון, “redemption,” i.e. a process by which that which is beyond our normal capacities is made accessible before we may treat such produce as completely secular, “natural.” The fifth year corresponds to the era commencing with the creation of light, the first part of our material world. As pointed out on earlier occasions the word אור, “light” appears five times in the Torah’s report about its creation. The fifth year of a fruit-bearing tree is compared to the era of world history ushered in with the creation of light. The Torah alludes to this by writing of the fifth year להוסיף לכם תבואתו, with the letter ה added at the end [instead of the letter ו as is the spelling in our versions of the Torah, the pronoun ו “its” referring to the masculine word עץ in verse 23. The author views the letter ה which we do not have and which would be a grammatical inconsistency as an allusion to the five times the word אור, “light,” appears at the beginning of Genesis. Ed.]. In order to remind us of the relationship between the emanations and this legislation the Torah mentions the word ערלה three times in verse 23. In other words, each one of these three first years symbolizes a different concept.

AND HE SAID — “that is, and G-d said in His heart, or to the angels. I WILL HIDE MY FACE FROM THEM. This expression is according to the language of man; so also, I will hide Mine eyes from you. (Isaiah 1:15.) And the meaning thereof is that when they will seek Me they will not find Me. I WILL SEE WHAT THEIR END SHALL BE. Some scholars say: ‘I will hide My face from them because I see what they will do in the end.’ But the correct interpretation is as its simple implication: ‘[I will hide My face] until I will see what they do in their distress.’” Thus far are the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. Now the word vayomer (and He said) applies only to the thought and the will before Him to do so, [rather than to an actual statement], similar to the expression and G-d said (Genesis 1:3.) in the account of Creation. I have already explained it. (Ibid. (Vol. I, pp. 27-28).) I have also explained the expression My face by way of the Truth. (Exodus 20:3 (Vol. II, pp. 290-291).) Thus, I will hide My face means that I will remove My Divine Presence. I will see what their end shall be is similar to I will go down now, and see, (Genesis 18:21.) which I have already explained. (Ibid., Verse 20 (Vol. I, pp. 243-245).) For they are a generation of perversity (In Verse 20 before us.) and they will not be able to stand up before Me. Children in whom is no ‘eimun’ (training), (In Verse 20 before us.) for they have no nurse nor tutor. The person learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand. (See Ramban to Leviticus 26:42 (Vol. III, p. 475): “Ask on my behalf about the welfare of she who raises them” (Abusaula).) Now, up to this point Moses utters the Song and speaks in the first person. From this verse onward, wherein he mentioned, And the Eternal saw, and spurned, (Verse 19.) And He said: ‘I will hide My face’ (In Verse 20 before us.) — they are all the words of the Glorious Name: (Above, 28:58.) They have roused Me to jealousy; (Verse 21.) they have provoked Me, (Verse 21.) and similarly the entire Song [to the end].

AND THEY SHALL NO MORE SACRIFICE THEIR SACRIFICES ‘LA’SE’IRIM’ AFTER WHOM THEY GO ASTRAY. “La’se’irim means ‘unto the demons.’ Similarly it states, ‘u’se’irim’ (and demons) shall dance there.” (Isaiah 13:21.) This is Rashi’s language, derived from the Torath Kohanim. (Torath Kohanim, Acharei 9:8.) Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that “the demons are so called [se’irim, a word which is connected with sei’ar, meaning ‘hair’], because on seeing them a person’s hair stands up on his body. But it is likely that they are called se’irim [a word which also means ‘goats’], because mentally deranged persons see them in the form of goats. And the word ‘more’ [in the verse before us, and they shall no ‘more’ sacrifice …] indicates that the Israelites used to do so in Egypt. After whom they go astray denotes that whoever seeks after them and believes in them ‘goes astray’ from his G-d, since he thinks that there is a power that can cause good or evil apart from the Glorious and Fearful Name.” [Thus far the words of Ibn Ezra.] Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has indeed hinted at the truth concerning the word “more,” as I have written above. (Above, 16:8 [beginning with the paragraph: “And this is the secret of the matter. They used to worship etc.”].) The name se’irim will also be made clear to you there. They are also called sheidim [“demons,” as Rashi interpreted here — a word which is connected with shodad, meaning “devastate, despoil, ruin”], because they dwell in “devastated” places, such as the desert, and their principal habitat is in the far corners [of the earth], such as the northern extremity of the earth which is wasteland on account of the cold climate. Know that just as the formation at the original Creation of man’s body as well as that of all living creatures, vegetation and minerals, was from the four elements, (Fire, water, earth, and air. See Vol. I, p. 26. These basic elements were first created by G-d, and out of a combination of them. He made man, etc.) which were combined by Divine power to form material bodies which as a result of their thickness and coarseness could be perceived by the five senses, (Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.) even so there was a creation from only two elements, fire and air, resulting in a body which cannot be felt, nor perceived by any of the [five] senses, just as the soul of an animal cannot be perceived by human senses because of its delicacy. The body [of these creatures of two elements] is of a spiritual nature; on account of its delicacy and lightness it can fly through fire and air. And just as the combination of the four elements in any object is the cause of its existence and its destruction [since everything that is composite must ultimately revert to its original components], (See Ramban on Genesis 2:17, Vol. I, p. 75.) so is it with these beings created from a combination of only two elements; when the elements combine, the creature lives, and when they separate [decompose], it is like the dead. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have said: (Chagigah 16 a.) “Six characteristics have been said of sheidim, in three they are comparable to the ministering angels and in three to human beings. The three things in which they are comparable to the ministering angels are that they have wings, they fly, and they know what is about to happen, as do the ministering angels. [On this statement the Gemara asked:] ‘How can it enter your mind to say that the sheidim know the future [when even the ministering angels do not know it]! Say rather thus: They hear [from behind the Curtain of heaven] what is about to happen.’ The three things in which they are comparable to human beings are that they eat and drink, procreate, and die as do human beings.” (Ramban now begins to explain the text quoted on the basis of certain scientific concepts that were prevalent in his times. A prefatory word is in place. The serious student will not look upon these concepts with an eye for criticism. The theory that the whole physical world is founded upon various combinations of four elements, was an Aristotelian legacy which ruled man’s minds for a millenium. The extension of that theory into the elusive world of the spirit was logical. That scientists today have moved to other theories to explain the universe and the various phenomena of life, has no bearing upon the explanations which were accepted in the past, for who can foretell what knowledge will do to “the established truths” of today? The important thing in Ramban’s presentation of this whole obstruse subject is his final conclusion that only G-d in His Providence exercises power over man’s destiny.) Now the cause of death generally is the separation [decomposition] of the components of the body, this being true of all kinds of bodies [whether they are composed of the four elements like humans or of only two, like sheidim]. The reason for their ability to fly is because of the lightness of the [two] elements [fire and air] of which they are composed, as may also be seen in the case of a fowl, in which, because the elements of fire and air dominate over the small parts of the other two elements [earth and water], the fowl can hover in the air and fly [although it is composed of all four elements]. Surely, then, the above-mentioned creatures that have nothing in them of the heavy elements [earth and water], possess great hovering power in the air, to be able to fly tirelessly. The matter of “eating” [mentioned above in connection with these creatures] means their deriving nourishment from the moisture of water and the odors of fire, something like the fire that licked up the water that was in the trench. (I Kings 18:38.) This is the purpose of the burnings which necromancers perform to the demons. The reason [for their need to “eat”] is that the fire in the air causes the drying up of their bodies, which must therefore be restored just as man’s need for food is due to depletion in his body. As for that which has been said concerning their “hearing what is about to happen,” it is because in the course of their flying on high they become aware of things that are about to happen from the powerful forces contained in the atmosphere, these being “the princes of the quiver.” (A reference to the forces involved in the movement of the constellations. See my Hebrew commentary p. 96.) It is also from there that “those who have wings tell matters” (The expression is based on Ecclesiastes 10:20: For a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.) of the future, as has been tested by enchanters, (See Maimonides’ “The Commandments,” Vol. II, pp. 30-35.) and as I will explain in its place (Deuteronomy 18:9.) with the help of G-d. But neither of them know what is to happen for many days to come and for times that are far off; (Ezekiel 12:27.) but they can only inform of that which is to happen in the near future, as we know from their encounters [i.e., those of enchanters], that they gain knowledge from the sheidim as to what has been decreed to come. Therefore Onkelos rendered the verse, They sacrificed unto demons, ‘lo eloha’ (no gods), (Deuteronomy 32:17.) as “they sacrificed unto demons in which there is no utility,” meaning that there is no need for them, as they do not prevent harm that is destined to come, neither do they do anything productive, nor do they inform of times far off so that a person may knowingly guard himself. It is this which is the sense of the expression, lo eloha, (Deuteronomy 32:17.) which is as if it said, “no power or rulership,” for the word Elokim is an expression of strength and power, [a composite word consisting of the words] e-il heim. (See Ramban, Genesis 1:3 (Vol. I, p. 25) where he explains the name to mean: e-il (Force), heim (they), the word “they” alluding to all other forces. Thus Elokim means “the Force of all forces.”) Thus the verse is stating that demons have no strength or power whatsoever, and hence there is no need for them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. (Jeremiah 10:5.)

The commencement of Your words enlightens The beginning of your words enlightened the heart of Israel, that You understated the simple, by Your statement (Exod. 20:2): “I am...Who took you out.” You let them know the favor that You did for them—that You acquired them from the house of bondageto know that You are their Master, and they should accept Your kingdom upon themselves. (Exod. 20:3): “You shall not have another god, etc.” and afterwards You made Your decrees (Cf. Mechilta ad loc.). Another explanation: The commencement of Your words enlightens The beginning of Your words in the Creation was (Gen. 1:3): “Let there be light.”

Our sages said that the Holy One created the world in three ways: for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His path” [Proverbs, 8:22], for the sake of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple, which is called first, because the Temple was created before the world. The third is that the world was created for the sake of charity and tithes, which are called “the first fruits of your new grain” [Deuteronomy, 18:4]. (Genesis Rabbah, 1.4.) Since the first verse of the Torah alludes to the Temple, it also shows us how it will be destroyed. (Genesis Rabbah, 2.5.) That is why it says, “and the earth was desolate and unformed” [Genesis, 1:2]. The earth will be desolate, since the Shekhinah will depart after the destruction [of the Temple]. (B. Yoma, 21b.) Therefore, God said, “and the spirit of God hovered over the waters” [Genesis, 1:2]. This shows us that when we will be in exile, the Torah will not leave us and we will also have the Torah in exile. (Bahya, Genesis, 1:2.) Therefore, it also says, “God said, let there be light” [Genesis, 1:3]. This shows us that at the end of the exile the Holy One will create light for us and will send us the Messiah, concerning whom it is written, “Arise, shine, for your light has dawned” [Isaiah, 60:1]. This means, come arise and illumine us with your light. This passage teaches us that the Holy One tells Israel what will happen and that the world was created for the sake of the Messiah. (B. Sanhedrin, 98b.)

[75] In other ways also it is easy to discern this by a process of reasoning.  In the first place: God is light, for there is a verse in one of the psalms, “the Lord is my illumination and my Saviour” (Ps. 27[28]:1). And He is not only light, but the archetype of every other light, nay, prior to and high above every archetype, holding the position of the model of a model. For the model or pattern was the Word which contained all His fullness—light, in fact ; for, as the lawgiver tells us, “God said, ‘let light come into being’ ” (Gen. 1:3), whereas He Himself resembles none of the things which have come into being.

A noble panegyric for the just man. In the first place, because with an ingenuous mind and a purpose full of affection towards God he performed, not a part of what he had been commanded, but the whole of God's commands. But the second is the more true expression, because he does not choose so much to command as to order him; for masters command their slaves, but friends order friends, and especially elder friends order younger ones. Therefore it is a marvellous gift to be found even in the rank of servants, and in the list of ministers of God; and it is a superabundant excess of kindness for any one to be a beloved friend to the most glorious Uncreated Essence. Moreover, the sacred writer has here carefully employed both names, the Lord God, as declaratory of his superior powers of destroying and benefiting, using the word Lord first, and placing the name God, giving the idea of beneficence, second; since it was a time of judgment let the name which is the indication of his destroying power come first. But still, as he is a kind and merciful king, he leaves as relics the seminal elements by which the vacant places may be replenished, for which reason, at the fist beginning of the account of the creation, the expression, "Let there be," was not an exterminating act of power, but a beneficent one. Therefore, at the creation, he changed the appellations and use of names; but as the name God is an indication of his beneficent power, the sacred writer has more frequently employed that in his account of the creation of the universe, but after everything was perfected then he called him Lord, in reference to the creation itself, for this name betokens royal power and the ability to destroy; since, where the act of generation is God is used first in order, but when punishment is spoken of the name Lord is placed before the name God.

All of these are derived from the Torah: Heaven and earth, as it is written: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Tohu and vohu, as it is written: “And the earth was unformed and void [tohu vavohu]” (Genesis 1:2). Light and darkness; darkness, as it is written: “And darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2); light, as it is written: “And God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Wind and water, as it is written: “And the wind of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The length of day and the length of night, as it is written: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).

He said to them: Was the light created first, or was the darkness created first? They said to him: This matter has no solution, as the verses do not indicate an answer. The Gemara asks: But let them say to him that the darkness was created first, as it is written: “Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2), and only then does it state: “And God said: Let there be light. And there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Why did they not say that the darkness was created first?

I look at the earth, It is unformed and void; At the skies, And their light is gone.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host.

Elohim said, Let there be light. and there was light.

And Allah willed that there should be light, and then there was light.

And the Lord said, Let there be light and to enlighten above; and at once there was light.

And God said: Let there be light, and there was light as he commanded.

And this is, “His heart was good”—”good” is nothing other than light, as in (Genesis 1:4), “Then God saw that the light was good.” Thus, “He ate and drank, and his heart was good.” His eating and drinking came from a shining and illumination of the letters of the Thirty-two Elohim contained in the meal which he ate.

Moreover it is written (Exodus 2:2), “She saw that he was good”—for he was born circumcised (Shemot Rabbah 1:20). And “good” is nothing other than light, as in (Genesis 1:4), “God saw the light [that it was good]” (Shemot Rabbah, ibid.). This corresponds to “But upon you God shines,” the aspect of the “crimson thread.”

And this is the meaning of “There will be one day, known to God” (Zechariah 14:7). There will be a revelation of the love, which is called “day,” as in, “Daily God commands His lovingkindness.” This refers to the inner Torah, which was hidden. As is written (Genesis 1:4), “God saw that the light was good,” and our Sages taught: It is good to hide it away (Chagigah 12a), because the world does not deserve to benefit from the light of this Torah. And the Torah is called good, as it is said (Proverbs 4:2), “For I have given you good instruction, [do not forsake my Torah].” It is also called light, as is written (Proverbs 6:23), “and the Torah is a light.”

Contentment corresponds to “You have wrapped Yourself in light as in a cloak.” This is the aspect of light that is full. But the wicked, who have no contentment, in the aspect of “but the belly of the wicked [always] lacks,” for them the me’orot (light) is lacking, corresponding to (Proverbs 3:33), “The me’eirat (curse) of God is on the house of the wicked.” The righteous, however, who do possess the quality of contentment, in the aspect of “A righteous man eats to satiate himself,” for them the light is full. This is in the aspect of (Genesis 1:4), “The Lord saw that the light was good”—“good” is nothing other than the righteous person, as it is said, “Say of the righteous man that he is good” (Isaiah 3:10) .

When one attains expanded consciousness, it is the aspect of “Then the eyes of both of them were opened” (Genesis 3:7)—and Rashi comments: This refers to wisdom. For [judgments] are mitigated primarily by means of wisdom, expanded consciousness: that is, knowledge of the Torah. Thus the Torah is called light, {as in “Torah is a light” (Proverbs 6:23)}. It is also written (Genesis 1:4), “Then God saw that the light was good”—and “good” is nothing other than the Torah (Berakhot 5a). In other words, the Torah corresponds to light, the opposite of darkness, which is the aspect of judgment. For knowledge of Torah mitigates the judgment, as explained above.

This means, the light of the L–rd, the En Sof, blessed is He, which radiates with a great illumination above in the upper worlds [which are the hechalot with the angels and souls in them, explained in the sacred Zohar (Zohar I:38a ff.; ibid., 41a ff.; II:244b ff.) by their names according to their places in the order of prayer arranged for us by the Men of the Great Assembly] is in a state of so great and immense a manifestation that these (supernal creatures) are truly in a state of self-nullification and esteemed as truly naught before Him, absorbed in His light, blessed be He. Now, this light, which is good, (Par. Genesis 1:4.) radiates from there to this lowly world, upon those that fear the L–rd and esteem His Name, who desire to worship Him by the “service of the heart—meaning prayer,” (Sifrei, Deuteronomy 42 (on Deuteronomy 11:13); Taanit 2a.) and as it is written (II Samuel 22:29 (Psalms 18:29).) : “And the L–rd will enlighten my darkness.”

וירא אלוקים את האור, “G-d saw the light;” the meaning of the word: וירא in this verse is that He contemplated, understood the impact that this light had made. In other words, this was “seeing” with one’s heart; we find the verb ראה used in this sense also in Exodus 12,13, where G-d is described as “‏וראיתי את הדם,” “When I take note of the blood” (on the entrance of the homes of the Israelites”); we find it used again use in that sense in Exodus 33,12, as well as in Kohelet 2,17. Even though everything in the past present and the future is “visible” to the Lord, it is impossible to explain the word here in the usual sense of seeing with one’s eyes.

ויבדל אלוקים, “G-d made a distinction;” this referred to the earliest point in time that was possible, i.e. on the fourth day, (1,18) after the luminaries had been created. We find a similar example of when the Torah reports something as the ultimate purpose before it could be carried out when the Torah describes G-d as having created man as “male and female” (1,28) זכר ונקבה ברא אותם, although the Torah had not yet told us that G-d took part of Adam’s body to create woman. (2,22) In both instances the Torah reveals G-d‘s ultimate purpose already when it reports G-d as having made the first step in that process. Some commentators understand the word ויבדל as telling us that G-d already named the result of what He did in advance by naming it “day” and “night,” respectively. (verse 5)

And God saw, etc.: It is not that He did not know before it came to be that it would be good, as he [then] saw after it came to be. But rather also in this did He come to establish the nature [of things], that seeing is better than intellectual belief and understanding of a matter; so much so, that they stated about Moshe in Shemot Rabbah, that Moshe, our teacher, was not energized when the Holy One, blessed be He, said that the Jews had made a calf like [he was] afterwards when he saw [it] with his eyes. Even though it wasn't considered a doubt for him before he saw it; but this is the nature [of things], that seeing with the eyes is more effective than intellectual processes. And here, the Omnipresent, may He be blessed, implanted it into nature in the story of creation, when He saw afterwards that this is how it was.

The light: And it is not written like in every [other] section, "and God saw that it was good." Since there are two understandings of the phrase, "that it was good:" A) That the thing was good for the goal for which it was needed. Even though its main purpose is not for a good goal, nonetheless according to what is needed, the thing is good; B) It is really good. And behold, in all of the creation, there are several things that are not good, like types of pests, but the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that for the sake of the creation, it was necessary that it be this way. But light is definitively good. So much, that [it is said about] any good thing that it is light, as it is found (in Ta'anit 7 and Bereshit Rabbah 26), every [time the word,] light is mentioned with Eliyahu, the verse is speaking about rain. And that is because [rain] brings good to the world. (And Ramban in the beginning of Parshat Miketz gives a forced explanation of the matter.) And so, all success is referred to as a 'bright day' and the lack of success, darkness of night.' To the point where the poet made [it] a metaphor and said (Psalms 121:6), At day, the sun does not dim and the moon at night. And later (Genesis 28:15), we explained that the intention is about the time of success and its lack. And this is the expression of Scripture [that tells us] that the Omnipresent saw that light was intrinsically good.

And God separated between the light and the darkness: The meaning of separation has two understandings: A) A partition that separates between two things that are the same or different; B) A spiritual separation between two things - that appear to the human eye to be the same - like the separation between a day that is holy and [one that is] profane, since according to how it appears, what is the difference between one day and the next? Or the separation between [something] pure and impure, and many others. And here it should not be explained in the second way. Since light and darkness are anyway different to our sight, and are the opposite of each other. But rather [it should be explained] in the first [way], that he made a screen to separate. Which means [that this screen is found] in the time that is not light and not darkness. And so the Omnipresent, may He be blessed, implanted that the darkness should not come immediately after the light; but rather that the light should diminish continuously until it becomes dark. And behold, we find in Scripture that sometimes it is written "that separates this from that," and sometimes it is written that "separates between this and that." Meaning that where there is not, in the matter of the separation, an attenuated version of this and that, it is written, "from." And where there is an attenuated version of this and that, in the matter of the separation, it is written, "between this and that." (And see Exodus 8:19 and Exodus 26:33 and in several places, and so is it in every place, by the will of the Highest, may He be blessed.) And here it is according to our words; that the hour that separates them is sometimes closer to the light and sometimes closer to the darkness. And so is the nature of creation in all things that are deemed light and darkness, that there is a [gradual] distinction between them. And in this way man is able to tolerate the difference, according to the way of nature.

AND GOD SAW THE LIGHT. “Saw” is to be understood here as perceived. Compare, Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly (Ecclesiastes 2:13). (I.E’s proof text may be Dan. 10:7, viz., And I Daniel alone saw the vision. I.E. reads, and I saw.)

The meaning of divided is: He divided them by naming one, day and the other, night. (God divided light from darkness by giving each a name. This verse doesn’t speak of a physical division. Thus verse 5 explains how God divided the light from the darkness (Filwarg).)

The light: has a numerical equivalent (gematria) of 'in the Torah' and adds up to six hundred and thirteen (the traditional numerical sum of the Torah's commandments).

Et haohr ki tov (the light, that it was good): The last letters [of which] form the acronym, brit (covenant). And God saw the light that it was good and He separated: From here [we learn], that we do not make a blessing on the candle [at the Havdalah (separation) service] until we derive use from its light; and [that last phrase] adds up to the numerical equivalent of 'and He separated - we separate during the year at the end of the Shabbats.'

וירא אלוקים את האור כי טוב, “G’d saw the light that it was good, etc.” According to the plain meaning of this verse, the word וירא, “He saw,” means that G’d approved of what He saw and decreed that it should endure. In Talmudic Hebrew we find the word ראה, “he saw,” as a sign of approval such as when the Talmud says in Ketuvot 109 רואה אני את דברי אדמון, “I approve of the words of the sage called Admon.” You will find that these words are attributed to G’d on every day of the creation, i.e. He surveyed what had developed and approved of it. G’d decreed permanence for each of the phenomena or creatures which had come into existence. If G’d’s goodwill would depart from these phenomena even briefly they would turn back into nothingness. This is why He sealed the entire creative process (Genesis 1,31) with the words והנה טוב מאד “and here it was very good.” These words expressed G’d’s desire that the universe would endure. As to the additional words ואת האור in our verse instead of merely the words וירא אלוקים כי טוב, they were needed as otherwise we would have thought that the words כי טוב referred to the creation of heaven and earth instead of to the creation of light. G’d did not yet decree that heaven and earth should endure seeing they were incomplete and only on the second day did the separation of heaven and earth occur when the רקיע,”firmament” was created to divide between them. Finally, on the third day, the upper waters and the waters in the lower regions were separated. This completed the process of creating heaven and earth. At that point G’d decreed that they should endure and He said: “it was good.” Looking at our verse from an homiletical point of view, the question is: what did G’d see now, i.e. something new, which He had not been aware of previously? Answer: He saw that this light was not fit for the wicked in this world to make use of; as a result He decided to hide it for future use by the righteous in the world to come . A kabbalistic approach to our verse yields the following insight. The words את האורwere meant to include something that Rabbi Akiva achieved when he “descended into the “Pardes,” regions of enquiry into the mysteries of the universe. He was the only person to emerge intellectually unharmed and physically intact from such studies as we know from Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1,28 as well as Chagigah 15. It is also possible that these words were meant to convey that the souls were created simultaneously with this light. This idea is hinted at in Job 38,19: איזה הדרך ישכן אור, “which path leads to where light dwells?” And it says also (verse 21 there) “Surely You know for you were born then, and the number of your years is many.” [Nachmanides explains these verses in the manner our author understands them. Rabbi Chavell.]

ויבדל אלוקים בין האור ובין החשך G’d separated between the light and the darkness.” According to the plain meaning, the word חשך here refers to the absence of light. It is not the same as the “darkness” which we discussed earlier in connection with the words “the darkness was on the face of the deep (1,2).” We had described that particular brand of darkness as “fire.” The Torah does not mention the words כי טוב “that it was good,” in connection with the second day. On the third day however, when G’d completed what He had done with the water the Torah mentions the word טוב, “good” twice; the first time the word refers to completion of the creative directives associated with the waters, the second time to express G’d’s satisfaction with the progress achieved on that day itself. My question concerning this is: Why should the fact that the directives concerning the water on earth had not yet been completed cause the Torah omit to mention that what had been achieved was “good?” Seeing that the skies, as well as the angels had been completed on that day the Torah should have described this as “good?” G’d should have decreed that these phenomena should endure, just as He had in connection with the accomplishments on the first day! None of these achievements appear inferior to the ones which were deemed as deserving to endure as soon as they had been created! I believe that the absence of the word טוב at this juncture is potent proof for the argument that this “lower” terrestrial universe represents G’d’s main purpose in creating the universe. As long as the Jewish people perform the will of G’d, observe what is written in the Torah, our domain is the principal arena of the universe Even though G’d had completed creation of the angels already on the second day, that day was not distinguished by the description “good” being applied to it. Nothing in the celestial regions qualified for permanence until the waters in the terrestrial world had been separated from the dry land when G’d gave that directive on the third day and said: יקוו המים מתחת השמים אל מקום אחד ותראה היבשה “let the waters which are below the heaven congregate in one area so that the dry land becomes visible.” Once this directive had been carried out, the heaven, i.e. the celestial regions, qualified for permanence. At that point the Torah saw fit to describe the creation of the celestial regions as being “good.” Our sages summarise their commentary on this paragraph in Bereshit Rabbah 5,7 as follows: “seeing the work involving the waters had not yet been completed, because it had not been completed in the terrestrial regions, the Torah did not want to mention that the creation of the celestial regions was “good.” We see from here that the terrestrial part of the universe is the principal part of existence. Perhaps this is the reason that the dry land was called ארץ, seeing it was this region which completes carrying out G’d’s will and His intention when creating a physical existence, His intention when creating a physical existence, מציאות . [I believe that what is meant here is that the last two letters in the word ארץ are an abbreviation of the word רצון, pointing to G’d’s will, whereas the first letter א may allude to G’d as the אחד, the One and Only Unique One. Ed.] The author attributes his conclusions by pointing to Maleachi 3,12 who speaks about ארץ חפץ, the implication being that “earth performs the will of the Lord.” We also find in connection with the fourth day in the paragraph “let there be luminaries in the sky of the heaven,” that the Torah clearly hints that that the luminaries were created only for the sake of being useful in this terrestrial world. This is what is meant by the words (1,15) להאיר על הארץ, “to provide light on earth.” This proves that the creatures of the celestial regions, though great and mighty in stature, nonetheless have been created only for the sake of the creatures in the “lower” regions of the universe. I have further proof from the mouth of Moses himself who has said in (Deut. 10,14 ) הן לה' אלוקיך השמים ושמי השמים ”indeed the heavens as well as the heaven of the heavens belong to the Lord.” The fact that Moses mentioned the “heaven” of our lower regions, i.e. the sky first, indicates that he considered it as more important to G’d than the celestial “heaven.” All these comments by our sages are homiletical comment in Sanhedrin 93, where they phrased is as: “the righteous are greater than the ministering angels of G’d.” Another homiletical comment is based on the sages there asking: “why was the word טוב omitted on the report of the second day? Because on this day the גהנם, ‘purgatory’ was created.” We surmise this from Isaiah 30,33 כי ערוך מאתמול תפתה , “for Tophet has long been ready for him, having been created yesterday.” This day was called אתמול, “yesterday,” as it was a day which had a “yesterday” but no ”day before yesterday.” Another reason cited by our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 4,5) for the absence of the word “good” on the second day is that מחלוקת, strife, was created on that day. This is what is meant by the words(1,6) ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים, “and it will form a divide between waters and waters.” Rabbi Tivyomi commented on this: “if even a divisiveness which served the purpose of the Lord did not deserve to be described as “good,” how much more so must divisiveness which does not serve the purpose of the Lord but is designed to frustrate His works be hateful?” From a conceptual point of view we may see that the very number “second” implies that something has become different, other than the unity implied in the word “one.” It is the source of all division and otherness. As far as the sages saying that both purgatory and strife were created on that same day, they meant to tell us that whoever is guilty of causing strife will ultimately wind up in purgatory. Seeing that both strife and purgatory were created on that day, we may view that day as one that causes damage. To implant this in our consciousness the sages (Zohar on Eykev 271) decreed that one must not commence new projects on Mondays. Not only this, but we are told in Pessachim 109 not to eat זוגות "food in "twos”, i.e. two dishes, as this is a health hazard for people. This prohibition is based on the fact that the first “Monday”, second day, was not blessed with the description “good.” It all goes back to the fact that the divisiveness introduced into the universe on that day was the first of its kind. Starting with this divisiveness, other disagreements ensued, such as earth not complying with the will of G’d. On the third day (1,11-12) when G’d directed that earth should produce עץ פרי עושה פרי “fruit bearing trees which are themselves edible,” all that earth produced were עץ עושה פרי, “fruit-bearing trees.” The trunks earth produced were not edible. On the fourth day, the day when the luminaries were hung in the sky, the two large luminaries soon turned into a larger one and a smaller one. Our sages in Chulin 60 relate that there was an argument between the moon and G’d concerning the sun’s superior status. G’d had to intervene and ask the moon to downsize. On the fifth day G’d had to “salt away” the female of the Leviathan as explained by our sages in Baba Batra 74. Acccording to the Talmud G’d castrated the male of that species while killing the female. and preserving its flesh (salting it away) for consumption by the righteous in the distant future. On the sixth day, the day the first man and woman were created, they sinned, causing further divisiveness and resulting in their banishment from גן עדן. We observe that divisions were manifest on every single one of the days following the second day when such divisiveness first appeared.

וירא אלוקים, He “saw” in His knowledge and wisdom, that the light would be good for the creatures which inhabit the “lower” universe. Even though darkness is also good for them, i.e. useful for them, as we already explained, darkness is not something to which the adjective, attribute טוב, “good,” can be applied. The reason is that darkness entails the removal of light. How can this be described as “good?” Darkness had existed already, was not a new phenomenon, it was therefore appropriate to state that the new phenomenon light was good (in the sense that it added a positive element to the universe which it had lacked.) Moreover “light” is something evident, as opposed to darkness. That which emanates from darkness is generally evil. Kohelet 11,7 already speaks of “how sweet is the light, what a delight for the eyes to behold the sun!” Whenever he mentions darkness he does so in the context of something evil, whereas he relates to light as something good, if only because it is something in the open, something that is not “ashamed” to be seen. The evil of darkness is “visible,” as opposed to its positive aspects, which are concealed. Similarly, every time the Torah uses the phrase כי טוב in the report of creation it means that the phenomenon which has been so described is good for the creatures in the lower regions, seeing that all the acts of the creative process were good, did not contain a negative element. The reason for the word ויבדל, “He separated,” after the word וירא, “He saw,” is that once G’d had “seen” that the light was good, He did not want it to be called by the same name as darkness, although both periods are part of the same “day.” This is why the Torah writes afterwards (verse 5) ויקרא, “He called, He named,” to tell us that the separation between light and darkness was confined to their being called by different names. It is impossible to interpret the word ויבדל as referring to anything else but the change of the name each part of the day is known by. Normally, the expression הבדל is applied to different substances, whereas light and darkness are neither of them a substance, so that the whole expression appears extraordinary at this point. If darkness is nothing more than the absence of light, how could the term “separated, distinguished,” be properly applied to the absence of something? This is why the Torah wrote ויבדל אלוקים וגו' instead of writing ויבדל האור, or ויבדל without adding a subjective or objective which would have meant that the light itself formed the division, the separation, as the Torah had done when describing the separation of the רקיע and the מים in verse 7. G’d effected the separation between darkness and light by calling them by different names. As to the expression ולהבדיל בין האור ובין החשך, “and to separate between the light and between the darkness,” (verse 18) this refers to the same day, i.e. a separation between parts of the same entity, the daylight hours enjoying the light of the sun, whereas the night receives only the relatively insignificant light of the moon. Relative to the brilliant light of the day such light is minor, whereas relative to the absolute darkness prevailing during the plague of darkness in Egypt it is quite significant.

AND G-D SAW THE LIGHT, THAT IT WAS GOOD. Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] wrote: “Here too (A reference to Rashi’s similar comment on the first word of the Torah — bereshith (see above). The difficulty here in the text is twofold: (a) It is first written, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and then G—d said, Let there be light. Thus there already was a separation between light and darkness. Why then does Scripture continue by stating, and G—d divided the light from the darkness? (b) Concerning all other acts of creation, the expression “And G—d saw that it was good” is found at the completion of the act of creation, while here this phrase is written (in the beginning of Verse 4) before the completion. The Agadah, which Rashi quotes, answers: (a) vayavdel means here that He set apart the light for the righteous in the world to come. (b) ki tov (that it was good) could not have been written after the separation of the light for the righteous from the ordinary light, since the remaining light was no longer perfect. Therefore, ki tov is mentioned before the setting aside of the light.) we must depend on the words of the homiletic Agadah G-d saw that the wicked were unworthy of using the light, and so He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. But according to the plain meaning of the verse, explain it thus: He saw that the light was good, and that it was not seemly for it and the darkness to function in a confused manner. He therefore assigned the one’s sphere of activity to the daytime and the one’s sphere of activity to the nighttime.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “The word vayar (and He saw) has the same meaning here as in Vera’iti ani (And I saw), (Daniel 10:7.) which refers to the thought in the heart. And He divided refers to His giving them different names.” (Ibn Ezra’s opinion is thus that the division was not because it was unseemly that the light and darkness function in a confused manner, but it was for the purpose of assigning each one a separate name.) But the words of both Rashi and Ibn Ezra are incorrect for if they were, it would appear that there was on the part of G-d a change of mind and new counsel, as if to say that after G-d said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light, He saw that it was good, and therefore He divided between it and darkness just as a human being who does not know the nature of something until it comes into existence! Rather, the order followed in the process of creation is that the bringing forth of things into actual existence is called amirah (saying). Thus: And G-d said, ‘Let there be light;’ And G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament;’ (Verse 6.) And G-d said, ‘Let the earth put forth grass.’ (Verse 11.) And the permanence of things called forth into existence is called re’iyah (seeing), as And I saw in Ecclesiastes, (2:13.) and similarly, And the woman saw that the tree was good for food. (Genesis 3:6.) In the language of the Rabbis we also find, “I see the words of Admon.” (Kethuboth 109a.) Likewise, And the king said unto Zadok the priest, ‘Seest thou? return into the city in peace.’ (II Samuel 15:27.) The purport of the word “seeing” is thus to indicate that their continuing existence is at His Will, and if that Will should for a second depart from them, they will turn into nought. Now just as Scripture says in connection with the work of each day, And G-d saw that it was good and on the sixth day when everything was completed it says, And G-d saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good, (Verse 31.) so does it say on the first day when light came into existence, And G-d saw … that it was good, meaning He desired its existence forever. The verse adds “the light” [And G-d saw ‘the light’ that it was good], because had it just said, “And G-d saw that it was good,” it would have referred to the creation of the heaven and the earth, and at that time He had not yet decreed for them permanence, as they did not remain as they were. Instead, from the substance created on the first day, the firmament was made on the second day, and on the third the waters and the dust were separated and the dry land — which He called “earth” — was formed. He then decreed for them permanence, and said concerning them, And G-d saw that it was good. (Verse 10.)

AND G-D DIVIDED THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS. This is not “the darkness” mentioned in the first verse (“First verse.” It is actually mentioned in Verse 2. However, in view of Ramban’s interpretation above that the first two verses tell of everything else to come, he refers to Verse 2 as “the first verse.”) which, as explained above, refers to the element of fire; rather, the “darkness” mentioned here means the absence of light, since G-d gave a length of time to the light and decreed that it be absent afterwards until it returns. Now some commentators (Reference here is to Yehuda Halevi who, in his philosophic work Al Khazari, sets forth this theory: The first light was created at the time of sunset, and it was an illumination which soon passed away, leaving the world in darkness. The established order was then that night preceded day, as it is written, It was evening and it was morning (2:20, Hirschfeld’s translation). See also my Hebrew commentary, 2d edition, p. 547, that Ramban may also refer here to Rabbeinu Zerachyah Halevi, who was of a similar opinion.) have said that this light was created in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is to say, in the west, (In accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Abahu who says, “The Divine Presence is in the West” (Baba Bathra 25a).) and He immediately caused it to disappear for the period of the night, and afterwards it gave light for the period of the day. This is the reason for the verse, And there was evening and there was morning, since the night came first and afterwards the day, and both of them came after the existence of the light. But this is not correct at all, for in this way they might add a short day to the six days of creation. (Since night and day were after the creation of light, and light was created at the time of sunset, it follows that there was a short day (that is, light without darkness) preceding the first day. Thus a short day is added to the six days of creation.) It is possible, however, to say that the light was created in front of Him, blessed be He, but did not extend over the four elements mentioned [in the second verse, as explained above] and then He divided between it and the darkness by assigning to each a certain period. Light now remained before Him for the length of night, and then in the morning, He caused the light to shine upon the elements. In this way night preceded day. It is further possible that we should say that when the heavens and the earth came forth from nought into existence, as mentioned in the first verse, time came into being, for although our time consisting of minutes and hours is measured in light and darkness, yet from the moment some substance came into existence time was already part of it. If so, after the heavens and the earth were created they so remained for the length of a night without light. Then He said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light, and He decreed that it remain the same period as the first, and that after that it be absent from the elements. Thus, there was evening, and there was morning.

וירא אלוקים את האור, He looked at its appearance and it was good. The statement is similar to Yocheved saying ותרא אותו כי טוב, (Exodus 2,2) although he had been born three months prematurely, just as had Samuel. In practice, the fact that all his vital features including the nails of his toes and fingers and the hairs on his head had grown, gave her the feeling that he was “good,” i.e. a viable human being, so that she proceeded to hide him for three months because she knew that he was not premature in the sense of not being viable.

ויבדל אלוקים בין האור ובין החושך, He arranged for the day to be divided into 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. The day commences with a period of light and concludes with a period of darkness. The reason is that the beginning of directives issued during the creative process commenced with the command: “let there be light.”

וירא אלהים את האור כי טוב ויבדל AND GOD SAW THE LIGHT THAT IT WAS GOOD, AND GOD CAUSED A DIVISION — Here, also, we must depend upon the statement of the Agada: He saw that the wicked were unworthy of using it (the light); He, therefore, set it apart (ויבדל), reserving it for the righteous in the world to come (Chagigah 12a). But according to the plain sense explain it thus: He saw that it was good, and that it was not seemly that light and darkness should function together in a confused manner. He therefore limited this one’s sphere of activity to the daytime, and this one’s sphere of activity to the nighttime (see Genesis Rabbah 3:6).

וירא א' את האור כי טוב und so bei den folgenden Schöpfungen: וירא אי כי טוב und am Schlusse des Schöpfungswerkes: וירא א' את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד alle diese den einzelnen Schöpfungen und dem Abschluss des ganzen Schöpfungswerkes nachfolgenden Sätze sollen, wenn wir sie recht verstehen, die große Wahrheit niederlegen: daß nicht nur das Werden der Dinge, sondern auch das Bestehen und die Forterhaltung derselben unmittelbar von dem freien göttlichen Willen und seinem Wohlgefallen bedingt ist. Einem menschlichen Schöpfer entzieht sich meist das Werk nachdem es durch seine Kunst geworden. Es ward durch ihn, allein es besteht fortan durch sich selbst; ja, wie oft wächst der sterblichen Hand das Werk über den Kopf; sie hatte die Macht es zu schaffen, sie konnte Kräfte entfesseln und einen, allein sie vermöchte nicht das Werk, das sie selbst hervorgerufen, wieder zu meistern, vermöchte die Kräfte, die sie entfesselt, nicht mehr zu zügeln, es fehlt ihr der Zauber, die Geister, die sie wach gerufen, wieder zu bannen, das Geschöpf überragt überwältigend den Schöpfer, er ist nicht mehr Meister des eigenen Werkes. Nicht also Gott und seine Welt. Das Einzelne und das Ganze ist nicht nur geworden durch seinen allmächtigen Willen, es besteht, auch nachdem es geworden, nur weil seine Einsicht das Fortbestehen für gut findet; auch nachdem es geworden schaut er sein Werk an und lässt es fortbestehen, weil es ihm wohlgefällt, so lange es ihm wohlgefällt.

Die Konstruktion aber, in welcher gleich das Anschauen des ersten Werkes vorgeführt wird, tritt noch einen andern kläglichen Wahn zu Boden. Es heißt nicht: וירא א' כי טוב האור, wie ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל und in allen ähnlichen Sätzen, mit vielleicht nur einer einzigen Ausnahme, sondern: וירא א' את האור כי טוב, nicht: Gott sah, daß das Licht gut sei, sondern: Gott sah das Licht, daß es gut sei. Es ist damit die völlige Objektivität des Geschöpfes dem Schöpfer, der Welt Gott gegenüber, ausgesprochen, und damit allen jenen Wahngedanken entgegen getreten, die den Meister in sein Werk, die den Schöpfer in die Schöpfung, die Gott in die Welt aufgehen lassen, die Immanenz Gottes in der Welt lehren und damit Gott zum Welt-Geist, zur WeltSeele, immerhin zu einer Natur-Kraft hinabziehen, die außer der Welt und ohne die Welt kein Dasein hat. Nicht also. Nachdem Gott das Einzelne und das Ganze geschaffen hatte, schaute er es an. Das Werk befindet sich somit außerhalb des Meisters, Gott außerhalb der Welt. ברא, Er hat sie hinausgestellt, אמר יהי ויהי, Er ließ seine Gedanken körperliche Objektivität gewinnen — (הגה היה חיה, siehe oben) — nicht wie der Leib zur Seele, nicht wie der Organismus zur Kraft, wie das Werk zum Meister verhält sich die Welt zu Gott und — wie wir gesehen haben — in noch unendlich erhabenerer Höhe steht Gott über der Welt. In ewiger Abhängigkeit bleibt sein Werk von Ihm, in ewiger Unabhängigkeit von seinem Werke Er. Nur weil Gott, und so lange er sein geschaffenes Werk anschaut, daß es gut sei, besteht es fort.

Diese Meisterschaft des Schöpfers über sein geschaffenes Werk, auch nachdem es geworden, bekundet sich sofort, indem Er ויבדל א' בין האור ובין החשך, ordnend und Grenze setzend eintritt zwischen das neu geschaffene Licht und die alte Finsternis. Beide sollen fortan die Erde beherrschen, beide auf Erden wirksam sein: das Alles zum Einzeldasein weckende Licht, und das der innern Durchdringung und erstarkenden Ineinanderwirkung der Kräfte durch reizlose Abspannung Raum gebende Dunkel. Nicht maßlos wirken soll das Licht, beide, Licht und Finsternis, erhalten ihr Gebiet, und Gott ist's wiederum, derselbe Gott, der "Licht!" in die Finsternis rief, der, mit seiner Allmacht ordnend und Grenze setzend eintritt zwischen diese beiden größten und wichtigsten Gegensätze, die fortan die Erdwelt, Stoff sammelnd und Form gestaltend, stärkend und Leben weckend, beherrschen. Gott schied zwischen Licht und Finsternis. Wie die Wurzel der Pflanze ein Kind der Dunkelheit ist, Stamm mit Blatt und Blütenkrone ein Sohn des Lichts, so ist Finsternis und Licht, Nacht und Tag, Mutter und Vater eines jeden organischen Wesens. Alles Leben keimt im lichtlosen nächtlichen Schoße, alles reift zur Selbständigkeit unter dem Strahl des Lichts. Und das ganze hieniedige Dasein hindurch geleitet dieser Wechsel. In unserm zeitlichen Hiersein ertragen wir nicht das ewige Licht. Haben wir zwölf Stunden im Strahle des Lichtes alle unsere Kräfte in selbständigem Streben und Wirken geübt, sinken wir erschlafft in die alte Nacht zurück und trinken wieder, umhüllt von dem mütterlichen Fittig der Nacht, erst neue Kräfte, um wiederum ein neues Lichtdasein entfalten zu können.

בדל ist nicht wie כרת, שבר, פרד einfach: trennen, ein negatives Sondern von dem Andern, sondern zugleich ein positives Gebietanweisen, ein Trennen von dem Andern, um ein gesondertes Gebiet, eine besondere Existenz, eine besondere Bestimmung zu geben. So הבדלת ערי מקלט, הבדלת ישראל, הבדלת קדש, הבדלת פרכת, הבדלת לוים. Verwandt damit ist בתולה :בתל, die noch eine gesonderte Existenz hat, noch nicht mit einem Manne verbunden ist. Auch פתיל, פתל: die zu einer besondern Schnur gedrehten Fäden, und צמיד פתיל: der das Gefäß zu einem von dem ganzen Umraum, somit auch von der טומאה, gesonderten Behälter abschließende Deckel. Daher auch הפתל: um seine Selb- ständigkeit, seine Geltung mit jemandem kämpfen, oder vielmehr: sich seine Selbständigkeit, seine Geltung von jemandem erringen. Im rabb. בטל hat es meist die positive Seite verloren, jedoch in עשרה בטלנים, zur Bezeichnung der für Gemeindeangelegenheiten Mußehabenden, ist das Positive noch vorhanden, ja überwiegend.

וירא אלוקים את האור כי טוב, This describes the reason why G’d created the light, not that He “saw”” something new which He had not been aware of previously. It was because it was “good,” that G’d had created the light.

ויבדל אלוקים בין האור ובין החשך, the days (prior to the fourth day when the sun was placed in orbit) during which use was made of the “original light,” periods of light and darkness alternated due to causes other than the revolving of the planet around its own axis, i.e. due to the direct expression of G’d’s desire. He ensured that periods of light alternated with periods of darkness.

And God saw, etc.: Since He saw and knew that the light was a good and useful thing, hence "He separated, etc." And behold, the Torah spoke like the language of men [here], as their knowledge is only according to experience; and there are many times that a man will make something, thinking that it is for the good, and afterwards he sees that it is not so. Therefore, the Torah tells that in every act of the Creator, He saw afterwards that it was good.

And He separated, etc.: He ordained that they should not be mixed in one another, but [rather] when there is light, there should not [also] be darkness, and when there is darkness, there should not [also] be light. And it says this (even though there was no need to say it), because according to the opinion of the ancients, darkness was not only the absence of light, but [rather] it too was a substance. As the matter is stated, "He forms the light and creates the darkness" (Isaiah 45:7); and so [too], "Where is the path [to[ where the light dwells, and darkness, where is its place" (Job 38:19). And hence the nations would attribute the light to one god and the darkness to [another] one. And the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to inform His people that He, may He be blessed, is the Master of the light and the darkness; and from Him alone are all of their laws.

The Aggadaic explanation is necessary. This is because the verse’s simple meaning implies that light and darkness originally were mingled, for “to divide” is said only about things that are mingled with each other. But this cannot be true here, since darkness disappears the moment there is light. The two cannot exist simultaneously. (Re’m) [Alternatively,] Rashi’s question was as follows: How could Hashem establish that the darkness be bounded by the night, when this division did not actually take place until the fourth day, on which it is written (v. 14): “To divide between the day and the night”? Therefore, the Aggadaic explanation is necessary. (Nachalas Yaakov)

He saw that it was not fitting... Ramban objected: This makes it seem that Hashem reconsidered and changed His plan. For Hashem said, “Let there be light” and then “He saw that the light was good” and had to set it apart — implying that at first, He did not know that the light would be good. And this is far from the truth! Re’m deflected this objection, saying that such an idea is mentioned later as well, [regarding Generation of the Flood]: “Adonoy saw that man’s wickedness had increased... and Adonoy’s thought turned...” [as Rashi explains it there (6:5)]. Nachalas Yaakov challenged Re’m: Although Hashem reconsidered in v. 6:5, it is no proof for our issue, since everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven. [And there they sinned greatly, bringing about Hashem’s change of thought].

He set it apart for the righteous. I.e., “good” in our verse refers to the righteous one. Thus Hashem “divided,” to set apart the righteous one, who is light, from the wicked one, who is darkness. (Re’m)

In confusion. This means that one territory would have light while another has darkness. Or, it means hours: it would be day for one hour and then night for two hours, and then the opposite; that was the confusion. But it cannot mean light and darkness simultaneously, because this is impossible, as explained earlier (בד"ה צריכין לדברי אגדה). Accordingly, “Elohim divided” means that He divided their times; one to be bounded by the day, and the other, by the night.

God saw the light that it was good. As soon as the light emerged from the unformed universe, God evaluated it and distinguished between good and bad. And God divided between the light and the darkness. Once light was created and discerned as good, the next phase of its creation began, namely, the stage of separation, which established the light as a clearly defined entity. The act of discerning and separating between good and bad would continue till the end of time and manifest itself also in human history and civilization.

וירא אלוקים את האור כי טוב, ”G’d saw that the light was good, etc.” According to Rashi, G’d saw that it was not good to employ light and darkness simultaneously, that this created confusion, and as a result He assigned to both light and darkness specific periods in which each would be sovereign. Nachmanides questions Rashi’s interpretation, saying that if we were to accept this we would have to posit that G’d did not know that light and darkness functioning simultaneously would be unsatisfactory, and that He learned “from experience.” [This would appear heretical, denying G’d being all knowing, and describing Him as reacting to new circumstances and new insights instead of having allowed for them from the start. Ed.] Nachmanides therefore understands the word אמירה, ויאמר, as meaning: “to convert a potential into an actual.” Accordingly, such statements in the Torah as ויאמר יהי אור, ויאמר יהי רקיע, must be understood as a command to at that time convert something which had existed only as a potential, theoretically, being converted into reality. A new reality becoming enduring is called ראייה, seeing. A well known example of the use of the word ראייה in this sense is the phrase רואה אני את דברי אדמון, which means: “I confirm and consider as correct and binding the words of Admon.” Every statement in the Torah describing G’d as “seeing,” means that the manner in which His instructions had materialized was “good,” i.e. וירא אלוקים כי טוב, means that G’d was satisfied that the new reality would endure. On the sixth day we read of G’d “saying” וירא אלוקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד, G’d decided that the entire universe as it presented itself to Him upon completion was fit to endure. When the Torah describes G’d as saying on the first day after the light had become a reality, וירא אלוקים את האור כי טוב, adding the apparently superfluous words את האור, the reason is that without these words the reader would have construed the Torah as describing G’d’s reaction to the creation of שמים וארץ instead of the creation of אור. It would have been incorrect to describe G’d as having already decreed that the universe was to endure before He had completed the whole universe as planned. As long as only the raw materials תהו ובהו, the elements used to create heaven and earth existed, no guarantee existed that they would endure. On the days following, the raw materials needed to form an atmosphere, create solid masses of earth, etc., were created, and thus the permanence of the original “embryo” of a universe was assured. What is described during the second day (stage) of creation was incomplete, and therefore the words וירא אלוקים כי טוב is not found until halfway through the third day when that part of creation had been completed.

ויבדל אלוקים בין האור ובין החושך. “G’d separated the light from the darkness.” The word חושך in this verse does not refer to the same חושך as in verse 1. There it had referred to black fire, whereas here it refers to a mere absence of light. This absence of light occurred as G’d had allocated to the light a certain length of time during which it would shine before it would again shine after an interval had elapsed. Nachmanides writes that some commentators believe that the light of which our verse speaks had been created by G’d in anticipation of His creating the universe and that it had been held in “reserve” for the moment when it would be required. It had been created in the “West,” meaning immediately before nightfall, so that it had not actually functioned before the darkness referred to in verse one. This would explain the grammar in the line ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר, an indication that the light had preceded night followed by the first morning of .the first day. [seeing that the terms “day” and “night” prior to the time when the sun and moon were placed in the sky is different from the way we understand these words today, speculations on the subject are no more than natural. Ed.]

Tiferet Yisra'el cites no evidence in support of his view. The phenomenon of the sun's circular movement over the horizon each day is certainly not a demonstration that each twenty-four hour period in which such a revolution takes place constitutes a halakhic day. Quite to the contrary, Scripture records "and it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Read literally, the day is defined in terms of alternating periods of light and darkness, not in terms of a revolution of the earth upon its axis or of the circuitous movement of the overhead sun. How this might have occurred prior to the creation of the sun on the third day is a matter that has engaged the attention of numerous biblical commentators, most particularly, Rambam and Seforno, Genesis 1:5; Rabbenu Baḥya, Genesis 1:13; Rashbam, Genesis 1:4 and 1:14; R. Isaac Arama, Akeidat Yizḥak, sha'ar shlishi; and Malbim, Genesis 1:5.

Now that I have explained to you the topic of Kiddush, I will explain the topic of Havdalah, so that nothing will be missing from your table whether it is an ordinary day or Shabbat, for indeed Havdalah is a way of honoring Shabbat, to remember the day of Shabbat both when it comes and goes, as our rabbis z”l taught in a midrash, “’Remember the Sabbath day’ (Ex 20:8.) – remember it both at its entrance and its departure.” (Maimonides, Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, M”A 155, and in Hilkhot Shabbat 29a.) And know that Havdalah with its four blessings is hinted at in the first parshah of Genesis: the first blessing – borei pri ha-gafen – “who creates the fruit of the vine” – is hinted at in the first verse in the word ha-aretz – “the land” (Gen 1:1.) – which is the garden and the vine in the garden, and this is the wine preserved in its grapes from the six days of creation. (B. Berakhot 34b. The wine that will be served at the messianic banquet at the end of time comes has been preserved in the grapes of the first vine God created in the six days of creation.) The second blessing: “atzei besamim”– “spices from a tree” (Technically, one needs to specify in the blessing the type of spice: atzei besamim – “spices from a tree,” such as cinnamon or nutmeg; esvei besamim, “spices from grasses,” such as mint or tarragon. However, taking into account that not everybody knows how to tell the difference between types of spices, the more inclusive formulation minei besamim– “different kinds of spices” was instituted, to avoid having people say the wrong blessing (Chavel).) is hinted in the expression, “a wind [ru’ah] from God sweeping over the water,” (Gen 1:1.) because smell – re’ah – is sensed by means of the wind – ru’ah. The third blessing: bore’ me’orei ha-esh – “who creates the lights of fire,” is what is written in “Yehi ‘or” – “Let there be light!” (Gen 1:3: “’Or” and “me’orei” are from the same Hebrew root that means “light.”) The fourth blessing – Ha-mavdil – “Who separates” is what is written in “and God separated [va-yavdel] the light.” (Gen 1:4.) And just as we found the act of separation – Havdalah – in the Holy One Blessed be He at the beginning of His rule with the creation of the world and its renewal, so we found in Him the sanctification – kiddush (Its root, kadosh, in its adjectival and verbal forms means literally to “be set apart” or “to set apart.”) – of the day of Shabbat on which work is forbidden, which is written: “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy [va-yikadesh ‘oto].” (Gen 2:3. What follows is more or less a quotation from Genesis Rabbah Parshah 11, with some omissions.) He “blessed” it providing an extra portion of the manna for it and “declared it holy” by prohibiting the gathering of manna on it.

One should not engage in conversation after the cup of blessing, and one should not say the blessing over a “cup of tribulations.” What is a “cup of tribulations”? A second cup. The reason for this is that pairs are bad luck. As they taught in a baraita, “Whoever drinks double – that is, a pair of cups – should not say the blessing, because of the verse “Be proper to meet your God, O Israel.” (Am 4:12: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (JSB), but this midrashic use of the verse picks up on the connotation of nakhon – being proper or correct – from the root of the imperative verb hikon “prepare.”) And the reason for prohibiting pairs is because of witchcraft and beings composed of two who rule over anyone who eats and drinking something in pairs. And another reason to distance oneself from “twos” is that that are separated from the power of One, for pairs come from the power of “twos.” So in order to fix one’s heart on unity and distance oneself from dualistic faith, like what is alluded to in Scripture, “Do not mix with shonim,” (Pr 24:21: “Do not mix with dissenters” (JSB). However, R. Bahya is clearly playing on the connection between “shonim” – literally, “those who differ” and shnayim – “two. In other words, he reads the verse as, “Do not mix with dualists.” The Talmudic prohibitions on pairs probably had something to do with their Babylonian cultural context, i.e., the dualistic Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid Persian empire.) those who believe in twos or more. Therefore they prohibited pairs even for things eaten and drunk, for it is appropriate for natural matters to be a sign and symbol of appropriate practices and beliefs, (Literally, “appropriate matters.” But some mss. of R. Bahya’s text read “intellectual and spiritual matters,” making his point clearer.) in that you already knew that true beliefs thus require actions. And you see that in the story of Creation, it was not said, “that it was good” on the second day. (That expression ki tov, which appears after the descriptions of what was created on the other five days in Genesis 1, is conspicuously absent at the end of the account of day two.) For we follow what they said in Genesis Rabbah, that on it dissent and Gehennah were created, and without a doubt, with things like these created on it, it is a dangerous day, on which it is prohibited to begin any work, as our rabbis z”l said, “One does not begin things on the second day, because whoever adds something to one, there’s no good in him [or it], and thus it was called yom sheni – “day two,” which is from the expression shinui – “change.” For in One there is no change, which is what is written: “For I am the Lord, I have not changed.” (Mal 3:6.) But the second day was the beginning of change, and from then on, change in what was created is desirable, and on the rest of the days after it we have found basis for an accusation against all of them, e.g., on the third day God said, “Let the earth bring forth fruit trees,” but it actually brought forth only “trees bearing fruit.” (Gen 1:11,12. R. Bahya picks up on the slightly different phrasing: “fruit tree bearing fruit” (1:11) vs. “tree bearing, to imply that the earth did not do exactly as God commanded.) Similarly on the fourth day the moon made an accusation saying, “It isn’t fair for two kings to use one crown.” (B. Hullin 60b. This is the midrash told there: And God made the two great lights? but later it says: “the great light and the small light”! The moon said before the Holy One: Master of the world, is it possible for two kings to use one crown? God said to her: Go and diminish yourself! She said before God: Because I asked a good question, I should diminish myself? God said: Go and rule both in day and in night. She said: What advantage is that? A candle in the daylight is useless. God said: Go and let Israel count their days and years by you. She said: They use the daylight [of the sun] to count seasonal cycles as well…Seeing that she was not appeased, the Holy One said: Bring a (sacrificial) atonement for me that I diminished the moon! This is what R. Shimon ben Lakish said: What is different about the ram of the new moon that it is offered “for God” (And one ram of the flock for a sin offering for God…Numbers 28:14). Said the Holy One: This ram shall be an atonement for me that I diminished the moon.) And likewise on the fifth day, God killed the male Leviathan, (Though in his commentary to the Torah on Gen 1:4, R. Bahya uses the version of this midrash found in b. Bava Batra 74b: God castrated the male Leviathan and killed the female Leviathan. For had they mated with one another, they would have destroyed the world.) which can be interpreted as He hid the heavenly light. And likewise on the sixth day, Adam sinned and changed the will of Ha-Shem, and about this it is said, “altering his face, you sent him out.” (Job 14:20, which R. Bahya interprets as “you (Adam)– changed God’s face, and so ‘made” Him (God) send you out of the Garden of Eden.”) See how the second day is the cause behind all of this, because all of these things come from its power and follow it. To the extent it said “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel,” (Am 4:12.) who is one, and it added “O Israel,” who is the one singular nation of the one God, as it is said, “And who is like Your people, one nation on earth,” (I Chr 17:21.) you should prepare and direct yourself to meet the One. So you should not eat or drink things in pairs, so that you will not think dualistic things in your heart.

Furthermore, King David praises God “Who makes the great luminaries,” (Tehillim 136:7.) using the present tense. King David similarly uses the present tense in the phrases, (Ibid. 136:5.) “Who makes the heavens with understanding,” and, “Who spreads out the land over the waters.” (Ibid. 136:6.) Without a doubt, God “renews every day, continually, the work of Creation.” (Tosfos Yom Tov is citing the daily Shacharis liturgy.) Unquestionably, were God to withdraw His Creative energy from the created beings, they would all cease to exist immediately. (Tosfos Yom Tov is emphasizing that Creation is not a historical event that happened at the beginning of time, but an ongoing process. This concept is explained in Shalah (Asarah Maamaros, Discourse 3 and 4) and at length in Tanya (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah). The underlying concept is that since the world was created yesh me’ayin, i.e., existence came into being from an absolute void, its fundamental state is nothingness. Therefore, were God not to continually renew His creative energy, all of existence would return to that initial state of absolute nothingness.) Accordingly, it can be said that if the sun and the moon could both be considered as great luminaries even though they are not identical, because they are “great” in comparison to other celestial bodies, then the words of praise “Who makes the great luminaries” are appropriate, the intent being that the “great luminaries” brought into being at the time of Creation are renewed each day. If, however, one postulates that the sun and the moon were identical at the time of Creation, and the moon was diminished because of its complaint, how could King David praise God as the One “Who makes the great luminaries”? At present, they are not the same as they were originally. Thus, this verse also appears to contradict the logic advanced by Gur Aryeh.

On this basis, we can understand the rationale for the creation of the two luminaries as equal in size, although the original intent was that ultimately one luminary would be diminished. This pattern resembles God’s creation of the light at the beginning of Creation, and His subsequent concealment of it for the reason explained by our Sages. (Chagigah 12a. That source states that God’s original light was concealed so that the wicked would not benefit from it.) Accordingly, in this verse, the focus is on the original intent, when the sun and the moon were created as equals, and the original light radiated forth. This passage relates that after creating this original light, vayavdel E-lohim, “and God made a distinction.” (Bereishis 1:4.) The words vayavdel E-lohim allude to the concealment of the light on the first day of Creation, i.e., God made a distinction concerning this light, and set it aside for the righteous in the Ultimate Future, as Rashi explains. (See Rashi’s commentary to Bereishis 1:4.) It is in this very thought that the impulse that the moon would be diminished arose. The moon would shine in “the expanse of the heaven” as explained, and the primeval light would no longer shine forth because it would be concealed.

The order of the four elements, according to the natural position is here described: namely, first earth, above it water, air close to water, and fire above air; for by placing air over water, ḥoshek (fire), which is “upon the face of the deep,” is undoubtedly above air. It was here necessary to use the term ruaḥ elohim, because air is described here as in motion (meraḥefet), and the motion of the air is, as a rule, ascribed to God; comp. “And there went forth a wind from the Lord” (Num. 11:31); “Thou didst blow with thy wind” (Exod. 15:10); “And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind” (ibid. 10:19), and the like. As the first ḥoshek, which denotes the element fire, is different from the ḥoshek mentioned further on in the sense of “darkness,” the latter is explained and distinguished from the former, according to our explanation, in the words, “And darkness he called Night.” This is now clear.

Study the book which leads all who want to be led to the truth, and is therefore called Torah (Law or Instruction), from the beginning of the account of the Creation to its end, and you will comprehend the opinion which we attempt to expound. For no part of the creation is described as being in existence for the sake of another part, but each part is declared to be the product of God’s will, and to satisfy by its existence the intention [of the Creator]. This is expressed by the phrase, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:4, etc.). You know our interpretation of the saying of our Sages, “Scripture speaks the same language as is spoken by man.” But we call “good” that which is in accordance with the object we seek. When therefore Scripture relates in reference to the whole creation (Gen. 1:31), “And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was exceedingly good,” it declares thereby that everything created was well fitted for its object, and would never cease to act, and never be annihilated. This is especially pointed out by the word “exceedingly”; for sometimes a thing is temporarily good; it serves its purpose, and then it fails and ceases to act. But as regards the Creation it is said that everything was fit for its purpose, and able continually to act accordingly. You must not be misled by what is stated of the stars [that God put them in the firmament of the heavens] to give light upon the earth, and to rule by day and by night. You might perhaps think that here the purpose of their creation is described. This is not the case; we are only informed of the nature of the stars, which God desired to create with such properties that they should be able to give light and to rule. In a similar manner we must understand the passage, “And have dominion over the fish of the sea” (ibid. 1:28). Here it is not meant to say that man was created for this purpose, but only that this was the nature which God gave man. But as to the statement in Scripture that God gave the plants to man and other living beings, it agrees with the opinion of Aristotle and other philosophers. It is also reasonable to assume that the plants exist only for the benefit of the animals, since the latter cannot live without food. It is different with the stars, they do not exist only for our sake, that we should enjoy their good influence; for the expressions “to give light” and “to rule” merely describe, as we have stated above, the benefit which the creatures on earth derive from them. I have already explained to you the character of that influence that causes continually the good to descend from one being to another. To those who receive the good flowing down upon them, it may appear as if the being existed for them alone that sends forth its goodness and kindness unto them. Thus some citizen may imagine that it was for the purpose of protecting his house by night from thieves that the king was chosen. To some extent this is correct: for when his house is protected, and he has derived this benefit through the king whom the country had chosen, it appears as if it were the object of the king to protect the house of that man. In this manner we must explain every verse, the literal meaning of which would imply that something superior was created for the sake of something inferior, viz., that it is part of the nature of the superior thing [to influence the inferior in a certain manner].

This innovation subsequently became the root of the Other Side, after which the Other Side itself emerged in parallel with the downward extension of the Sefirot. It is of these two parallel extensions, the Holy Side and the Other Side, that the verse says, “God made also this one against this one” – but always with the differences we discussed earlier. And the beginning of the Other Side is always lower than the end of the Holy Side. Thus it is written, “And God divided between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4).

As you already know, this great matter is that an oath-Shevuah-שבועה is the matter of HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Living God-El Chai-א"ל חי, which is the matter of, “That it is Good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, about all the creations in the act of creation-Ma’aseh Bereshit-מעשה בראשית, Torah states, (Genesis 1:12) “and God saw that it is good-VaYar Eloh”im Kee Tov.” The sign for this is the verse, (Proverbs 8:30) “I was with Him as a babe-V’Eheyeh Etzlo Amon-ואהי"ה אצלו אמון.” The matter of V’Eheyeh-ואהי"ה is that the letter Vav-ו-6, which is connected to Eheyeh-אהי"ה, (The letter Vav-ו in Cheshbon Kidmee is inclusive of the letters that precede it (א-1 ב-2 ג-3 ד-4 ה-5 ו-6) the total of which is אהי״ה-21. See Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of Intrinsic Being (Shaar HaHavayah), section on the Name Eheye”h-אהי״ה.) is the matter of the six Sefirot, the last of which is the matter of, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, each creative act that God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם – that is, HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י – did in the act of creation (Ma’aseh Bereshit), was confirmed by His quality “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב. What is written on the first day? (Genesis 1:4) “And God saw the light, that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” On the second day, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” was not said, being that the second day is the matter of separation and differentiation, as it states, (Genesis 1:6) “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate water from water.” That is, good-Tov-טוב is not found wherever there is separation and differentiation. This is because goodness-Tov-טוב only comes to unify all things and bring about peace-Shalom-שלום.

4. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם saw the light.” (Genesis 1:4)

5. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם separated.” (Genesis 1:4)

Later, when higher Hei was removed, the lower, final Hei remained alone, because good had become mixed with bad – that which the blessed Holy One had separated. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:4) And ELQYM divided between the light and the darkness...

There are seventy veins in the liver, corresponding to ‘the seventy appointed-ones’ – and the liver and the extra lobe of the liver, are 72. Its extra lobe is the snake, ‘the wife of whoring’, because its [Var. her] leftovers are taken by the spleen which is darkness, and upon it is stated: (Gen. 1:5) ... and the darkness He called ‘night’ (laiylah) ... , for her dominion is in exile – which is night.

"And God saw the light, it was good;" What was it that He saw, that was good? Rabbi Hiyya said that this implies that He foresaw the actions of the wicked, and still stored the light, for reasons we've said before. But, Rabbi Aba says, "And God saw the light, it was good;" because it was good to hide. He saw its radiance beaming from one end of the world to the other, and He saw that it was better to conceal it, so that sinners might not benefit from it. Rabbi Shimon said that no anger or judgement may be found in "And God saw the light, it was good;" After all, it is written, "Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel" (Num. 24:1) and this is proven by the verse's closing, "And God divided the light from the darkness" (Gen. 1:4), to snuff wrath, even though the Holy One, Blessed be He, later (re-)combined the two.

"And God saw the light, it was good;" (Gen. 1:4) in which the participle אֶת joins the opaque reflection [Malchut] with the shining reflection [Zeir Anpin] – this union is what was "good". Thus says Rabbi Elazar, "'אֶת' includes the angels who come from the side of light, and shine as brightly as the primal light."

And the Light that will illuminate the righteous will shine. It has been stored before Him since the day that the world was created, as written, "And Elohim saw the light, that it was good" (Gen. 1:3). In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will revive the dead. It is written, "But to you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall arise, etc." (Malachi 3:20), for then good will have the upper hand in the world, and that which is called evil will pass away from the world, as we said, then, the bodies that preceded the last one will be as if they never existed.

"And the living beings went to and fro" [Ezekiel 1:14], as is written: "And God saw the light, that it was good" [Bereshit 1:4], "Say that the Righteous is good" [Isaiah 3:10]. This one, on the balance it goes up, the first one by itself, and all is returned to one, sister and [female] acquaintance are included this one in this one, in Yod [י] He [ה], as two lovers uniting.

(You have favored us [with the ability] to know Your Torah and taught us to fulfill the statutes of Your will. You made a distinction, Adonoy, our God, between sacred and unhallowed, between light and darkness, between Israel and the peoples, between the seventh day and the six work days. Our Father, our King, commence for us the days that approach us, in peace, devoid of all sin, and cleansed of all iniquity, and devoted to the fear of You.)

Blessed are You, L·rd, Our G·d, King of the Universe, Who distinguishes between the Holy & the mundane, & between light & dark, & between Yisrael & the Nations, & between Seventh Day & the Six Workdays. Blessed are You, L·rd, Our G·d, King of the Universe, Who distinguishes between the Holy & the mundane. ...

(You have favored us [with the ability] to know Your Torah and taught us to fulfill the statutes of Your will. You made a distinction, Adonoy, our God, between sacred and unhallowed, between light and darkness, between Israel and the peoples, between the seventh day and the six work days. Our Father, our King, commence for us the days that approach us, in peace, devoid of all sin, and cleansed of all iniquity, and devoted to the fear of You. And...)

“Koraḥ took” – he took his garment and went to take counsel from his wife. When the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them. So shall you do to them, to purify them…and they shall pass a razor over all their flesh” (Numbers 8:6–7), he [Moses] immediately did so to Koraḥ. He [Korah] began circulating among Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him: ‘Who did this to you?’ He said to them: ‘Moses did it to me. Moreover, he took me by my arms and my legs, and they waved me, and said: You are hereby pure. He brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and seated him in the Tent of Meeting.’ Moses’s enemies immediately began provoking Israel against him, and said: ‘Moses is king, his brother Aaron, High Priest, his sons, deputy High Priests. Teruma is to the priest, tithe, (The Levite is obligated to give one-tenth of the first tithe that he receives to the priest.) to the priest, twenty-four gifts, to the priest.’ “They assembled against Moses and against Aaron, and they said to them: You have too much, as the entire congregation, all of them are holy, and the Lord is among them, and why do you elevate yourselves over the assembly of the Lord?” (Numbers 16:3). Immediately, “they assembled against Moses.” Immediately, “they said to them.” Rabbi Levi said: At that moment, Koraḥ gathered his congregation and said to them [to Moses and Aaron]: ‘You have increased the burden upon us more than the enslavement in Egypt. It was preferable for us under Egypt than it is under your control.’ They sought to stone him [Moses]. That is why, “Moses heard and he fell on his face” (Numbers 16:4). Moses said to them: ‘It is not kingdom I seek, nor does my brother Aaron [seek] the High Priesthood, as it is stated: “Aaron, what is he that you complain against him?”’ (Numbers 16:11). Moses said [to God]: ‘Master of the universe, is this not what You commanded me: “You, draw near to you Aaron your brother and his sons with him”? (Exodus 28:1). But they are standing against us to kill us.’ “He spoke to Koraḥ and to his entire congregation, saying: Morning, the Lord will disclose who is His, and who is holy and will bring him near to Him, and whom He shall choose, He will bring near to Him” (Numbers 16:5). He said: “Morning, the Lord will disclose who is His” – why is it so? (Why does it say “morning [boker]” and not “in the morning [baboker]”?) Rabbi Natan said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If all the magicians of the world gathered and sought to transform morning into evening they would not succeed. Just as I distinguished between light and darkness, so I distinguished Aaron to sanctify him with sanctity of the highest order.’ Immediately, “Moses sent to summon Datan and Aviram, sons of Eliav, and they said: We will not go up” (Numbers 16:12). “We will not go” and “we will not come” are not written here, but rather “we will not go up.” “A fool’s mouth is ruin for him” (Proverbs 18:7); they opened their mouths for punishment, saying that they would die in descent and not in ascent. Just as they said, so they died: “They and everything that was theirs descended alive into the abyss” (Numbers 16:33). Moses said: ‘Since they did not want to go to me, I will come to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed, and reconsider,’ as it is stated: “Moses arose and went to Datan and Aviram” (Numbers 16:25). When they saw him, they began to curse and blaspheme, as it is stated: “Datan and Aviram emerged standing” (Numbers 16:27). Do people typically emerge sitting, kneeling, or falling? Rather, when they emerged, they were cursing and blaspheming. Emerging and standing are stated here, and emerging and standing are stated regarding Goliath the Philistine, as it is written: “The champion emerged…[The Philistine said: I blasphemed….] The Philistine approached every morning and evening and stood for forty days” (I Samuel 17:4, 10, 16). Just as emerging and standing there was with cursing and blaspheming, (See I Samuel 17:45.) here, too, it is with cursing and blaspheming. That is why Moses began and said: “If these die like the death of all people…[God did not send me]” (Numbers 16:29), [and therefore] “the earth opened its mouth” (Numbers 16:32). Come and see how grave is dispute, as anyone who assists in a dispute, the Holy One blessed be He eradicates his memory, as it is written: “Fire emerged from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men” (Numbers 16:35). Rabbi Berekhya said: How grave is dispute? The court on High punishes only from twenty years old and above; the earthly court, from thirteen years old and above. In Koraḥ’s dispute, day-old babies were burned and swallowed in the deepest abyss, as it is written: “[Datan and Aviram had come out and they stood at the entrance of their tents] with their wives, and their children, and their infants” (Numbers 16:27), [and it is written:] “They and everything that was theirs descended alive into the abyss” (Numbers 16:33). That is why it is written: “Koraḥ took.”

“He spoke to Koraḥ…Morning” – what did he see that led him to say: “Morning”? Moses said: ‘Perhaps they said this matter as a result of food and drink.’ He said: ‘Perhaps, in any case, they will repent.’ That is why it is stated: “Morning, the Lord will disclose.” He said to them: ‘I do not have permission to enter now. There is no eating and drinking before Him; however, it is because of us, because we have eaten and drunk.’ Another matter, Moses said to them: ‘The Holy One blessed be He imposed boundaries in His world. Are you able to mix day and night? That is what the verse said initially: “It was evening, it was morning” (Genesis 1:5); “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) for the use of the world. Just as He distinguished between the light and the darkness for the use of the world, so He distinguished Israel from the nations, as it is stated: “I have distinguished you from the peoples to be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). And so, He distinguished Aaron, as it is stated: “Aaron was set apart to sanctify Him with sanctity of the highest order” (I Chronicles 23:13). If you are able to remove that distinction that He distinguished between light and darkness, you can nullify this.’ That is why he said to them: “Morning, the Lord will disclose who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Him” (Numbers 16:5) – he is already designated – “and whom He shall choose, He will bring near to Him” (Numbers 16:5).

The outgrowths [toledot]” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: All toledot that are stated in the Torah are written defectively388 (Toledot may be written in full form, with two vavs, but usually it is written missing one or both of the vavs.) except for two: “These are the offspring [toledot] of Peretz…” (Ruth 4:18), and this one. Why are those [others] defective? (Specifically, “This is the book of the offspring [toledot] of Adam” (Genesis 5:1), where toledot is missing one vav.) Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Avin: They are corresponding to the six things that were taken away from Adam the first man [after he sinned]. (The numerical value of vav is six.) They are: His radiance, his [eternal] life, his stature, the [extraordinary] produce of the earth, the [extraordinary] fruit of the tree, and the lights. His radiance, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “You alter his countenance and send him away” (Job 14:20). His life, from where is it derived? “For you are dust, [and to dust shall you return]” (Genesis 3:19). His stature, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “The man and his wife hid” (Genesis 3:8). Rabbi Abahu said: At that moment, the stature of Adam the first man was reduced and [he] became a [mere] hundred cubits. The produce of the earth and the fruit of the tree, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Cursed is the ground on your account” (Genesis 3:17). As for the lights, Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi Yehuda of Kefar Akko said in the name of Rabbi Meir: Although the lights were cursed on the day before Shabbat, (When Adam sinned.) they were stricken only at the conclusion of Shabbat. This is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis and not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, as Rabbi Yosei said: Adam the first man, his glory did not spend the night with him. (It was removed from him on the day of his creation, before Shabbat.) What is his source? “Man [adam] will not go to rest in his splendor…” (Psalms 49:13). The Rabbis say: [His glory did spend the night with him; ] only at the conclusion of Shabbat was his radiance taken from him as He expelled him from the Garden of Eden. That is what is written: “He banished the man” (Genesis 3:24), and it is written: “You alter his countenance and send him away” (Job 14:20). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: By the light with which the world was created, Adam the first man could look out and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He looked ahead at the actions of the generation of Enosh, the actions of the generation of the Flood, and the actions of the generation of the Dispersion, [and saw] that they were corrupt, He arose and hid it away from them, as it is stated: “Their light will be withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Why did He hide it away? The explanation is that he hid it away for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “God saw that it [light] was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4). Tov is nothing other than the righteous, as it is stated: “Say of the righteous one that he is good [tov]” (Isaiah 3:10). From where is it derived that He hid it away for the righteous? It is as it is stated: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light” (Proverbs 4:18). When he saw that the light was hidden away for the righteous, He rejoiced, as it is stated: “At the light of the righteous He will rejoice” (Proverbs 13:9). Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Gezeira: That [primordial] light functioned for thirty-six hours – twelve on the day before Shabbat, twelve on the night of Shabbat, and twelve on Shabbat [day]. When Adam the first man sinned, He sought to hide it away [immediately], but He accorded deference to Shabbat, as it is stated: “God blessed the seventh day” (Genesis 2:3). With what did He bless it? It was with light. When the sun set on Shabbat eve the light continued to function. Everyone began praising the Holy One blessed be He. That is what is written: “Under all the heavens they sing His praises” (Job 37:3). (The Midrash interprets yishrehu as being related to shira, song.) Why? It is because “His light is to the ends of the earth” (Job 37:3). That light illuminated all day and all night. As the sun set at the conclusion of Shabbat, darkness began approaching, and at that time Adam the first man became afraid. He said: ‘Is it possible that the one [the serpent] in whose regard it is written: “He will strike you [yeshufekha] with his head, and you will strike him [teshufenu] with your heel” (Genesis 3:15), is now coming to confront me, (The serpent represents death, as it was through its evil machinations that Adam sinned and was condemned to death.) as it is stated: “And I said that darkness will envelop me [yeshufeni]”?’ (Psalms 139:11). He said this with bewilderment. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He prepared for him two flint stones, and he struck them one against the other. Light emerged from them and he recited a blessing over it. That is what is written: “Night, for me, is light” (Psalms 139:11). This is in accordance with the opinion of what was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Why does one recite at the conclusion of Shabbat the blessing over light: ‘[Blessed be God] Who creates the lights of fire?’ It is because that time was the beginning of its creation. Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Aivu in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One recites a blessing over it [light] at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, as well, because fire rested on that day. (It is forbidden to make a fire all day on Yom Kippur.) Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: Although the [six] items were created in their complete form, (This is derived from the fact that toledot here (Genesis 2:4) is written complete, with both vavs.) when Adam the first man sinned they were ruined, and they will not be restored to their completeness until the descendant of Peretz [the Messiah] comes, as it is stated: “These are the offspring [toledot] of Peretz” (Ruth 4:18) – in its complete form, (With both vavs.) for the six things [taken away from Adam] that will be restored: His radiance, his [eternal] life, his stature, the produce of the earth, the fruit of the tree, and the lights. His radiance, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “May all those who love Him be like the sun coming out in its might” (Judges 5:31). His [eternal] life, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “For like the days of a tree will be the days of My people…” (Isaiah 65:22), and it is taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: “Tree” is nothing other than Torah, as it says: “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it” (Proverbs 3:18). (“Like the days of a tree” means like the days of the Torah, meaning forever.) His stature, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “I caused you to walk upright [komemiyut]” (Leviticus 26:13). Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: With upright stature and not in fear of any creature. Rabbi Yudan said: [Their stature will be] one hundred cubits (Komemiyut is interpreted as koma meyot – stature of hundreds.) like Adam the first man. Rabbi Shimon said: Two hundred cubits. (Because meyot (hundreds) is in plural.) Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon said: Three hundred: Koma refers to one hundred, (As that was the stature (koma) of Adam.) and meyot – refers to [another] two hundred. Rabbi Abahu said: Nine hundred cubits. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Dosa: Rabbi Abahu’s source is from here: “For like the days of a tree will be the days of My people” – like a sycamore that grows in the ground for six hundred years. An offspring emerges from its mother’s womb a bit more than a cubit long. (And by the end of the first year after conception (when the baby is three months old), it reaches a length of one-and-a-half cubits. ) Go out and calculate one-and-a-half cubits per year, (Since man’s growth is compared to the growth of a sycamore, that means he will grow at a constant rate for six hundred years.) that is nine hundred cubits. The produce of the earth, the fruit of the tree, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “For the seed is of peace: The vine will yield its fruit, [and the land will yield its produce]” (Zechariah 8:12). The lights, from where is it derived? It is as it is written: “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun [and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days]” (Isaiah 30:26).

Rabbi Abahu and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, Rabbi Abahu said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. That is what is written: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalms 1:6). (See Bereshit Rabba 8:4.) “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” – these are the actions of the righteous. But I do not know which He desires, whether it is the actions of these, or the actions of those. When it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – this shows that He desires the actions of the righteous, and does not desire the actions of the wicked. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the Temple built, destroyed, and rebuilt. “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” – that indicates [the Temple] being built, as it says: “To plant the heavens and to lay the foundation of the earth and to say to Zion: You are My people” (Isaiah 51:16). “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – that indicates [the Temple] destroyed, just as it says: “I have seen the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). “God said: Let there be light” – that indicates [the Temple] being built and perfected in the future, as it says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come” (Isaiah 60:1), and it is written: “For, behold, the darkness will cover the earth, and nations, a fog; but upon you the Lord will shine and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai began: “There is joy for a man in the pronouncement of his mouth, and how good is a word at its time” (Proverbs 15:23). “Joy for a man [ish]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is a warrior [ish milḥama]; the Lord is His name” (Exodus 15:3). “In the pronouncement of his mouth” – “the Lord said: Let there be light.” “And how good is a word at its time” – “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4).

Rabbi Simon said: Light is mentioned five times here, corresponding to the five books of the Torah. “God said: Let there be light” – corresponding to the book of Genesis, in which the Holy One blessed be He engaged in creating His world. “And there was light” – corresponding to the book of Exodus in which Israel emerged from darkness to light. “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Leviticus, which is full of multiple halakhot. (Hence the two positive expressions: “light” and “good.”) “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Numbers, which distinguishes between those who departed from Egypt and those who entered the land. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – corresponding to the book of Deuteronomy, which is full of multiple halakhot. The students raised an objection to Rabbi Simon: ‘But is the book of Leviticus not full of halakhot [just like Deuteronomy]?’ (Regarding Leviticus, the double expression indicated the multiplicity of halakhot. Why does Deuteronomy, which is just like Leviticus, not have a the double expressionof light?) He said to them: ‘In its regard, too, it said a second word.’ (The verse corresponding to Deuteronomy also contains two positive expressions, “light” and “good.”)

“God called the light, Day” – are “light” and “day” not the same thing? This is bewildering. It is taught: The light that was created during the six days of Creation cannot illuminate by day, because it would make the orb of the sun seem dim [by comparison], nor can it [illuminate] at night, as it was created to illuminate only during the day. Where is it, then? (Since it does not illuminate the world at any time.) It was stored away, and is designated for the righteous for the future, as it is stated: “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). This is bewildering: (The verse just cited, which refers to the shining of the great light of Creation for seven days. ) “Seven [days]”? Are they not three? Is it not so, that the lights were created only on the fourth day? It is, rather, like a person who says: This and that I am preparing for the seven days of the wedding feast. (He says this even if his preparations are for only one or two of the seven days.) Rabbi Neḥemya said: These are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Methuselah, during which the Holy One blessed be He conferred extra light upon them. “God saw the light, that it was good, and God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). “God saw the light, that it was good” – Rabbi Ze’eira son of Rabbi Abahu preached in Caesarea: From where is it derived that someone does not recite a blessing on the candle [at havdala on Saturday night] until he avails himself of its light? It is from here: “[God] saw…and [God] distinguished [vayavdel].” Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: He set it aside (Vayavdel (“He distinguished”) can also mean He set aside.) for Himself. (As it is said (Daniel 2:22): “Light dwells with Him.”) The Rabbis say: He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. This is analogous to a king who had a fine portion of food and set it aside for his son. “God called the light, Day, and to the darkness He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). Rabbi Berekhya said: This is what two eminent men of the world, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded: “[God] distinguished” – this refers to distinguishing in the literal sense. (Unlike the previous explanations.) This is analogous to a king who had two commanders, one to be in charge by day and one to be in charge by night. They were arguing with one another. This one said: ‘I will be in charge by day,’ and that one said: ‘I will be in charge by day.’ The king summoned the first one and said to him: ‘So-and-so, the day will be your realm.’ Likewise for the second one, he said to him: ‘So-and-so, the night will be your realm.’ So, too, “God called the light, Day” (This can also be translated: “God called out to the light: Day [will be your realm].”) – He said to it: ‘The day will be your realm.’ “And to the darkness He called Night” – He said to it: ‘The night will be your realm.’ Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That is what the Holy One blessed be He says to Job: “In all your days, have you commanded the morning and apprised darkness of its place?” (Job 38:12) – have you informed it of its place, where it is? This was a rhetorical question. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source for this: “He forms light and creates darkness, He makes peace” (Isaiah 45:7) – after they were created, He made peace [between them]. “God called the light, Day” – Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One blessed be He never associates His name with the bad, but only with the good. “God called the light, Day and to the darkness God called night” is not written here, but rather, “to the darkness He called night.” (Regarding darkness, the pronoun “He” is used instead of God’s name.)

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

“He commanded the one in charge of his house, saying: Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they are able to carry, and place each man's silver at the opening of his sack” (Genesis 44:1). “And place my goblet, the silver goblet, at the opening of the sack of the youngest, and the silver of his purchase of the grain. He did in accordance with the statement that Joseph had spoken” (Genesis 44:2). “Morning broke, and the men were dispatched, they and their donkeys” (Genesis 44:3). “He commanded the one in charge of his house…Morning broke...” Rabbi Levi said: There was an incident in the South (In the land of Judah.) regarding a certain innkeeper, who would rise and don his garments at night and he would say to those who were there: ‘Arise and go on your way, as I will arrange a caravan to accompany you.’ They would go out, robbers would meet them and plunder them, and they would come and divide [the spoils] with him. One time, Rabbi Meir went and was received there. [The innkeeper] arose and donned his garments and he said to him: ‘Arise and go on your way, as I will arrange a caravan to accompany you.’ He said to him: ‘I have a brother, and I am sitting and waiting for him.’ He said to him: ‘Where is he?’ He said to him: ‘In the synagogue.’ He said to him: ‘What is his name? I will go and call him.’ He said to him: ‘Ki tov.’ That entire night, that innkeeper shouted at the entrance of the synagogue: ‘Ki tov, Ki tov,’ but no one answered him. In the morning, Rabbi Meir rose and bridled his donkey in order to depart. The innkeeper said to him: ‘Where is that brother of whom you spoke?’ He said to him: ‘He has arrived: “God saw the light, that it was good [ki tov]”’ (Genesis 1:4).

R. Joshua b. Levi said: "One who sees the letter Teth in his dream, it is a good omen for him." Why so? Because the first time this letter is used in the Scripture is in the word Tob (good) [Gen. 1, 4] And God saw the light, that it was good (tob)." Another thing said R. Joshua b. Levi: "One who sees a funeral in a dream, it means that he was spared by heaven [and was not punished]. This, however, refers only to when he saw the word funeral written [but not the actual procession]."

(Ex. 2, 2) And the woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child. We are taught that R. Maier says: "His name was Tob [good]." R. Juda said: "Tubial was his name." R. Nachemia says: "Hagon (worthy to prophecy) was his name." Acherim says: "He was born circumsized." The sages, however, say [that his goodness was recognized] when Moses was born the house was filled with light; for it is written here And when she saw that he was tob (a goodly child) and it is also written (Gen. 1, 4) And God saw the light that it was Tob (good). (Ex. 2, 2) She hid him three months. [Why three months]? Because the Egyptians counted nine months from the time she was remarried, but Moses was born within less than seven months. (Ib., ib. 3) And when she could no longer hide him. Why was she not able to hide him any longer? Because whenever the Egyptians would hear that a woman was about to give birth, they would fetch another infant there and make it cry in order that the newly born child should hear it and cry with it, as it is written (Song of songs 2:15) Seize for us the foxes, the little foxes that injure the vineyards.

R. Elazar said again: "Even for the sake of one righteous man the whole world was created, as it is written (Gen. 1, 4) And God saw the light, that it was good. And good refers only to a just man, since it is said (Is. 3, 10) Say to the just, that he is good." R. Elazar said again: "Whoever forgots some of his studies, causes exile to his cliildren, as it is said (Hos. 4, 6) As thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, so will I myself also forget thy children." R. Abaha said: "He will be removed from his high station, as it is said (Ib.) Because thou hast rejected knowledge, so will I also reject thee from officiating before me."

"and you shall not go out, a man from the door of his house: We are hereby taught that once permission has been given to "the destroyer" to destroy, he does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. As it is written (Isaiah 26:20) "Go, My people, enter your chambers and close your door behind you. Hide but a little moment, until the wrath passes," and (Ezekiel 21:8) "Behold, I am (coming) upon you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath, and I will cut of from you (both) righteous and wicked." And it is written (Exodus 33:22) "And it shall be, when My glory passes by … and I shall cover you with My palm until I have passed." Variantly: (Exodus 12:22) "And you, do not go out, a man from the door of his house until morning" — to teach you that when you take to the road, enter (the house) in "ki tov" (i.e., in the morning) and leave in "ki tov" (from Genesis 1:4 "And G–d saw the light ki tov" ("that it was good").

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF HEAVEN AND EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. R. Berekhyah and R. Helbo said in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman: (Sanh. 38b; Gen. R. 12:6; Exod. R. 30:3; Numb. R. 13:12; PR 46:2; Tanh., Gen. 1:6; Hasarot wlterot, fol. 37.) Every toledot which is in the Torah lacks < a vowel letter > apart from two which are spelled in full. < The two are > (Ruth 4:18): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF PEREZ < and > (Gen. 1:4): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF HEAVEN. Both of them are spelled in full. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said: Those < which lack a vowel letter number > six. R. Pinhas said in the name of R. Reuben: They correspond to the six things which < the Holy One > took away from the first Adam, and these are the following: (1) His facial luster, (2) his stature, (3) his life (i.e., his immortality), (4) the fruits of the earth, (5) the Garden of Eden, and (6) sun and moon. Where is it shown about his facial luster? Where it is stated (in Job 14:20): YOU CHANGE HIS FACE AND SEND HIM AWAY. Where is it shown about his stature? (Hag. 12a; cf. Gen. R. 19:8; Cant. R. 3:7:5; PRK 1:1; 5:3; PR 15:3.) Where it is stated (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE < RE > FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. Where is it shown about his life? Where death was decreed over him (in Gen. 2:17); [for, if he had been worthy], he would have remained alive forever. Where is it shown about the fruits of the earth? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:17): CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 13:10): THE SUN SHALL BE DARK AT ITS RISING AND THE MOON SHALL NOT CAUSE ITS LIGHT TO SHINE. In the world to come, however, the Holy One will restore {to him} [them]. [Where is it shown] about facial luster? Where it is stated (in Is. 61:9): ALL WHO SEE THEM SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, < THAT THEY ARE THE SEED WHICH THE LORD HAS BLESSED >. And where is it shown about his stature? Where it is stated (in Lev. 26:13): (Sifra, ad loc.; Sanh. 100a.) AND I MADE YOU WALK WITH STATURE. R. Judah says: What is the meaning of STATURE? The time will come when each and every {upright} one [from Israel] will be a hundred cubits tall. R. Simeon ben Johay says: two hundred cubits, as stated (here): STATURE (qomemiyyut): Qom < ahmeans one stature of > a hundred; miyyut (read as me'ot, i.e., "hundreds") < implies another > hundred. (Cf. Gen. R. 8:1).) Ergo: two hundred. {And they would live forever?} [And where is it shown about his life?] Where it is stated (in Is. 65:22): AS LONG AS THE DAYS OF A TREE SHALL BE THE DAYS OF MY PEOPLE…. And where is it shown about the fruits of the earth? (See ySheq. 6:2 (50a); yTaan. 1:2 (64a).) Where it is stated (in Ezek. 47:12): AND BY THE RIVER UPON ITS BANK ON BOTH SIDES [SHALL GROW EVERY TREE FOR FOOD. THEIR LEAF SHALL NOT WITHER, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FRUIT FAIL. THEY SHALL BRING FORTH NEW FRUIT EVERY MONTH]. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Hos. 14:8 [7]): THOSE WHO DWELL IN HIS SHADOW SHALL BE TRANSFORMED. THEY SHALL GROW GRAIN AND BLOSSOM LIKE A VINE. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 30:26): MOREOVER, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON SHALL BE AS THE LIGHT OF THE SUN, AND THE LIGHT OF THE SUN SHALL BE SEVENFOLD, AS THE LIGHT OF THE SEVEN DAYS. R. Aha said in the name of R. Hanina: The wound from the blow to the world will heal.

(Numb. 16:1:) NOW KORAH < … > TOOK. he took his prayer shawl, when he went to get counsel from his wife. (Tanh., Numb.5:3; Numb.R. 18:4.) When the Holy One said (in Numb. 8:6–7): TAKE THE LEVITES FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND PURIFY THEM. NOW THIS IS WHAT YOU SHALL DO FOR THEM TO PURIFY THEM …, AND HAVE THEM PASS A RAZOR OVER ALL OF THEIR FLESH. He immediately did so to Korah. He began to go around all Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him: Who did this to you? He told them: Moses. And not only that but taking me by my hands and by my feet, they waved me (like an offering). Then he said to me: See, you are purified. Moreover, he brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and had him sit in the tent of meeting. The enemies of Moses immediately began to incite Israel against him. So they said: Moses is king, his brother Aaron is high priest, and his children are deputy high priests! The priest has a priestly offering (terumah); the priest has a priestly offering from the tithe (See Ter. 4:1.) ; the priest has twenty-four priestly gifts! (See THal. 2:7-10 for a listing.) Immediately (in Numb. 16:3) THEY GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST MOSES AND AGAINST AARON, AND THEY SAID UNTO THEM: YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR (RB), FOR ALL THE CONGREGATION ARE HOLY, EVERY ONE OF THEM, AND THE LORD IS IN THE MIDST OF THEM. SO WHY DO YOU ELEVATE YOURSELVES OVER THE COMMUNITY OF THE LORD? R. Levi said: At that very time Korah gathered his company and said to them (i.e., to Moses and Aaron): You have increased (rt.: RBH) the burden upon us to be more than the slavery of Egypt. We were better off under the Egyptians than under your authority, for in each and every year fifteen thousand and forty-five of us die. (As the yearly punishment for the sin of the spies amortized over forty years, during which a whole generation Israelites died in the desert (Numb. 14:20–24.)) Now they wished to stone him; therefore (according to vs. 4), WHEN MOSES HEARD THIS, HE FELL ON HIS FACE. Moses said to them: I do not desire kingship, nor does Aaron high priesthood. Thus it is stated (in vs. 11): AND AS FOR AARON, WHAT IS HE THAT YOU SHOULD MURMUR AGAINST HIM? Moses said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the world, did you not command me thus (in Exod. 28:1): AND YOU SHALL BRING NEAR UNTO YOURSELF ? Now they have arisen against us to kill us. He said to him (in Numb. 16:5): IN THE MORNING THE LORD WILL MAKE KNOWN {From where?} [What does this mean?] R. Nathan said: The Holy One said: If all the magicians of the world gathered together and tried to turn the morning into the evening, they would be unable ; but just as I separated the light and the darkness (in Gen. 1:4), so have I separated out Aaron to sanctify him as most holy. Immediately (in Numb. 16:12): THEN MOSES SENT TO SUMMON DATHAN AND ABIRAM, SONS OF ELIAB, BUT THEY SAID: WE WILL NOT COME UP. "We will not go" or "We will not come" is not written here, but WE WILL NOT COME UP. (Prov. 18:17:) A FOOL's MOUTH IS HIS RUIN! They opened their mouth about descending by saying that ascent was not for them. Just as they spoke, so did they die (according to Numb. 16:33): SO THEY AND ALL THAT BELONGED TO THEM WENT DOWN ALIVE TO SHEOL. Moses said: In as much as they did not want to come , I shall go to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed and repent. It is so stated (in Numb. 16:25): THEN MOSES AROSE AND WENT UNTO DATHAN AND ABIRAM. When they saw him they began to reproach and revile , as stated (in vs. 27): AND DATHAN AND ABIRAM CAME OUT STANDING (rt.: NTsB). Does one go out sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate? (The point here is that to mention that Dathan and Abiram were standing seems unnecessary and therefore implies some deeper meaning.) It is simply that they went out reproaching and reviling . Going out and standing upright (rt.: YTsB) is mentioned here. Now going out and standing upright (rt.: NTsB) is mentioned below in reference to Goliath the Philistine, where it is written (in I Sam. 17:4, 16): AND THERE WENT OUT A CHAMPION THE COMMON DEATH OF EVERY PERSON…. AND THE EARTH OPENED ITS MOUTH …. Come and see how harmful dissension must be! Whenever anyone foments dissension, the Holy One eradicates his memory. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:35): AND A FIRE WENT FORTH FROM THE LORD AND CONSUMED THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MEN . R. Berekhyah said: How harmful dissension must be! An emissary of the court on high only imposes a penalty (QNS; cf. Lat.: censere, which can mean “to tax.”) from the age of twenty years, while the court below from the age of thirteen years. In the case of Korah's dissension, however, one-day-old babies were burned and swallowed up in nethermost Sheol. Thus it is written (in Numb. 16:27, 33): SO THEY AND ALL THAT BELONGED TO THEM WENT DOWN ALIVE TO SHEOL. It is therefore stated (Numb. 16:1): NOW KORAH < … > TOOK.

(Numb. 16:1:) “Now Korah […] took.” [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife. (Numb. R. 18:4.) When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb. 8:6–7), “Take the Levites from among the Children of Israel and purify them. Now this is what you shall do for them to purify them [… and have them pass a razor over all of their flesh].” [Moses] immediately did so to Korah. [Korah] began to go around all Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him, “Who did this to you?” He told them, “Moses. And not only that, but taking me by my hands and by my feet, they waved me and said to me, ‘See, you are purified.’ Moreover, he brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and had him sit in the tent of meeting.” The enemies of Moses immediately began to incite Israel against him. So they said, “Moses is king, his brother Aaron is high priest, and his children are deputy high priests! The priest has a priestly offering (terumah); the priest has a priestly offering from the tithe (See Ter. 4:1.) ; the priest has twenty-four priestly gifts!” (See THal. 2:7-10 for a listing.) Immediately (in Numb. 16:3) “They gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, and they said unto them, ‘You have gone too far (rb), for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in the midst of them; so why do you elevate yourselves over the community of the Lord?’” R. Levi said, “At that very time Korah gathered his company and said to them (i.e., to Moses and Aaron), ‘You have increased (rt.: rbh) the burden upon us to be more than the slavery of Egypt. We were better off under the Egyptians than under your authority, for in each and every year fifteen thousand and forty-five of us die.’” (As the yearly punishment for the sin of the spies amortized over forty years, during which a whole generation Israelites died in the desert (Numb. 14:20–24.)) Now they wished to stone him. [Therefore] (according to vs. 4), “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.” Moses said to them, “I do not desire kingship, nor does Aaron [desire] high priesthood. Thus it is stated (in vs. 11), “and as for Aaron, what is he that you should murmur against him?” Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, did you not command me thus (in Exod. 28:1), ‘And you shall bring near unto yourself Aaron [… to serve me as priests]?’ Now they have arisen against us to kill us.” [So Moses] said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known those who [belong to Him…].” What does “morning” mean? R. Nathan said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If all the magicians of Egypt gathered together and tried to turn the morning into the evening and the evening into morning, they would be unable [to do so]; but just as I [formerly] separated the light and the darkness (in Gen. 1:4), so have I separated out Aaron to sanctify him in the holy of holies.’” Immediately (in Numb. 16:12), “Then Moses sent to summon [Dathan and Abiram…, but they said, ‘We will not come up.’” "We will not go" or "We will not come" is not written here, but “We will not come up.” (Prov. 18:17:) “A fool's mouth is his ruin!” They opened their mouth for a calamity, by saying that they would die by going down and not going up. Just as they spoke, so did they die (according to Numb. 16:33), “So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.” Moses said, “In as much as they did not want to come [to me], I shall go to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed and repent.” It is so stated (in Numb. 16:25), “Then Moses arose and went unto Dathan and Abiram.” When they saw him they began to curse and blaspheme, as stated (in vs. 27), “and Dathan and Abiram came out standing (rt.: ntsb).” Does one go out sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate? (The point here is that to mention that Dathan and Abiram were standing seems unnecessary and therefore implies some deeper meaning.) It is simply that it is to teach that they went out cursing and blaspheming. As going out and standing upright (rt.: ytsb) is mentioned here, and going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) is [also] mentioned in reference to Goliath the Philistine, where it is written (in I Sam. 17:4, 16), “And there went out a champion [….] Then the Philistine drew near at dawn and in the evening, and he took his stand (rt.: ytsb) for forty days.” Just as going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involved cursing and blaspheming in that case, (The cursing and blaspheming is specifically mentioned in I Sam.17:8-10.) so also in this case did going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involve cursing and blaspheming. Moses therefore began by saying (in Numb. 16:29, 32), “If these [people] die….” And it is also written (in Numb. 16:32), “And the earth opened its mouth [and swallowed them].” Come and see how [harmful] dissension is! As anyone who [even] aids dissension, the Holy One, blessed be He, eradicates his memory. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:35), “And a fire went forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men [coffering the incense].” R. Berekhyah said, “How harmful is dissension! An emissary of the court on high only imposes a penalty (QNS; cf. Lat.: censere, which can mean “to tax.”) [on people] from the age of twenty years, while the court below [only imposes a penalty] from the age of thirteen years. In the case of Korah's dissension, however, one-day-old babies were burned and swallowed up in nethermost Sheol. Thus it is written (in Numb. 16:27, 33), ‘[and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the entrance of their tents] with their wives, their children, and their little ones. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.’” It is therefore stated (Numb. 16:1), “Now Korah […] took.”

(Numb. 16:5:) “In the morning [the Lord will make known those who belong to him].” What reason did he have for saying, “In the morning He will make known?” (Numb. R. 18:7.) Moses said, “Perhaps they said this thing because they had been excessively eating and drinking.” He therefore said, “In the morning.” Perhaps between now and then they will repent. He said to them, “I have no authority to enter [the tabernacle] now. Even though there is no eating and no drinking, it is simply because of us [that we are forbidden to enter] as we have taken food and drink.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 16:5), “In the morning.” Moses said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, has distinguished boundaries for those in His world. Can you confuse morning with evening? And that is what is written in the beginning (in Gen. 1:5), ‘There was evening and there was morning.’ And (in vs. 4) ‘God separated the light and the darkness,’ for its use in the world. And just as he made a separation between the light and the darkness, so did he separate Israel from the nations, [as stated] (in Lev. 20:26), ‘I have separated you from the [other] peoples to be Mine.’ So also did he separate Aaron, as stated (in I Chron. 23:13), ‘Aaron was separated to consecrate the most holy things.’ If you can confuse those distinctions in which he made a separation between the day and the night, you may be able to nullify this.” For this reason he said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known [those who belong to Him].” Such a one is already designated; (according to ibid., end) “the one whom He will choose He will have draw near unto Him.” (Numb. 16:6:) “Do this; take censers, [Korah and all his company].” What was his reason for saying this to them? (Numb. R. 18:8.) He said to them, “In the religions of the nations there are many laws, (NYMWSYN. Gk.: nomoi.) and they do not all assemble in one house. Now as for us, we only have one God, one Torah, one justice, one altar, and one high priest; but you two hundred and fifty men are [yet all] seeking high priesthood! I also am willing in this regard.” (Numb. 16:11:) “Therefore you and all your company” have come together against the Lord. (Numb. 16:6 -7:) “Do this, take censers. And place fire in them.” Here you have a ministry more precious than all the others. It is the incense, the most precious of the sacrifices. But a deadly poison had been put within it, through which Nadab and Abihu were burned. He therefore warned them (in vs. 7, cont.), “then it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one,” And do we not know that the one that the Lord chooses is the holy one? It is simply that Moses said to them, “See, I am telling you that you are not to incur guilt on your two hundred and fifty souls, because when you sacrifice, [only] the one to be chosen from among you shall come out alive, and all [the rest] of you shall perish.” (Numb. 16:7:) “You Levites have gone too far!” See, I have told you a great thing! Were they not fools, in that when he gave them this warning, they took it upon themselves to offer sacrifice? They had sinned against their own lives, as stated (in Numb. 17:3), “The censers of these who have sinned at the cost of their lives.” Now since Korah was a clever man, how did he see fit to commit this folly? It is simply that his eyes misled him. He foresaw a great lineage stemming from himself, [e.g.,] Samuel, who was the equivalent of Moses and Aaron, as stated (in Ps. 99:6), “Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call His name.” Moreover, the twenty-four [Levitical] shifts would stem from his descendants, all of whom would prophesy by the holy spirit, as stated (in I Chron. 25:5), “All these were sons of Heman, (A descendant of Korah.) the king's seer in matters pertaining to God for his greater glory.” He said, “Is it possible that, when this greatness is going to stem from me, I should perish?” But he did not foresee correctly, since his children would repent, and those [great ones] would stem from them. But Moses did foresee well. He therefore participated on this assumption, when he heard from the mouth of Moses that they all would perish, but one would escape, as stated (Numb. 16:7) “then it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one.”

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). May our master teach us: When is the blessing over the light offered at the expiration of the Sabbath? Thus do our masters teach us: The blessing over the light (i.e., the Havdalah ceremony) is not pronounced until one benefits from the light (for reading). Whence do we learn this? From the Holy One Himself, blessed be He, as is said: And God saw that the light was good (Gen. 1:4). After that Scripture states: And God divided the light from the darkness (ibid.). R. Ze’era the son of Abahu said: Thus we learn that we do not bless the light at the expiration of the Sabbath until one can benefit from the light.

"To David: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? This is what is written (Isaiah 10:17): "And the light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame." In the custom of the world, people light a candle with their own matches. One might say that so-and-so who loves me will use my light, and so-and-so who hates me will not use my light. But everyone uses the light. However, the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that. Rather, "And the light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame." The righteous will see, and the wicked will not. This was already demonstrated in Egypt (Exodus 10:23): "But for all the children of Israel there was light." (ibid 13:21) "And the Lord went before them by day." And it is said (ibid 14:20) "And he gave light to them in the night." And it is said (Micah 7:8) "When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light unto me." Therefore it is said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." (Psalms 27:1) And it is said (ibid 43:3) "Send forth your light and your truth." (And an example for the future is said) "God created the light which is hidden away for the righteous to use in the future." (Proverbs 13:9) "The light of the righteous rejoices." And it is said (Genesis 1:4) "And God saw the light, that it was good." Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Simon, said, "God separated the light for Himself, as it were." A parable: A king who saw a beautiful garment and said, "This is mine." Similarly, when God created the world, He said, "No creature can use it except for me." And thus it is said (Daniel 2:22) "And with Him is light." Rabbi Avin said, "God took it and wrapped Himself in it like a garment, and He brightened the world with its radiance." And this is what is written (Psalms 104:2) "He wraps Himself in light as with a garment." The Rabbis said, "He separated it for Himself in order to give it to the righteous in the future." A parable: A king who had a beautiful garment and said, "This is for my son." And thus it is said (Psalms 97:11) "Light is sown for the righteous." David said before the Lord, "Master of the Universe, when will the Messiah come?" He said to him, "When the end comes and Jerusalem is built, then I will bring him." "And upon you, the Lord will shine. And if you wonder about this matter, the Holy One, blessed be He, has already shown an example to Israel, as it is stated (Exodus 14:20), 'And there was a cloud and darkness.' If there was a cloud, why was there darkness? And if there was darkness, why was there a cloud? Rabbi Hoshaya said, 'There were two faces to the cloud; for Israel, it was light, and for Egypt, it was darkness.' David said, 'I sing about that light, as it is said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalm 27:1).' This is why the verse says (Psalm 119:105), 'Your word is a lamp unto my feet.' Why are the wicked compared to darkness? It is like someone who walks in the dark of night and stumbles upon a stone and falls. Then he reaches a thorn and falls into it. As it is said (Proverbs 4:19), 'The way of the wicked is like darkness; they know not at what they stumble.' Why are the righteous compared to light? It is like someone who walks with a torch in his hand. When he reaches a stone, he guards himself so as not to stumble. When he reaches a thorn, he guards himself so as not to fall into it. Thus, David said, 'When I come to desecrate the Sabbath, the Torah enlightens me, as it is said (Deuteronomy 5:12), "Keep the Sabbath day holy." When I come to commit adultery, the Torah enlightens me, as it is said (Leviticus 20:10), "The adulterer and adulteress shall surely be put to death." This is what is meant by the verse (Psalm 119:105), 'Your word is a lamp unto my feet.' Another interpretation: If we say 'lamp,' why do we say 'light?' And if we say 'light,' why do we say 'lamp?' David said, 'When I begin to study the Torah, I start with a little, and they flow from me. And when I enter into it, many gates open up for me.' Therefore, it is said, 'Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path' (Psalm 119:105)."

“The woman conceived and bore a son; she saw that he was good and she hid him for three months” (Exodus 2:2). “The woman conceived and bore a son” – Rabbi Yehuda said: Her birth is juxtaposed with her conception; just as her conception was painless, so too, her birth was painless. From here it is derived that righteous women were not included in the verdict of Eve. “She saw that he was good [tov].” It was taught that Rabbi Meir says: His name was Tov. Rabbi Yoshiya says: His name was Toviya. Rabbi Yehuda says: He was fit for prophecy. Others say: He was born circumcised. The Rabbis say: At the moment that Moses was born, the entire house was illuminated; here it is written: “She saw that he was good [tov].” There it is written: “God saw the light, that it was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4). “She hid him for three months” because the Egyptians counted only from the moment that he remarried her, but she had already been three months pregnant from the outset. “She was no longer able to hide him, and she took for him a wicker basket and coated it with clay and with pitch; she placed the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile” (Exodus 2:3). “She was no longer able to hide him” (Exodus 2:3). Why? It is because the Egyptians were going into each and every house in which they thought that a baby had been born, and would take a small Egyptian baby there and would cause him to cry, so that the Israelite baby would hear his voice and cry with him. That is what is written: “Catch us foxes, little foxes [that ruin vineyards…]” (Song of Songs 2:15). (The verse may also be translated: “The foxes held little foxes against us in order to ruin the vineyard,” and the midrash takes it in that sense. The Egyptians are compared to foxes because they are sly as foxes, and Israel is compared to a vineyard. )

“You shall craft the boards for the Tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright” (Exodus 26:15). “You shall craft the boards for the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:15). That is what is written: “The trees of the Lord sate themselves, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted” (Psalms 104:16). There were many creations that the Holy One blessed be He created in His world, that the world was not fit to utilize, so the Holy One blessed be He concealed them from the world. What is [an example of] this? The light that was created on the first day, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: By the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day, a person could gaze and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion would be corrupt, He rose and concealed it from them, as it is stated: “He prevented light from the wicked” (Job 38:15). For whom did He conceal it? For the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4). What is “that it was good”? That its light was suitable for the world, and was not harmful like this sun. (The light created on the first day would never shine too brightly or create heat too great for a person to bear. ) Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11). (Since sowing is done in a garden, this alludes to the fact that God concealed the light in the Garden of Eden (Maharzu; Rabbi David Luria). ) There were many creations that the Holy One blessed be He created in the world that the world was not fit to utilize and were fit to be concealed, but they were not concealed, in deference to the Holy One blessed be He. What is [an example of] this? Gold. Rabbi Abahu said: The Holy One blessed be He imparted great goodness to the world through gold. A person changes one gold piece and thereby covers several expenditures, as it is stated: “The gold of that land is good” (Genesis 2:12). Its goodness is when it is in his house and its goodness is when it accompanies him on the way. (Gold is convenient to store at home because of its value and the fact that it lasts for a long time without decay. It is also convenient to carry on one’s travels because one can take along a significant sum without having to carry a large, heavy quantity. ) Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The world was not fit to utilize gold. Why was it created? For the Tabernacle and for the Temple, as it is stated: “The gold of that land is good,” just as it says: “That good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). (“The good mountain” is understood as a reference to Jerusalem, and “the Lebanon” is understood as a reference to the Temple (see Sifrei VaEtḥanan 25).) There were seven types of gold in the Temple: Good gold, pure gold, Shaḥut gold, Sagur gold, refined gold, Parvayim gold, and Mufaz gold. Good gold, in its plain sense. Pure, in that they would place it in a crucible and none of it would be missing. Shaḥut gold, as it was stretched like a thread [ḥut], and they would smear it like wax that is placed on a ledger. Sagur gold, as it would close [soger] all the gold merchants who were there. (When this type of gold was being sold, gold merchants who were selling other types of gold would have to close up shop because they could not compete with its brilliance.) Refined gold, they would overlay the walls [of the Temple] with it. But isn’t it written: “Seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses”? (I Chronicles 29:4). Why do they call it silver [kesef]? Because it would shame [makhsif] all the gold that was there. Mufaz gold, Rabbi Patriki, brother of Rabbi Derosai, says: It is because it resembled sulfur that is ignited with fire. (The fire is very bright gold [paz].) Parvayim gold, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Because it resembles the blood of bulls. Some say, because it would produce fruits [perot]. (When Solomon built the Temple he fashioned golden trees that would produce fruits which were used to fund Temple maintenance (see Yoma 21b; Shir HaShirim Rabba 3:8:3).) The cedars, too, were fit to be concealed, but were not concealed. Rabbi Ḥanina said: The world was not fit to utilize cedars. They were created only for the Tabernacle and for the Temple, as it is stated: “The trees of the Lord sate themselves, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted” (Psalms 104:16). Lebanon is nothing other than the Temple, as it is stated: “That good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: They are twenty-four species of cedars, but there are only seven that are more outstanding than all of them, as it is stated: “I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle and pine trees [in the wilderness; I will place juniper, ash and boxwood together in the desert]” (Isaiah 41:19). Why were they not concealed? Because the Holy One blessed be He foresaw that [Israel] was destined to perform with them the labor of the Tabernacle, in the place where the Divine Presence was destined to dwell, as it is stated: “That birds will nest there” (Psalms 104:17). Does it enter your mind that birds would nest there? It is, rather, the birds that the priest would slaughter and sacrifice in the Temple. What is, “the stork has its home in the junipers”? (Psalms 104:17). Is the home of a stork in cedars? What is a stork [ḥasida]? This is the High Priest, as it is stated: “Your Tumin and Your Urim for Your pious one [ḥasidekha]” (Deuteronomy 33:8).

The luminaries, מאורות, were created on the first day, the intention being to provide light for a universe which had not yet been formed. No doubt, G–d had revealed to Earth the secret that these luminaries would be hidden later on, that a different light would be hung in the sky to provide light on earth. This is what is described in the Torah's report of the fourth day of Creation. The power of negative forces in this world, known as קליפות, is due to the diminution of the power of the original luminaries. This situation will continue through to the messianic age. In the present world the קליפה always precedes the fruit, even in the sequence in which man's children were born.

G–d realized immediately (remember that the word in the Midrash used for this is ראה) that the kind of people whose souls (spiritual capacity) are of a lower order, seeing that they are further removed from the שרש, would not be able to survive for long in a universe that was based solely on the attribute of Justice. The word ראה implies a situation of גלוי, that something had already been revealed, was no longer in a realm hidden from all but the highest בני עליה.

The expression הבדלו, "become separate!" which Moses used in 16,21, also alludes to the "separation" of waters that took place during the second day of Creation (Genesis 1,7). "Separations" are indications of creational activity. Originally, all of Creation had been for the sake of "Adam". Since Adam however, grew apart from G–d, Aaron was brought "close to G–d" in his place when he became the High Priest. We have explained all this based on the Midrash in our commentary on the portions that comprise תורת כהנים.

To get back to the puzzling discussion in Baba Kama 54. Rabbi Chiya bar Abba understood the question of Rabbi Chanina ben Agil as a twofold one. If he would give one kind of answer this would raise a new problem. If he gave the other answer it would also result in a further question. If the mention of "good" in 5,16, i.e. in the second set of the tablets, referred to "good" in the World to Come, this kind of "good" should have been mentioned in the first set of the tablets. If, on the other hand, the word ייטב in 5,16 refers to the good to be experienced in this world and it is therefore logical that it was omitted in the first set of tablets since these tablets represented the entire Torah [and we do not expect reward for Torah observance in this world Ed.], it should also have been omitted from the text of the second set of tablets. Rabbi Chiya replied that before assuming glibly that what was written in the second set of tablets referred to a "true good," one must first establish if that indeed is what the word ייטב in 5,16 is all about. He added that he himself had another query to which he did not have the answer, namely the exact meaning of "true good," הטוב האמיתי. He meant that he did not know whether to understand the word ייטב in 5,16 as being spelled with the vowel שורוק and thereby referring to the "hidden" good, or whether it was spelled with the vowel חולם and referred to manifest "good." In the latter case the question why it was not written in the first set of tablets is much stronger. If the only reason it was left out from the text of the first set of tablets was because it was in a domain which no human eye has ever beheld, then the very need to give the Jewish people a second set of tablets had itself removed such "good" even further from any human eye due to the sin of the golden calf. It should therefore certainly not have been written on the second set of tablets at all. This is why Rabbi Chiya sent the questioner to Rabbi Tanchum. Eventually the response was received that it had been foreseen that the first set of tablets would be smashed. What this meant was that there was both a נגלה, revealed, and a נסתר, hidden element in the tablets. The tablets i.e. the material, represented the נגלה aspect, whereas the letters i.e. the spiritual part, represented the נסתר aspect of the Ten Commandments. Our sages (Pesachim 87) are on record that when Moses smashed the tablets the letters "flew away." These letters were then stored in the Celestial Regions together with other things which are all "good." At the beginning of Creation, when G–d had created light and had surveyed His activity (Genesis 1,4), He described the light as "good." At that point there was only a single טוב, i.e. it was כולו טוב. G–d then took a look at what the wicked would do in the future and He decided to hide this "good" for a future when the wicked would no longer be active. This original light had returned to earth at the time of מתן תורה, but when the Jewish people committed the sin of the golden calf Moses broke the tablets as a sign that the recently restored original light was once more being withdrawn. There will come a future, however, when this light will be restored and the world will then qualify for the description כולו טוב, totally, absolutely good. The word "good" appears as part of the text of the second tablets then to serve as a beacon of hope for us of this future we can still look forward to. Had the word appeared first on the first set of tablets and been smashed, the impression might have been created that there would never again be a return to the idyllic state of affairs at the time G–d had created the absolute good, i.e. the original light. The absolute "good" is an allusion to the Unity of the Creator; were one to believe that there would not be a future of "absolute good," this would be tantamount to giving up on G–d's great Name ever becoming manifest again. This concludes our "overview" of the three great gifts we have received from G–d. Now let us turn to the details of these gifts.

For your love is better [tovim] than wine: The phrase “is better” [tovim] refers to the outpouring and amplification of that clear light, which divides and shines in all directions. (The word tovim is plural: your love is an improvement upon the wine of ḥokhmah, as it flows in multiple directions.) As it says: “when Aaron lights [behetivo] the lamps” [Exod. 30:8]—which the Aramaic translation renders as “kindles.” Such also is the meaning of “God saw that the light was good” [Gen. 1:4]. (“Goodness” is the ongoing flow of light from lamp to lamp, the ceaseless flow of divine life, through the sefirot and into the world.)

It is true that the light of a clearly defined law is sweet, even for those who do not know the reason for the decision or its source. It is indeed pleasant for the eyes to feel the sun, the source of the light, (Eccl. 11:7: “Sweet is the light, and it is good for the eyes to behold the sun.” The word ro’eh, usually translated as “see,” can also mean “experience” or “benefit from.” See Ibn Ezra ad loc. and Ex. 20:15.) just as it is beneficial for the ears to hear the pleasant sounds of music. (One can feel and appreciate the sun just as one can appreciate music without seeing the instruments.) Nevertheless, people insist on feasting their eyes by viewing the countenance of that form [the sun, thereby recognizing and understanding the source of the light]. (The Netziv is using the example of staring at the sun as a metaphor for studying the sources of laws. The Torah’s statement, “And God saw that the light was good” (Gen. 1:4), means that God had created man with an intellect whose capability for comprehension is greatly enhanced when he actually sees or experiences that which he is studying. Similarly, when the sources of the Torah laws are “seen” – in other words, understood – his understanding of these concepts is greatly enhanced. See Ha’amek Davar on Gen. 1:4 and the Netziv’s Introduction to Ha’amek Davar on The Book of Leviticus.)

And she saw that he was good. That the house was filled with light, as it says "And God saw the light, that it was good" (Bereishit 1:4). And for this reason she hid him, because she was scared that the Mitzrim would see this light, and through the light see the boy also. For this reason she hid him more than all the other boys [were hidden]. And further, [she worried] that they would sense through the excess of light that this [boy] was the redeemer who would bring "from darkness to light, and from subjugation to redemption" (Siddur Ashkenaz, petitionary prayer before returning the Torah to the Ark on a weekday). And perhaps she thought that the light was created with him in order for her to learn from it to conceal him, just like the Original Light which was stored away for the righteous in the future to come (see Rashi on Bereishit 1:14).

King Solomon compared the soul of a righteous person to אור, “a great light,” seeing that the soul provides spiritual light. It is derived directly from the celestial throne of glory. This light is not a derivative, but originates with G’d’s essence. By contrast, Solomon compared the soul of the wicked to a lamp, suggesting that it is merely a derivative, has no staying power of its own. It depends on oil and wick to keep it going. It is not a “self-starter.” As soon as either the oil supply fails or the wick develops some problem, the lamp is extinguished, i.e. the person dies. In other words, the body serves as the oil and wick of the soul of the wicked and it cannot survive the failure of his body. The reason is that the soul of the wicked does not derive his joy except from matters innately related to his body Although, technically speaking, a soul does not die, the punishment such a soul experiences may be far worse than death (compare author on Leviticus 18,29). Seeing the wicked person did not pursue the path of light but the path of darkness, the attribute of darkness will be applied to him. This is a kind of destruction of the soul, an ongoing process involving unending painful afflictions. Solomon stated this explicitly when he said in Proverbs 11,7: “when a wicked man dies his hopes perish.” Note that he did not say במות רשע, “when the wicked dies,” but במות אדם רשע, “when a wicked man dies.” The word אדם is meant to alert us that anyone who patterns his life after the attractions provided by what is earthly, אדמה, is considered a wicked individual. This is why, at the time of his death, he loses all the things he put his hopes in. After all, his hopes had focused only on matters of the body. He had not displayed any interest in matters spiritual, matters which should have been the prime concern of his soul. The word ידעך “will be extinguished,” is most appropriate to describe the demise of such a soul as it implies the cessation of light and constitutes the punishment of the sinful soul. We may consider that the word דעיכה does not describe a total extinction of light but rather that the soul in question no longer experiences the amount of light which would be appropriate for it. We find the word used in Job 18,5 where Bildod speaks of the light of the wicked failing, (ידעך), “in that the flame of his fire does not shine.” In other words the meaning of that word is not exactly the same as כבוי, which would be a total extinction of the light. Isaiah 43,17 supports our point. The prophet says: ישכבו בל יקומו דעכו, כפשתה כבו, “they lay down to rise no more as they were extinguished; quenched like a wick.” It appears that the prophet speaks of two successive stages of light going out, the last stage כבו being the absolute extinction of any light. However, in lauding the virtues of the righteous, Solomon mentions the word ישמח, “rejoice.” The righteous rejoices with the reward he receives for his righteousness. The expression שמחה is invariably applied to spiritual enjoyment due to the soul having attained new dimensions of Holy Spirit. Examples of such in Scripture are found in Psalms 104,31, ישמח ה' במעשיו, ”may the Lord rejoice in His works.” Another such example is found in Psalms 104,34 אנכי אשמח בו, “I will rejoice in Him (the Lord).” Seeing that the righteous serve the Lord joyfully while they are on earth they will enjoy an added degree of joy in the hereafter. There is yet another reason why Solomon compared the soul of the righteous to light; the reason is that the souls were created on the first of the six days of creation simultaneously with the original light. (Compare author’s commentary on Genesis 1,4). There is a specific verse speaking about the souls in Chronicles I 4,23: ”These were the potters who dwelled at Netaim and Gederah; they dwelled in the king’s service.” (According to Bereshit Rabbah 8,6 the reference is to the souls of the righteous in the proximity of the King of Kings, the Lord). These souls were meant to benefit from this light which was created on the first day. In that particular passage in Genesis the Torah spoke of five different categories of light; we also find the נפש, “soul” appearing under five different names they are: רוח, נשמה, נפש, חיה, יחידה. Concerning this relationship between light and soul, David said in Psalms 119,130: פתח דבריך יאיר מבין פתיים, “the words You inscribe give light and understanding to the simple;” our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 3,1 comment on this verse that the opening words of the verse i.e. פתח דברים mean that as soon as G’d opened His mouth light came forth. The message is that as soon as “G‘d opens His mouth,” illumination, wisdom emerges. When the Torah writes; “G’d said let there be light, and there was light,” the meaning is that that this light came forth from the original darkness. It was quite unlike light produced by man. When man produces light he lights one candle from another, i.e. he adds light from an existing source of light. This matter is clear from the Torah’s description that there was only darkness over the entire expanse of the “deep” (Genesis 1,2). Job 12,22 confirms this state of affairs; “He draws mysteries out of the darkness and brings obscurities to light.” Another verse along the same lines is found in Daniel 2,22: הוא גלא עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהירא עמה שרא, “He reveals deep and hidden things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells within Him.” The word עמיקתא, “hidden things,” are understood by our sages as a reference to the מעשה מרכבה, “the mystical dimensions of what goes on in the celestial regions.” The word וסתרתא, on the other hand, refers to the mysteries of the process of creation. Seeing that G’d produced light out of darkness, it is quite clear that He does not need man-made light (such as supplied by the Menorah in the Tabernacle). In Psalms 139,12 David spelled this out when he said: ”darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same.” [the author quotes more such verses which I omitted. Ed.] Although we have seen that G’d is certainly not in any need of light supplied by man He legislated that the Tabernacle, His residence, be lit up internally by means of the lampstand, מנורה.

יזבחו לשדים לא אלו-ה, “they would slaughter to demons, non-deities.” These possess no power at all; (unlike celestial constellations). אלוהים לא ידעום, “gods which they did not even know of as such.” These so-called deities were not even on a par with angels, disembodied spirits which had been created prior to the 6 days of creation, or on the second day of the creation, or on the fifth day (compare author on Genesis 1,4) חדשים מקרוב באו, “new ones, recently arrived!” Creatures which are more recent than man. A reference to the mortality of demons equaling the mortality of man. לא שערום אבותיכם, “beings which were unable to inspire fear in your fathers.” Another meaning of the line, “new ones, recently arrived.” The line is a reference to the theology in question, i.e. something the Jews had learned recently, such as when they were in Egypt. The Egyptians were already familiar with that cult.

ותרא אותו כי טוב הוא, “she saw that he was good.” According to the plain meaning of the text the words “that he was good” mean that he was a handsome baby. Even if he had been ugly, in the eyes of his mother he would have appeared beautiful and she would have protected him against all dangers and have hidden him. Seeing this is a psychological fact of life, there was no need for the Torah to tell us that in the eyes of his mother the baby looked “good.” It follows that the Torah wished to inform us of something else. According to Shemot Rabbah 1,20 the word טוב means that Moses was born without a foreskin. The sages add that seeing the whole house was filled with light after Moses was born his parents considered this a good omen, i.e. he was “good.” The first time the adjective good was used as a noun was in Genesis 1,4 when G’d had created light and had satisfied Himself that it was something “good.” Our sages also comment that Adam who had been constructed by G’d Himself, (not a mother of flesh an blood) had also not had a foreskin. “Good” then is a description of something that does not need improvement (Avotde Rabbi Nathan chapter 2).

This section adds an explanation to the putting of the blood [of the Passover-offering, mentioned above in Verse 7], i.e., that it be done with a bunch of hyssop and that it be dipped in the blood that is in the basin, (Verse 22.) which was not explicitly mentioned above but in a general way, And they shall take of the blood, etc. (Above, Verse 7.) It teaches us that every undefined “taking” prescribed in the Torah must be with “a bunch,” (Thus, in the case of the Red Heifer where the verse says, And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet (Numbers 19:6) it means a bunch of cedar-wood and hyssop tied with scarlet (Parah 3:10).) and that all “taking” of the blood [prescribed in the Torah] must be in a vessel, (Thus, when Scripture says, And the priest that is anointed shall take of the blood (Leviticus 4:5), it means of the blood that is in the vessel.) as our Rabbis have explained. (Mechilta here on the matter of “the bunch”. Concerning the principle of taking the blood in a vessel, I have not found a source deriving it from the verse before us. In Zebachim 97 b, it is derived from the verse, And he [Moses] put it in basins (further, 24:6).) And He further explained to them in this section, and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning, (Verse 22.) for on account of it they were commanded to put the blood [of the Passover-offering] upon the lintel so that they would be protected there, just as He said, and there shall be no plague upon you to destroy you. (Above, Verse 13.) Now Rashi commented: “And none of you shall go out. This teaches us that once permission is given to the destroying angel, he does not discriminate between righteous and wicked, and night-time is the domain of the destroying messengers, as it is said, Thou makest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.” (Psalms 104:20.) I did not understand that which Rashi said, “and night-time is the domain of the destroying messengers, as it is said, … wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.” (Psalms 104:20.) Is a person forbidden on any night to go out of the door of his house until the morning, on the authority of this verse? Rather, Rashi should have said, “for on that night permission to destroy was given the angel of destruction, and therefore He warned them against it.” But the Rabbi [Rashi] did not find it correct to say so since the Holy One, blessed be He, in His Presence and in His glory, was the One who smote [the first-born]. (Hence there was nothing unique about this night as far as the destroying angel was concerned since he had no special function that night, and yet the Israelites were warned against going out of the door of their homes until the morning! It must necessarily be that night-time is the domain of the destroying messengers. Now on every other night, if a person goes out and he is harmed by them, the profaning of G-d’s Name is not entailed. But on the night of Passover, if an Israelite were to be harmed, the Egyptians would say that Moses was not a true prophet, and G-d’s Name would be profaned. Hence they were forbidden to go out from their homes.) This subject is taught in the Mechilta in another version: (Mechilta on the verse before us (Lauterbach’s edition, pp. 85-6).) “And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. This teaches us that once permission is given to the destroying angel, (“The destroying angel.” In the Mechilta: “the angel.”) he does not discriminate between righteous and wicked, as it is said, Come My people, enter into thy chambers … until the indignation be overpast. (Isaiah 26:20.) And it also says, Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. (Ezekiel 21:8.) And it further says, And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock. (Further, 33:22.) This is to teach you (In the Mechilta: “Until the morning. This is to teach you….”) that you are to come into a place only in the daytime (Literally: “when it is good,” a reference to the verse, And G-d saw the light, that it was good (Genesis 1:4).) and leave it only in the daytime. (Literally: “when it is good,” a reference to the verse, And G-d saw the light, that it was good (Genesis 1:4).) And thus you find that the patriarchs and the prophets observed this as a custom, as it is said: And Abraham rose early in the morning; (Ibid., 22:3.) And Jacob rose up early in the morning; (Ibid., 28:18.) And Moses rose up early in the morning; (Further, 34:4.) And Joshua rose up in the morning; (Joshua 3:1.) And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. (I Samuel 15:12.) Now is it not a kal vachomer: (See above, Note 208.) If the patriarchs and the prophets, who went to carry out the will of Him by Whose word the world came into being, observed this as a custom, how much more should all other people observe it! And thus it says, Thou makest darkness, and it is night; (Psalms 104:20.) The young lions roar after their prey; (Psalms 104:21.) Thou givest it unto them, they gather it; (Ibid., Verse 28.) The sun ariseth, they slink away. (Ibid., Verse 22.) From then on, Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labor until the evening.” (Ibid., Verse 23.) Thus far extends [the quotation from] the Beraitha. (See above, Note 208.) The purport thereof is to state that Scripture warned the Israelites in Egypt not to go out of the door of their homes on that night because the Holy One, blessed be He, was passing through Egypt like a king who passes from one place to another and whose guardsmen go before him so that people should neither meet him nor see him. This is similar to that which is said, And the Eternal my G-d shall come, and all the holy ones with Thee; (Zechariah 14:5.) and also, And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, (Further, 33:22.) i.e., to protect him [Moses] from the seraphim and the heavenly agencies. And since we find that once permission is given to the destroying angel he does not discriminate between righteous and wicked, therefore a person has no right (Thus there appears a distinction between Rashi’s explanation and that of Ramban. The conclusion drawn from Rashi’s explanation would be that “it is forbidden” to go out on any other night, as Ramban argued. According to Ramban, one has “no right” to do it, since in going against the established order of nature, he may endanger his life, and this he has no right to do.) to change from the customary way of the world and leave at night-time, since it is the time of the wild beasts when they go out for prey, and there is no way [for them] to distinguish between righteous and wicked.

AND THE ANGEL OF G-D JOURNEYED. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented that the angel of G-d is the great prince [Michael], (See Daniel 12:1.) who went in the cloud. It is to him that Scripture refers when it said, And the Eternal went before them. (Above, 13:21. See there towards the end, where Ramban mentions this explanation of Ibn Ezra, i.e., that the meaning thereof is that the angel of the Eternal went before them.) When this angel, who went before the camp of Israel, journeyed and went behind them, the pillar of cloud journeyed with him. And there was the cloud and the darkness (Verse 20.) between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, but it gave light by night (Verse 20.) through the pillar of fire to Israel, as it did on other nights, in order to enable them to traverse the sea, for it was at night that they traversed it. In my opinion, that which Scripture says, And the angel of G-d journeyed, occurred at the beginning of the night. The angel of G-d, who went before the camp of Israel alludes to the Celestial Court of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is known as the attribute of justice, [which is called] (So clearly rendered by Rabbeinu Bachya (Vol. II, p. 115, in my edition).) “angel” in certain places of Scripture. It was he who dwelled in the pillar of fire and went before them by night to give them light. Therefore Scripture here mentions [not the Tetragrammaton, which indicates the attribute of mercy, but] ha’Elokim (G-d), [the name which denotes the attribute of justice]. It is possible that [the word malach (angel)] is not in a construct state [meaning “the angel of”] but instead is in apposition. Now I have seen in the Mechilta of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: (The standard Mechilta, a Tannaitic commentary of the Book of Exodus, is that of Rabbi Ishmael. There is another Mechilta, that of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, to which Ramban refers here. To distinguish it from the other, standard, work, Ramban therefore specifies it by name. For another example, see Vol. I, p. 603. The quotation mentioned here appears in Hoffman’s edition of that work on p. 49. The essence of this particular Midrash is also found here in Rashi.) “Rabbi Yonathan the son of Yochai asked Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai, ‘Why is it that in all places it is written, the angel of the Eternal, (E.g., Genesis 16:7 and above, 3:2.) and here it is written, the angel of ‘Elokim’ (G-d)?’ Rabbi Shimon answered him, ‘Elokim everywhere denotes “Judge” [literally: judgment], etc.’” (“The verse thus teaches us that Israel at that moment was arraigned in judgment, i.e., whether to be saved or to be destroyed with the Egyptians” (Mechilta quoted, and also mentioned in Rashi here).) The Rabbis thus alluded to that which we have said. Thus [the angel] now journeyed in the pillar of fire from before the camp of Israel and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud from before them also journeyed and stood behind them. Thus the two pillars were behind the camp of Israel. Scripture then reverts [in Verse 20] to explain that the pillar of cloud came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, that is to say, the pillar of cloud did not intervene between the pillar of fire and the camp of Israel, but rather it interposed between the camp of Egypt and the pillar of fire. (Thus the order was as follows: First came the camp of Israel, followed by the pillar of fire. After that was the pillar of cloud, followed by the camp of Egypt. The two pillars thus intervened between the two camps (Bachya).) And there was the cloud and the darkness between the two camps, with the pillar of fire giving light to Israel, even though it was behind them, because it was high, [thus illuminating the way for them to pass through the sea, as explained above.] The pillar of cloud did not obstruct the illumination from reaching them as it did to the Egyptians. This is the meaning of the verse, and it gave light by night, since the pillar of fire illuminated the night for them. This was not as on all other nights, when its function was to lead them the way, (Above, 13:21.) for on that night it did not go before them, [but instead the pillar of fire remained stationary]. This was so because if the pillar of fire would have gone before Israel as on other nights [when they journeyed], and the pillar of cloud was between the two camps, then the Israelites would have passed through the sea quickly. Consequently, the Egyptians would not have seen them, and they would not have come after them. However, now [that the pillar of fire was stationary] the Israelites walked slowly, and since there was no great distance between the camps, the Egyptians saw the camp of Israel from the midst of the cloud, and they followed them. They saw the fire out of the midst of the cloud, (“For he who sits in darkness can see light in the distance. But the Israelites did not see the Egyptians, for he who sits in an illuminated place cannot see one who sits in darkness” (Bachya).) but they were not able to approach them because of the two pillars which interposed. This is the sense of the verse, And the one [camp] came not near the other all the night. (Verse 20.) And it came to pass in the morning-watch, that the Eternal looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, (Verse 24.) meaning: He removed the pillar of fire from the camp of Israel, as was customary on all days, and today He put it [in a position] overlooking the camp of Egypt. It was thus between the Egyptians and the pillar of cloud which served Israel by day. (In other words, although the pillar of fire was between Israel and the pillar of cloud during the night, in the morning watch G-d took the pillar of fire and placed it between the camp of Egypt and the pillar of cloud. With the pillar of fire heating the Egyptians, they fell into confusion.) And He confounded the camp of Egypt (Verse 24.) by causing the pillar of fire to bear down upon them with its great heat reaching them, and the flame burned up the wicked. (Psalms 106:18.) Now I have already explained in the story of Creation (Genesis 1:1. See Vol. I, p. 26. There the reason is given why the element of fire is designated as choshech (darkness).) that the element of fire is called “darkness,” and the cloud and the darkness [mentioned in Verse 20] accordingly mean the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. To all Israel, the pillar of fire had given light because of its high position [as explained above], but now it darkened for the Egyptians, because it came together with the pillar of cloud, which caused it to darken just as the sun when covered by a cloud. Thus He did everything by means of these two pillars. This is the correct interpretation of these verses.

IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE. It does not appear likely that man was created to be alone in the world and not beget children since all created beings — male and female of all flesh — were created to raise seed. The herb and trees also have their seed in them. But it is possible to say that it was in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbi who says: (Berachoth 61a. The name of the Rabbi is Yirmeyahu the son of Rabbi Elazar.) “Adam was created with two faces [i.e., male and female persons combined],” and they were so made that there should be in them an impulse causing the organs of generation to produce a generative force from male to female, or you may say “seed,” in accordance with the known controversy concerning pregnancy, (See Ramban, beginning of Seder Thazria concerning the opinion of the doctors and the Greek philosophers.) and the second face was a help to the first in the procreative process. And the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that it is good that “the help” stand facing him, and that he should see and be separated from it or joined to it at his will. This is the meaning of what He said in the verse, I will make him a helper opposite him. The meaning of the expression, it is not good, is that it cannot be said of man that “it is good” when he is alone for he will not be able to so exist. In the work of creation, “the good” means existence, as I have explained on the text, And G-d saw that it was good. (Above, 1:10.)

והקריב AND HE WILL BRING them אליו UNTO HIM. The Targum proves that this is so (i.e. that Scripture alludes to two different matters), for it renders the first phrase by “He will bring near to Him”, and the second by “He will bring near to His service”. — A Midrashic explanation of the word בקר (instead of the more usual מחר) is the following: Moses said to him (Korah): “The Holy One, blessed be He, has assigned bounds in His world; can you, perhaps, change the morning into evening? Just as little, will you be able to make this (Aaron’s appointment as High Priest) of none effect, — as indeed it states, (Genesis 1:5) “and it was evening and it was morning… (Genesis 1:4) “and God separated (ויבדל) [light from darkness]”; and in the same sense (that the separation should be of a permanent character) it states, (I Chronicles 23:13) “and Aaron was separated (ויבדל) that he should be sanctified [as most holy … to minister unto him]” (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 5).

When he was born the entire house was filled with light. Here it says כי טוב (he was good), and earlier (Bereishis 1:4) it says וירא אלהים את האור כי טוב (And Elokim saw the light, that it was good). Just as כי טוב earlier refers to light, so too here it refers to light.

[76] Secondly: as the sun makes day and night distinct, so Moses says that God kept apart light and darkness; for “God,” he tells us, “separated between the light and between the darkness (Gen. 1:4). And above all, as the sun when it rises makes visible objects which had been hidden, so God when He gave birth to all things, not only brought them into sight, but also made things which before were not, not just handling material as an artificer, but being Himself its creator.

[30] Special distinction is accorded by Moses to life-breath and to light. The one he entitles the “breath” of God, because breath is most life-giving, and of life God is the author, while of light he says that it is beautiful pre-eminently (Gen. 1:4): for the intelligible as far surpasses the visible in the brilliancy of its radiance, as sunlight assuredly surpasses darkness and day night, and mind, the ruler of the entire soul, the bodily eyes.

As for equality, the nurse of justice, where does the Lawgiver fail to shew his approval? We find it first in the story of the creation of the whole heaven. “God separated,” he says, “between the light and between the darkness, and God called the light day and the darkness night” (Gen. 1:4, 5).

Rather, it is not merely because it is the first letter of the word good [tov] that it is considered a good omen. Since the Torah initially introduces the letter tet in a context of good, with the word good [tov] itself, it is a good omen. As from the word bereshit, the first word in the Torah, until the verse: “And God saw that the light was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4), the letter tet is not written anywhere.

A person should always enter an unfamiliar city at a time of good, i.e., while it is light, as the Torah uses the expression “It is good” with regard to the creation of light (see Genesis 1:4). This goodness is manifest in the sense of security one feels when it is light. And likewise, when one leaves a city he should leave at a time of good, meaning after sunrise the next morning, as it is stated in the verse: “And none of you shall go out of the opening of his house until the morning” (Exodus 12:22).

And for whom did He conceal it? For the righteous people in the future, as it is stated: “And God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4), and “good” is referring to none other than the righteous, as it is stated: “Say of the righteous that it shall be good for them, for they shall eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10).

“Also, one does not recite the benediction over a lamp unless one has profited from its light. (Quote from the Mishnah.) ” Rebbi Zeïra, the son of Rebbi Abbahu, preached: (Gen. 1:4) “God saw the light that it was good” and after that, “God separated between the light and the darkness. (In imitatio Dei, one should not make Havdalah until he saw the light and that it is useful. The same paragraph is found in Bereshit rabba3(7) in slightly more explicit language.) ”. Rebbi Berekhiah said: The following was preached by the two greats of the world, Rebbi Yoḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: “God separated,” a true separation. Rebbi Yehudah, the son of Rebbi Simon, said: He separated it for Himself (That this is the light of the Shekhinah.) . But the rabbis say, He separated it for the just in the future world. They gave a parable, to what can this situation be compared? To a king who had two generals (Greek (sing.) στρατηγός.) ; both of them said: “I want to command during the day.” He called the first one and told him: day shall be your domain. He called the second one and told him: night shall be your domain. That is what is written: (Gen. 1:5) “God called the light ‘day’, etc.” To the light he said: day shall be your domain; but to the darkness he said: night shall be your domain. Rebbi Yoḥanan said, that it is which the Holy One, praise to Him, said to Job: (Job 38:12) “Did you ever command the morning, did you inform the morning of its place?” Do you know the place where the light of the Six Days of Creation was hidden? Rebbi Tanḥuma said: I shall give its reason. (Is. 45:7) “He Who fashioned the light and created darkness, He makes peace.” When it left (In Bereshit rabba: “From the moment that they were created, He is making peace.”) , it made peace between them.

To clarify the meaning of the word or, the Gemara analyzes biblical verses and rabbinic statements. The Gemara raises an objection from a verse: “As soon as the morning was or, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys” (Genesis 44:3). Apparently, or is day. The Gemara rejects this contention. Is it written: The light was morning? “The morning was light” is written. In this context, or is a verb not a noun, as the one who said: The morning lightened. And this is in accordance with that which Rav Yehuda said that Rav said, as Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always enter an unfamiliar city with “it is good” (Genesis 1:4), i.e., before sunset, while it is light, as the Torah uses the expression “it is good” with regard to light upon its creation. This goodness is manifest in the sense of security one feels when it is light. And likewise, when one leaves a city he should leave with “it is good,” meaning after sunrise the next morning.

The Gemara asks: And was its fire created on Shabbat eve? Wasn’t it taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei says: The fire that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created on the second day of the week will never be extinguished, as it is stated: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm shall not die, nor will their fire be extinguished; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh” (Isaiah 66:24)? And Rabbi Bana’a, son of Rabbi Ulla, said: Why doesn’t the verse state: That it was good, at the end of the second day of the week of Creation, as it does on the other days? It is because on that day the fire of Gehenna was created. And Rabbi Elazar said that even though: That it was good, was not stated with regard to the creations of the second day, He later included it on the sixth day, as it is stated: “And God saw all that He had done and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

The verse states with regard to the birth of Moses: “And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child, she hid him three months” (Exodus 2:2). It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir says: “Tov” is his, Moses’, real name, as it was given to him by his parents when he was born. Rabbi Yehuda says: His name was Toviya. Rabbi Neḥemya says: They said he was good because they saw that he was fit for prophecy. Others say: They said he was good because he was born when he was already circumcised. And the Rabbis say: At the time when Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light, as it is written here: “And when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child,” and it is written there: “And God saw the light, that it was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4).

The Gemara further explains: And bring the sun into the city, this is in accordance with a statement that Rav Yehuda said that Rav said. As Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always leave the place where he has spent the night with “it is good” (Genesis 1:4), i.e., after sunrise, as the Torah uses the expression “it is good” with regard to the creation of light. This goodness is manifest in the sense of security one feels when it is light. And likewise, when one comes into an unfamiliar city he should enter with “it is good,” before sunset, as it is stated: “As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away” (Genesis 44:3).

R. Huna said: For three readings in the Torah (i.e. when only three persons are called up to the reading of a section, viz. on a Monday or Thursday or at a Sabbath afternoon service.) not less than ten verses must be allotted. (Three verses for each of the first two and four for the third.) Hezekiah (A Rabbi of that name.) explained [the reason: (Why ten verses are required.) The number] corresponds to the Ten Commandments. But have we not learned in a Mishnah: (Ta‘an. IV, 3 (Sonc. ed., p. 137).) ‘On Sunday [the men of the ma‘amad read] In the beginning (Gen. 1, 1-4.) and Let there be a firmament’ (ibid. 5-8.) although they contain not more than eight verses? (How then could R. Huna rule that a minimum of ten verses was required?) R. Iddi said: Kahana and Ashë differ [on the method of procedure], (As how to make ten verses out of eight.) one holding that [the reader] goes back, and the other maintaining that he cuts. (This is explained in the continuation.) According to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he repeats two verses; (The second person repeats the last two of the three verses which the first had read. The two, together with the eight, make up the minimum of ten verses.) and according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, And there was evening and there was morning (The second part of each of verses 4 and 8 of Gen. 1.) is a verse on its own. (So that verses 4 and 8 represent two verses each, bringing the number to ten.) But have we not learned in [the same] Mishnah: ‘On Monday [the reading of the ma‘amad was] Let there be a firmament (Gen. 1, 6-8, three verses.) and Let the waters … be gathered together’? (ibid. 9-13, five verses.) Now, according to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he goes back over two verses, but according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, even if he does so, there are not ten (Added by GRA, omitted by V, M and H.) verses! (There would only be nine, since And there was evening, etc., forms the whole of verse 13 and cannot be reckoned as two verses as in the case of verses 5 and 8.) R. Polippa b. R. Pariṭ raised an objection before R. Jonah, (To R. Huna’s ruling.) ‘Behold the section of Amalek!’ (Ex. 17, 8-16, read on Purim, which consists only of nine verses.) ‘This is different’, he replied, ‘since (So GRA, M and H. V reads: ‘he said, No, it is taught, it’.) it is the prescribed portion for the day’. (This reply could also have been given to the preceding objection, since in Gen. 1, 6-13, if only verse 8 is divided into two, there would be nine verses, as in the section of Amalek.) R. Eliezer b. R. Maḳom raised an objection: (To R. Huna’s ruling.) [It has been taught,] ‘He who reads the hafṭarah from the Prophet shall read not less than twenty-one verses’, (Meg. 23a (Sonc. ed., p. 140). From ‘but [if R. Huna’s ruling … to the last one]’ is added by GRA. V omits it but inserts in brackets: ‘It is permitted to skip in a Prophet but not in the Torah, because if [a reader] skipped even one verse by not reading it, and restored the scroll [to the ark] and recited ḳaddish, he must unroll it again, say the benedictions, and read that verse and the two verses which follow it’. This is a repetition of XI, 2, 6.) but [if R. Huna’s ruling] is valid, twenty-three verses should be required, ten for the first three, (In accordance with R. Huna’s ruling above that ‘for three readings … no less than ten verses must be allotted’.) ten for the second three, and three for the last one! (Since a minimum of three verses must be read for each person who is called up. No reply is given to the objection, but it is possible to provide the following explanation: Only when no more than three persons are called up is it necessary to allot ten verses, but when the number of persons is more than three, as, e.g., on the Sabbath when not less than seven persons must be called to the Torah, three verses for each person or twenty-one in all are sufficient.)

Conversely, from the curse of the wicked you infer a blessing for the righteous, as it is written: “And the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful to God” (Genesis 13:13), after which it is written: “And God said to Abram, after that Lot had separated from him” (Genesis 13:14); God proceeds to bless him. And Rabbi Elazar said: Even for one righteous person an entire world is created, as it is stated: “And God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4), and good means nothing other than righteous, as it is stated: “Say of the righteous that he is good” (Isaiah 3:10).

The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw how beautiful he was, she hid him for three months.

God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day. (a first day Others “one day.”)

When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth,

Elohim saw that the light was good, and Elohim divided the light from the darkness.

Also, when Allah knew that the light was good, Allah divided between the light and the darkness.

And the Lord beheld the light, that it was good; and the Lord divided between the light and the darkness.

And God said: Let there be light, and there was light as he commanded. God saw that the light was good, and he separated (by word) between light and dark.

God saw that the light was good, and he separated (by word) between light and dark.

Why this Sabbath is called "Shabbat HaGadol" ("The Great Sabbath") We must still explain why we call this Sabbath "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath. It is based on our interpretation of the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) As is known, the end of this verse does not seem to fit with its beginning, and it is unclear. We explained this matter based on the words of the Sages (Chazal). In Jewish Law, there are two categories: action and thought. An adult, even if he only thought about making something into a vessel, that item is considered a vessel for the purposes of ritual purity and impurity. However, a minor can only act; they do not have the capacity for the kind of thought that creates a vessel in a ritual sense. We know that for the Jewish people, God considers a good intention as an action, as the Sages taught, "For those who fear the Lord and for those who hate His Name, even if a person only thought about performing a commandment..." (Kiddushin 40a) This is not the case with non-Jews. It is fitting to provide a reason for this difference. Does it really matter to me if a non-Jew's thoughts are considered an action? It would be fitting if this were so (and we have already provided various reasons for this). But this concept originates from the time when God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world. The Jewish people were present in God's thoughts. "In the beginning, God created the world" (Genesis 1:1) for the sake of the Jewish people, who are called "the first" (Reshit). At that point, the Jewish people had not yet performed any actions. Nevertheless, their presence in God's thoughts was sufficient. Their existence in thought was equivalent to action. Therefore, Jewish Law states that for the Jewish people, a good thought is considered an action, which is not true for the other nations of the world. The creation of the world described in the Torah began on the evening preceding the first day, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Since the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts before the creation of time, that time – the Sabbath that preceded the creation of time – is called the "time of the afternoon prayer of the Sabbath," the "time of desire." Since God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world on that Sabbath, that Sabbath is called "the day of knowledge," as the verse states, "To know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (Exodus 31:13). This is the meaning of the Sages' statement, "A good gift...and the Sabbath is its name for you. And He informed them, as it is said, 'To know..." (Shabbat 10b). When the Jewish people left Egypt, God wanted to give them the wondrous quality that they possess more than any other nation: that their thoughts about performing commandments are considered equivalent to actually performing them. God commanded them to perform the first commandment, the offering of the Passover sacrifice. He commanded them to take the lamb on the tenth of the month (which is different from the Passover in later generations), which was then a Sabbath, to show them that the thoughts they have about performing the commandments, such as the slaughtering of the Passover lamb, are considered to be the commandment itself (which is not the case for the other nations of the world). The reason for this is the Sabbath, the time when the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts. This understanding allows us to interpret the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) Actions done for the sake of God, blessed be He, are called "great," for "He will surely be gracious to the good, even the desire and the thought that a person has to do the deeds of the commandments for the sake of God." Thus they are called "great," like an adult who can create a vessel merely through thought. Because this concept was revealed to the Jewish people on this Sabbath, it is called "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath, in remembrance of the fact that we have been given the laws and status of an adult, who can create a vessel merely through thought.

Deuteronomy 1,1. “These are the words which Moses ‎spoke to the entire people of Israel in the desert, facing the ‎wilderness near Suph between Paran and between Tophel‏ ‏‎ ‎and Lavan.” It seems reasonable to see in the word ‎ערבה‎, wilderness, a reference to the first time the word ‎ערב‎ ‎appears in the story of Creation (Genesis 1,5) where the meaning ‎is “evening,” a transition from day to night. At the time of the ‎creation the evening preceded the first morning, as before the ‎creation of light the universe had been in darkness, as we read ‎there in verse 2, and as the Talmud points out in the beginning of ‎tractate B’rachot, when discussing the times for reciting the ‎‎keriyat sh’ma. If we take our cue from that paragraph in the ‎Torah, the early years of our lives would be described as ‎ערב‎. ‎Having this in mind, the Torah, i.e. Moses, alludes here to the ‎need for every human being from his earliest youth to focus all of ‎his activities on the aspect of G’d familiar to us by the name ‎‎Shechinah, “G’d’s Presence.”‎ The deeper meaning behind the words: ‎בין פארן‎, is that this is ‎the site on earth from which the ability for living creatures on ‎earth to become fruitful and to multiply is derived. As to the ‎words: ‎ובין תפל‎, we follow Rashi, who quotes Rabbi Shimon ‎bar Yochai who claims that no one has ever been able to find ‎these two locations. He therefore concluded that these names are ‎similes, used by Moses to rebuke the Israelites who had spoken ‎derisively of the manna (Numbers 1,7), which was white, ‎לבן‎. The ‎word ‎תפל‎, [possibly as root of: ‎תפלה‎ “prayer”. Ed.], ‎according to Rashi, is another word for “speech” ‎‎(presumably Israel’s accepting the Torah with the words ‎נעשה ‏ונשמע‎, “we shall do and we shall listen (to instruction).” Moses’ ‎address teaching the Israelites to make G’d their focus at all times, ‎and to observe these covenants meticulously, covers the period ‎between the covenant of circumcision made with Avraham and ‎that of the Ten Commandments made with the assembled Jewish ‎nation at Mount Sinai.‎

‎G’d called the light: ‘day;’" Bereshit Rabbah 3,8 comments that this phrase refers to ‎the deeds of the righteous, whereas the line ‎ולחושך קרא לילה‎, is understood as referring to the ‎deeds of the wicked. In order to make it plain that the Creator preferred the deeds of the ‎righteous, the Torah added the adjective ‎כי טוב‎, “that it was good,” when defining the word ‎אור‎ in ‎verse 4.‎‎ The average reader of this Midrash surely is puzzled by the fact that there was any doubt as ‎to whose deeds the Creator would prefer so that the Torah had to indicate that G’d preferred the ‎deeds of the righteous! Rabbeinu Yonah, in his commentary on the last Mishnah in ‎‎B’rachot chapter 9, explains that the Mishnah, when referring to the need to serve ‎the Lord with both parts of our hearts, the urge to do good as well as the urge to do evil, speaks of ‎people who do serve the Lord. The Midrash quoted, was careful to refer to the deeds of ‎the wicked as opposed to the wicked themselves, also does so. We may therefore understand the ‎‎Midrash as also referring to good deeds, the origin of which, however, differs. The ‎difference between the two “urges” is that the urge to do evil is by definition the result of anger ‎and hatred, whereas the deeds that are prompted by the urge to do good, are by definition ‎prompted by feelings of goodwill and love. No wonder that G’d prefers the positive deeds that are ‎also the result of constructive attitudes, to the good deeds that are the result of the urge to do ‎evil, even when both deeds may be identical. This idea has been portrayed by Proverbs 3,17 where ‎Solomon has described the ways of Torah as being ‎דרכיה דרכי נועם‎, “her ways are ways of ‎pleasantness;” in other words, it is not only what you do that counts but how you go about doing ‎it.”‎

for the day of — This alludes to peace in the home. For “day” is an aspect of light, as is written (Genesis 1:5), “And the Lord named the light ‘Day.’” And light denotes peace in the home, as our Sages taught: The Shabbat lights take precedence over the Kiddush of the day—because peace in the home comes first (Shabbat 23b).

This is what is brought in the Midrash: “to separate the light from the darkness” (cf. Genesis 1:5, 14). “Light”—these are the MAaSeY (deeds) of the tzaddikim; “darkness”—these are the deeds of the wicked (Bereishit Rabbah 3:8). That is, MaASiYot (stories) of tzaddikim are the aspect of light, and, conversely, stories of the wicked are the aspect of darkness. Someone who can differentiate between light and darkness can tell stories of tzaddikim, as explained above, and this causes his mind to be purified.

This is the study of the Torah in its plain meaning. It is an aspect of sleep, as our Sages taught (Sanhedrin 24a): “He has made me dwell in darkness” (Lamentations 3:6) —this is the Babylonian Talmud. This is also the aspect of faith, as is written, “Your faithfulness in the nights” (Psalms 92:3) ; “and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5).

4. And speech is rectified through the Torah a person studies under difficult circumstances, in poverty and distress. This is an aspect of night. For then “an end to all flesh” rules, as in, “He puts an end to darkness”; and as is written, “and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5). {“With the first light of morning, the men were sent on their way together with their donkeys” (Genesis 44:3).}

We see, then, that the Oral Torah is an aspect of night. As our Sages taught: “He seated me in dark places” (Lamentations 3:6) —this is the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 24a). And it is written (Genesis 1:5), “and the darkness He called night.”

8. And know! the Serpent’s Brow is nourished by the generation’s elders, when those of the generation with length-of-days lack wholeness. This [lack] sustains the Serpent’s Brow, because “an elder is one who has acquired wisdom” (Kiddushin 32b). The older a person gets, with each additional day of his life that passes he must ensure that he gains additional light of holiness and daat (unitive knowledge and awareness of God). This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: Elderly Torah sages—the older they get, the more settled their mind becomes (Kinnim 3:6). With each passing day we have to increase our holiness and daat, as it is written “and the Lord called the light ‘Day’” (Genesis 1:5)—that each day has to radiate more.

And the light of the eyes awakens redemption, which depends upon the heart, as in “For a day of vengeance is in My heart” (Isaiah 63:4), because His eyes and heart are there. This is the concept of “[God] called the light ‘Day’” (Genesis 1:5). The light of the eyes awakens the “day of vengeance” in the heart, to eliminate the leaven and chametz, the human heart’s inclination for evil, which remains from his youth.

However, since “the Torah speaks the language of man” (Berachot 31b.) in order “to enable the ear to hear what it can understand,” (Mechilta, Yitro 19:18; Tanchuma, Yitro 13. I.e., to make it intelligible to man’s mind.) therefore, permission has been granted to Scholars of Truth (I.e., the scholars of Kabbalah.) to speak allegorically of the sefirot. And they called them “lights,” so that by means of this illustration, the nature of the unity of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His attributes, will be somewhat understood by us. It is, by way of illustration, as the unity of the light of the sun within its orb, with the solar globe, which is called “luminary,” as it is written, “The greater luminary….” (Genesis 1:16.) And the radiation and the beam which spreads forth and shines from it is called “light,” as it is written, “And G–d called the light—day.” (Ibid. 1:5.) When the light is in its source in the orb of the sun, it is united with it in absolute unity, for there is only one entity, namely, the body of the luminary which emits light, for there the radiation and light is absolutely one being with the body of the luminary which illuminates, and it has no existence by itself at all.

ויקרא אלוקים לאור יום, G-d named the light: “day;” G-d named a total of six phenomena that He created, as there was as yet no human being that could name these phenomena. [Compared to the time when He invited Adam to name the animals. Ed.] They are: ,אור, חשך, שמים, ארץ, ימים אדם, “light, darkness, heaven, earth, days and man.”Rabbi Elazar is quoted as saying that the Lord does not associate His name with anything that is evil, only with phenomena that are good, positive, and constructive. (Bereshit Rabbah 3) You will note that when referring to the light, the Torah associates G-d’s name with it by writing the sequence ויקרא אלוקים לאור יום, whereas when speaking of the darkness,.ולחשך קרא לילה, “and the darkness He called night.” G-d’s name was not repeated.

ויהי ערב ויהי בקר, “there was evening, there was morning;” even though the darkness had existed since the first hour of the night, the Torah refers once more to the darkness, this time with the name לילה, “night.” The reason is that the Torah wished to stress that the creation of a day, i.e. a consecutive period of 24 hours was not two halves, but one whole. The same applies to the following “days” of creation.

יום אחד, “one day.” According to the commentary of Rashi, the reason why this “day” is not described as “the first day,” as opposed to the subsequent “days” which have an ordinal number, i.e. “second,” “third,” etc;” this is to remind us that on that “day” the Holy One blessed be His name, was still unique, alone in the universe, there not being even angels in heaven. A different explanation for the word אחד, instead of ראשון in this verse: It is grammatically not proper, to speak of “first,” i.e. the beginning of a numerical sequence while the next item in the sequence does not yet exist. Even when the first day had been completed, the second day had not even begun as yet.

And to the darkness, He called night: The Sages, of blessed memory, explained in the beginning of Tractate Pesachim, that the Holy One, blessed be He, called to darkness and appointed it over the night. [By this,] our Rabbis taught us that we should not say that darkness is only the absence of light, like when - in the middle of the day - we close the windows, it becomes dark. For, if so, it would not be a creation. But in truth, darkness is a creation, on its own as well, as it is written (Isaiah 45:7), "and created the darkness." And it is great distortion to say that darkness is only the absence of light. But rather, God makes both of them, just as He concerns Himself over holiness and impurity. (And see what I have written later, Genesis 27:9.) And to the question, "what does this creation help, behold, even without [its] creation, there would be darkness in the absence of light?," the Sages, of blessed memory, have taught us (in the chapter "Chelek" and in Bereshit Rabbah, Parshat Noach and in the Talmud Yerushalmi in the first chapter) that the light of a fire does not shine during the day in a dark place, [with the same brightness] as it does at night when darkness reigns. And from this, lofty people were able to know while they were sitting in the dark, when it was day and when it was night - in which darkness rules. And as it is with the light and darkness of day and night, so too is it thus with all things that are compared to light and darkness; since there are many bounties that man does not feel so much when he is successful, until he becomes poor and he sees the bounty [that he once had]. And [He], may He be blessed, implanted this into His world.

And it was evening and it was morning: The explanation is that at the time that it was evening here, it was morning in another place on the face of the earth (Ba'al HaMeor, Tractate Rosh Hashanah, Chapter 1).

AND GOD CALLED. The heh of laylah (night) is superfluous, because the word is penultimately accented. It is always a masculine noun. (If the heh of laylah (night) was an essential part of the word, laylah would be a feminine noun and would be accented on the last syllable (Filwarg).)

EVENING. Erev (evening) is close in meaning to choshekh (darkness). Erev is so called because forms are then intermingled. (The root of intermingle (erev) is ayin, resh, bet.) The opposite of evening is called boker (morning) because one can then distinguish between various forms. (Bakker means to examine. Cf. Lev. 27:33.) One day refers to the movement of the sphere. (The heavenly sphere made one revolution. The sun was not yet seen in the firmament; neither was there as yet a firmament. Hence I.E.’s comment.) There is a secret meaning to the Midrashic statement to the effect that the world will exist for six thousand years. (Cf. Sanhedrin 97a.) Once it is stated that God called the light “day,” it is impossible to maintain that the evening, too, is considered part of the day. (I.E. takes issue with those who maintain that the evening is part of the day. According to I.E. day refers only to daylight. For the implications of this comment see Weiser.)

The correct interpretation of And there was evening and there was morning, one day is that evening passed and the morning of the first day also came. If the intention of this verse is to teach that evening and morning make a day, then what is the meaning of And there was evening and there was morning, a second day (v. 8)? (If the intention of Scripture is to teach us that evening and morning make a day, why keep on repeating this with regard to the subsequent days? Hence Scripture is only describing what happened (Kaputa).)

Others “one day.”

5 times the word 'light' is written in this section, representing the 5 books of the Torah which are called LIGHT... [Five times 'Or' is written in the parashah, against five Torah Pentacles called Or ]

And it was evening and it was morning, one day: [The reason] that it doesn't state 'a first day' [as it does with the other days, i.e., a second day, etc.] is in accordance with what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Berakhot 12b), "We mention the trait of day at night and the trait of night during the day;" [this is] to remove [the opposite idea] from the hearts of heretics, who say that from one beginning there cannot come out two opposites - and so they decreed to say that the one who created the light, did not create the darkness; therefore, [the Torah] stated, "And it was evening and it was morning," meaning night and day; even though they appear to be opposites, nonetheless both of them [belong to] "one day" - the day of One, since one Power created them both. And this explanation is more lucid than the explanation of Rashi, who explained that the angels were not created until the second day; since the angels are not mentioned here, and what does that have to do with this verse of "And it was evening and it was morning?"

And it was evening and it was morning, one day: I heard an amazing midrash: "And it was evening and it was morning, one day" - from here [we know] that Rosh Hashanah is two days. And I was told that it is brought on page 48 of the recently published small book, Korban Aharon, by the sage, the honorable teacher, Rabbi Aharon Meutei, may his memory be a blessing for life in the world to come. And we cannot be exacting about this essay, for it is all one piece. But if it is true, it is possible to explain that which I saw in the just newly published book, Yaarot Devash, p. 70, that the reason that Rosh Hashanah is two days is because the sixth day - upon which the first man was created, which was Rosh Hashanah - and both the night and the day of Shabbat, were light. So it did not become dark until the conclusion of the Shabbat. This is like the Sages said in Midrash Socher Tov on Psalm 92: The night of the first Shabbat shone like the day, and there was no darkness until the conclusion of the Shabbat. And hence the two days of Rosh HaShanah are like one elongated day. For with the creation of the first man, the sixth day and Shabbat were one day. And he wrote at length about this from one matter to another, see there at length. And it is possible that this is [the meaning of] that which is written, "And it was evening and it was morning, one day." And from this [we know] that the Holy One blessed by He, gave a law about the day, that it should be evening and morning, night and day. So the first one [like this] was the first day, and all of the days [followed] after it. And since the Shabbat day that came [after] the sixth day upon which Adam was created was Rosh Hashanah - it was changed for the good and there was no darkness and light, evening and morning. Rather it was all light. From this it came out to make Rosh Hashanah, two days that are like one extended day. And from where is this known? From the boundary that the Holy One, blessed be He, set up - "And it was evening and it was morning, one day"; and likewise all [the days], that it was dark and [then] light. From this it comes out that since [that first] Shabbat was completely light, Rosh Hashanah is two days. Be precise and you will find it simple.

ויקרא..ולחשך קרא לילה, the period during which there was no light was called “night.” Such a name can be applied to night even though night is something abstract, as is death, מות. We have numerous nouns which are applied to things which are abstract, such as “blindness, nudity, etc.” כסילות, foolishness, פרץ, “a breach,” and similar nouns all describe matters which are not tangible.

ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום אחד. The word ערב describes the beginning of the night, whereas the word בקר describes the beginning of the day. During the period called ערב, things which could be seen clearly previously begin to become indistinct, appear confused. The reason is that the sense of sight reposing in the eye cannot be effective without light from the outside. The whole night is sometimes referred to as ערב, i.e. as a continuation of the period when things began to appear blurred. This is similar to all the 30 days comprising a month being called חודש on account of the first day of the month which the Bible calls חודש. (Samuel I 20,18) This first day of the month is called thus as on that day the moon renews itself, having faded from view previously. Job 7,4 refers to the entire night as ערב, and so does Psalms 59,7 ישובו לערב יהמו ככלב, “they return at night growling like dogs.” It is a fact that dogs do not bark during the early part of the night. The messengers of Sha-ul kept watch outside David’s house all night long in order to kill him in the morning (Samuel I 19,11) The word לשמרו in that verse means “to guard him so that he could not escape during the night.” An entire day is never called בוקר. This term is applied only to the parts of the day before noon. As soon as noon has passed we enter a period described as ערב seeing that the sun has embarked on a westerly course. Its light becomes progressively weaker. The period assigned for slaughtering the Passover (Exodus 12,6) is known as בין הערבים, commencing one half hour after noon. In Judges 19,9 we read that this period when the “day” becomes weaker is known as לערוב, “towards evening.” The night is different from the day in that the entire night is described as לילה, not only the period preceding midnight. The reason is that the stars which help illuminate the night remain visible until dawn. The verse means that combining the periods described as ערב and בקר constitute a day. This is so in spite of the fact that not the entire “day,” i.e. the period when the sun is visible on the horizon is called יום. The word בקר must be viewed as the opposite of the word ערב. It is a period when the intensity and quantity of light visible is far greater than the light available during the night. יום and לילה are also opposites The reason why the Torah did not write ויהי לילה, ויהי יום יום אחד which would have been so much clearer, is that the word יום is a word which is applicable both to a single day and to a whole sequence of days such asשלושים יום, and we could have become confused, not knowing whether the Torah referred to the word יום as merely a “single day,” or as a period of days. Furthermore, the fact that day is the major phenomenon, and the essence of what is good of everything that exists in our “lower” regions of the universe, whereas night is a minor phenomenon, makes it imperative that the combined period be called יום, and be described as a unified period.

יום אחד. There is no need to ask why the Torah speaks about a יום אחד, “one day,” as opposed to יום ראשון, “a first day.” The question would be justified if the Torah had written יום ראשון and the word ראשון were meant to be an adjective describing the concept of numbers as it is when the Torah writes in Exodus 29,39) את הכבש האחד תעשה בבוקר, you are to prepare the first sheep in the morning.” In that instance the word אחד is indeed an adjective portraying the concept “first.” The scholar Moses Ibn Ezra wrote that the reason why the Torah wrote the word אחד, is that the implication of the word אחד is “the first,” in the sense that no one had ever preceded this Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 3,8) explain the word as an allusion to the fact that the angels were not created until the second day, in order that people should not claim that the archangel Michael supported G’d on His right stretching out the firmament to the south, whereas the archangel Gavriel supported Him by stretching out the firmament on His left to the north. The word אחד confirms that G’d the Creator was alone in His world when He created the heavens (skies). This is also why the prophet Isaiah 44,24 wrote of G’d that נוטה שמים לבדי רוקע הארץ מאתי, מי אתי?, “(it is I, the Lord,) .Who alone stretched out the heaven, and unaided spread out the earth; Who was with Me? The Jerusalem Targum translated the verse in a similar manner, i.e. והוה רמש והוה צפר סדר עובד בראשית יום קדמי, “it was evening, it was morning when He arranged for the first day (to come into being).” Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra writes (on verse 8) that G’d Himself named 5 phenomena seeing that there was as yet no human being to name them. They are: light, darkness, heaven, earth, and the oceans and man. The reason Ibn Ezra did not refer to “day יום and night, לילה, as having been named by G’d maybe that when G’d reports the creation of the luminaries in verse 14, a time when there had also not been a human being as yet, G’d refrained from naming these luminaries. It appears that the terms “heaven and earth” were actually names given to these phenomena by Moses who wrote the report of creation in the Torah. Similarly, the terms ערב and בקר are in fact terms coined by Moses when he wrote this report. He spoke of darkness and light, even though the Torah specifically credits G’d with naming them. [Actually, there are more, but they do not appear in the report of the creation. Ed.] If we accept this we are left with 5 phenomena named by G’d in the report of creation. Or, one would have to say that what we are in the habit of calling שמים וארץ as well as what are termed thereערב and בקר, Also, there is no specific mention of G’d “naming” man as ארם in the story of creation.

AND G-D CALLED THE LIGHT DAY. The verse states that time was created, and G-d made the length of the day and the length of the night. The purport of the word vayikra (And He called) is [to indicate that] since Adam later gave names [to all the beasts, the fowl, etc.], (Further,2:20.) it states that those things which were made before his existence were given names by G-d. This is the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. (In Verse 8.) The correct interpretation is that the matter of calling a name here indicates the division which bounded them when they assumed their form. Thus did the Rabbis say: (Bereshith Rabbah 3:7.) “[G-d said to the light,] ‘The day shall be your boundary,’ [and to darkness He said,] ‘The night shall be your boundary.’”

AND THERE WAS EVENING AND THERE WAS MORNING. There was evening and there was morning of one day. The beginning of the night is called erev [which also means “mingling”] because shapes of things appear confused in it, and the beginning of the day is called boker [which also means “examining”] because then a man can distinguish between various forms. This coincides with the explanation of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. By way of the simple explanation of Scripture, it could not have said, [And there was evening and there was morning] “the first day,” (Instead, it says one day. See Rashi who says that according to the regular mode of expression it should have really said “the first day.” He explains, however, the expression “one day” on the basis of the Midrash: It is “because the Holy One, blessed be He, was then the Only One (the Sole Being) in His universe, since the angels were not created until the second day.” One day thus means “the day of the One Being.” It is this interpretation of Rashi that Ramban alludes to when he comments that according to the simple meaning of Scripture it could not have said, “the first day.”) because the second had not yet been made; “the first” precedes a “second” in number or degree but both exist, whereas “one” does not connote the existence of a second. Some scholars explain (Ibn Ezra, Verse 5, and Rambam, Moreh Nebuchim, II, 30.) that one day is a reference to the rotation of the sphere upon the face of the whole earth in twenty-four hours, as every moment thereof is morning in some different place and night in the opposite place. (One day thus means that the entire day consists of evening and morning occurring simultaneously in different places.) If so, the verse alludes to that which will take place in the firmament after the luminaries will be placed in the firmament of the heavens.

ויקרא אלוקים ליום אור, you may ask yourself what possible need there was for G’d to call this light “day” already at the time He created it; however this is the way Moses worded it when he wrote down the Torah. Whenever, in Scriptures, G’d is recorded as mentioning “day” and “night,” as for instance in Genesis 8,22, where He made the promise that “henceforth the alternating manifestations of day and night will not cease to occur regularly,” יום ולילה לא ישבותון, this is a reference to the original light created on the first day. G’d always called this “light” “night and day.” Similarly, every time in this chapter when we encounter the expression ויקרא אלוקים, as well as when we read in Numbers 13,15 ויקרא אלוקים להושע בן נון יהושע, whereas the same man as representative of the tribe of Ephrayim had been referred to as הושע only 7 verses earlier as הושע. This was the same man, who, previously, when he appeared in his position of Moses’ personal valet was already known as יהושע, (Exodus 24,13) It is customary among kings that when they appoint a person to a position of eminence to signal this by changing the name of such a person. One well known example of this is Pharaoh calling Joseph צפנת פנח upon appointing him as viceroy of Egypt (Genesis 41,45) Other such examples are found in Daniel 1,7, etc.

ולחשך קרא לילה, “whereas He had already named the darkness ‘night.’” Seeing that mention of light always precedes mention of darkness, the Torah first told us of the name G’d gave to “light.”

ויהי ערב ויהי בקר. It is noteworthy that the Torah here did not write ויהי לילה, ויהי יום, but it wrote ערב. This is the period when G’d made the light of the first day fade. The subsequent expression ויהי בקר refers to the morning after the night when dawn rose. At this point the first of the 6 “days” of G’d’s creative activity of which He spoke in the Ten Commandments had come to an end. After that the second “day” began and is introduced with the words ויאמר אלוקים יהי רקיע בתוך המים. The purpose of our verse here was not to tell us that that evening and morning were part of the same day. The verse was needed only to tell us how the 6 “days” are accounted for, i.e. that the morning completed the night, which was the end of that day and the beginning of the second day.

יום אחד THE FIRST DAY (literally, one day) — According to the regular mode of expression used in this chapter it should be written here “first day”, just as it is written with regard to the other days “the second”, “the third”, “the fourth”. Why, then, does it write אחד “one”? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, was then the Only One (Sole Being) in His Universe, since the angels were not created until the second day. Thus it is explained in Genesis Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah 3:8).

ויקרא, und Gott rief dem Lichte: Tag! und der Finsternis rief er: Nacht! Es kann schon einfach darum nicht: Nennen heißen, weil ja fortan keineswegs Licht und Tag identisch, vielmehr Tag als Zeitmaß der Zeitraum ist, in welchem das Licht über die Erde waltet, oder als Naturerscheinung alle die Lebenserscheinungen umfasst, die das Licht während dieses Zeitraums zur Verwirklichung bringt. Und eben so Finsternis und Nacht. Hat ja auch sonst der Schöpfer außer Tag und Nacht, Erde und Meer und Himmel nichts "genannt" nicht einmal Adam den Menschen, von dem es nicht heißt: er bildete ein Geschöpf und nannte es Adam. Ohnehin, wo eine Namensnennung von Gott ausgeht, wird in derselben eine Bestimmung des also zu Nennenden ausgesprochen, wie Abraham, Jisrael usf. Es ist daher auch wohl füglich nur in dem Sinne zu nehmen, den unsere Weisen also ausdrücken: קרייא רחמנא לנהורא ופקדיה אמצוותא דיממא קרייא רחמנא לחשכא ופקדיה אמצוותא דלילא (Peßachim 2). "Gott rief das Licht und setzte es über die Aufgaben des Tages, und Gott rief die Finsternis und setzte sie über die Aufgaben der Nacht". Er wies beiden ihr gesondertes Gebiet an, dem Lichte: יום, verwandt mit קום, aufstehen, wo alles zur Selbständigkeit ersteht und in dieser Selbständigkeit dasteht, (damit ist auch יבם verwandt zur Bezeichnung desjenigen, der berufen ist להקים שם לאחיו) die Zeit des Aufrechtseins; der Finsternis: לילה, rad. לול, wovon לולאות, Schleifen, die Zeit, in welcher alles zusammenfällt und sich in sich selbst und mit andern zusammenlegt, und nichts mehr in seinen Umrissen geschieden dasteht. Die Anfangszeiten von beiden: בקר und ערב, ערב: wo sich die Gestalten bereits zu mischen beginnen, und בקר, verwandt mit פקר, בגר, בכר frei, selbständig sein, wo sich eins vom andern löst und in scharfen Umrissen hervortritt und es schon möglich ist לבקר, eins vom andern zu unterscheiden. (ערב heißt auch angenehm, weil alles Angenehme aus der Mischung zweier Gegensätze besteht; und auch Bürge, der in die Mitte zwischen Zweien eintritt. בקר heißt auch wohl darum das Rind, weil es unter dem Vieh das selbständigere ist.) — Es heißt aber: יהי ערב ויהי בקר יום אחד. Der mit בקר beginnende, unter Einwirkung des Lichts sich vollendende Tag ist das Ziel, ist das טוב, welches der Schöpfer beabsichtigt, zu welchem die mit dem ערב eintretende, unter Einfluss des חשך sich vollendende Nacht nur die Vorbereitung bildet, und erst wenn dem ערב ein בקר gefolgt ist, legt die Welt einen Tag ihres vollen Daseins zurück.

Bedeutsam steht nicht — wie bei den folgenden Schöpfungen — erst vor diesem Schlusssatz, also hier nach der הבדלה בין האור והחשך וירא א׳ כי טוב sondern unmittelbar nach der Schöpfung des Lichts, vor der וירא א׳ את האור כי טוב, הבדלה und dann erst ויבדל א׳ וגו׳. Es erscheint somit die הבדלה durch das וירא ראי את האור כי טוב motiviert. Nicht die הבדלה, sondern das אור, das Licht und all das durch das Licht gegebene organische Leben bis zur höchsten Stufe ist als das טוב, als das eigentliche Positive, als das bei der Erdschöpfung beabsichtigte Ziel bezeichnet. Als solches, hätten wir erwarten sollen, würde das Licht die Finsternis überwunden, den alten Zustand der lichtlosen Nacht völlig beseitigt haben sollen, und auf Erden ein Reich voller Licht und Leben beginnen. Und in der Tat ist uns ein solcher licht- und lebensvoller Zustand auf Erden durch den Mund der Propheten als endliches Ziel aller Erdentwicklung verheißen, ein Zustand, wo, wie es Jes. 30, 26 heißt, "das Licht des Mondes sein wird wie das Licht der Sonne und das Licht der Sonne doppeltsiebenfach wie das Licht der sieben Tage" (der Schöpfung?), wo (das. 25, 8). "Gott den Tod für immer beseitigt und von jedem Angesicht die Träne trocknet"; wo somit Finsternis und Erschlaffen und Hinsterben geschwunden. Indem Gott somit das Licht als das טוב hinstellte, hat Er es mit der Kraft ausgerüstet, die Finsternis völlig zu überwinden, und es würde sie bereits sofort völlig beseitigt haben, wenn jenes Lichtreich auf Erden nicht eine sittliche Vollendung des Menschen voraussetzte, die erst am Ende der Jahrhunderte als Krone winkt; wenn es bis dahin uns nicht notwendig wäre, uns immer aufs neue wieder im Schoße der Nacht für das Leben des Lichtes zu verjüngen, und nicht darum Gott zwischen das Licht und die Finsternis in die Mitte getreten wäre und auch der Finsternis für jetzt noch ihr, immer frische Lebenskeime bringendes Nachtgebiet angewiesen hätte. Auf diese Stellung des כי טוב beim Lichte dürften wohl unsere Weisen hingeblickt, und daraus die Veranlassung zu dem bedeutsamen Ausspruch geschöpft haben: שגנזו לצריקים לעתיד לבא (Chagiga 12a.).

ויקרא אלוקים לאור יום; even though at that stage of creation “time” was not yet an operative term as we know it nowadays, i.e. the terms “day” and “night” were not yet used by anyone, G’d named these phenomena as such already at that time.

ויהי ערב ויהי בקר, although G’d had made a separation between the light and the darkness, assigning to each different time frames in which to be active, independent of the planet earth revolving on its axis, He arranged for a transition from one phenomenon to the other to take place gradually, step by step. This occurred by means of inserting a period known as evening preceding total night, and a period of dawn preceding bright sunlight, daylight.

And God called the light, day, etc.: Plausible are the words of Clericus, that this calling is just a sign of authority and rulership over something; to tell that the day and the night are dependent upon the will of the Omnipresent, and so [too] with the other callings in the story of creation. And so [too], He brought the animals to man that he should call them names, to say that he should have dominion over them and and that they would all be under his [control]. And so was the custom of kings in ancient times, to call their servants with new names, like Pharaoh and Yosef; and Pharaoh-Neco and Eliyakim ben Yoshiyahu; and Nevuchadnezzar and Matanya, whose name he changed to Tzidkiyah; and so [too] Daniel and Channaniah, Mishael and Azariah.

To the light, day: He called the time that the light serves, day, and the time that the darkness serves, night. And there was night and day, even before the creation of the luminaries; as the light would serve for a certain time and afterwards disappear and pause for a certain time, and the darkness would serve instead of it. There was evening and morning then also, since there were gradations of evening, morning and afternoon within the light, as per the opinion of Don Yitschak Abarabanel.

And it was evening and it was morning: Evening sometimes (as is written by Rabbi David Kimchi) also includes the night that is adjacent to it and so [too], morning also includes the day that is adjacent to it. And behold, there was already darkness before the creation of the light - hence it mentions the evening first; and so too is the Torah's day, from evening t evening. And there was already in the time of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, someone who wanted to explain that the night comes after the day and [subsequently] that Shabbat begins in the morning; and he explained "and it was morning, one day" [to mean] that when it was the morning of the second day, then was the first day finished. And against this did Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra write The Epistle of Shabbat, to elucidate the character of the year and the month and the day that are mentioned in the Torah (and I have already published this epistle in the fourth volume of Kerem Chemed). However, the verse (Leviticus 23:32), "from evening to evening," is a conclusive proof and [so] there is no need for [any] other proofs. And, nonetheless, it may have been possible to explain (like the explanation of Des Vignoles) that at first, the time of light proceeded and afterwards came the evening, and afterwards proceeded the time of darkness and afterwards was morning, and this was [the structure of] one day of the days of the creation, even though it is not the Torah's day. However, according to this, there is no reason for the verse to mention the structure of the day of creation, since it is not the Torah's day. And one cannot say that there is no connection between the Torah's day and the day of creation, since, behold, the Shabbat day is based on the creation, and if the Shabbat of creation was from morning to morning, why should its [observance] be from evening to evening? Hence, it is correct as I have explained.

Erev (evening): It is called this because of the mixing up (arevut) of things in people's vision, because of the lack of light.

Boker (morning): [It is derived] from baka or (light breaks through), as is the meaning of "your light will break through like the dawn" (Isaiah 58:8).

One day: [This means] that it was evening and it was morning, which is to say (klomar) that it was one day. The word, klomar, is missing (only understood but not written) in Scripture hundreds and thousands of times.

One day: A complete day: the morning and the evening, one after the other, that is one day. And the intention is not to say 'the first day' but rather 'a complete day.' And Nachmanides (Ramban) wrote that it did not say, 'first,' since there cannot be a first without a second, and there was not yet a second [day]. And this is not a sufficient solution, since, in truth, immediately at the end of the first day, the night began and that is the beginning of the second day, and [so] it would have been possible to call the first [day], first. And behold, the preeminent usage of the word, 'day' is regarding the time of the light. And afterwards they [continued to] call it day, alongside [calling day] the time that includes the night and the day - that is to say, twenty-four hours. And so [too] in the other languages (Dies, jour, Tag), one word, by itself, indicates [both] the light of the day and also the span of twenty-four hours. And this is something common in all of the languages, to call something by the name of one of its main parts which is most visible and known or most useful and the like; as the sail (vela in Italian) of the ship is [used to refer] to the ship, [and] "a womb, two wombs" (Judges 5:30) is [used to refer] to a woman. And so here [too], they called the twenty four hours, 'days' as a result of its main part, which is the time of light. And the intention of the Torah here is to say that the connection of evening and morning - first evening and then morning is called one day.

It should have said “the first day.” [You might ask:] Later it is written concerning the four rivers (2:11): “The name of the one is Pishon,” although afterwards it is written “the second” and “the third.” [Why does this not raise the same question?] The answer is: If there it would say “the first,” we might think that what is stated, “And from there it separated and became four headwaters” (2:10) means that the rivers separated off from one another successively, in four different places, rather than breaking into four headwaters at one place. For example, the second river might separate off several miles downstream from “the first” river, and so forth. Thus it says “one,” and not “first,” to prevent us from making this error. Accordingly, “second” and “third” reflects importance rather than location.

This is because... Nachalas Yaakov [diverged from Rashi and] agreed with Ramban [that it says “one day”] because the Torah is written as if copied from a sequence of events recorded as they happened. That is why the entire Torah is [written] in the present tense. And initially, the second day was not yet in existence, so it was appropriate for the first day to be called “one” [whereas “first” is a relative term that is followed by a “second”].

God called the light day. From the inception of the concepts of light and day, there was some measure of synonymy between them. Nevertheless, they are clearly and independently defined. Aside from day’s association with daylight, the day denotes a specific period of time. At this early stage of the Creation, with the formation of light comes the establishment of time. Until this point, the universe was in a raw state, completely unstructured and undefined; even space and time were not yet defined. These concepts came into being when God willed it. And to the darkness He called night. Darkness as well is removed from its previous status as a description of space alone and placed in a framework of time. The concepts of day and night as they appear in this verse express what the Sages called the order of time, in other words, the notions of before and after, relative concepts that did not apply when the earth was still unformed and empty. The verse introduces additional new concepts: It was evening and it was morning, one day. The essence of time is comprised of evening, which is related to darkness and night, and morning, which is related to light and day. After the passage of evening and morning, one day comes to an end. Therefore, the term “day,” which previously referred specifically to the hours of light and was even identified with light, now receives an additional meaning: A unit of time that includes both the hours of light and darkness. The verse refers to this first day of Creation as “one day” instead of the first day, as the day itself is a distinct entity. In other words, the existence of one day did not indicate the existence of a second. The acts of creation that followed occurred spontaneously. Consequently, the next day may be considered the second day only in the sense that there was already one day preceding it; its existence did not derive from the existence of the first day. The creation of light, therefore, was unique, as its appearance allowed for the basic arrangement of space and time.

ויקרא אלוקים לאור יום, “G’d named the light “day.” Seeing that the Torah later on tells us that man named all the living creatures, it mentions here that G’d Himself named these phenomena. Ibn Ezra explains the word ויקרא, [a term normally used only when there is someone who can hear the caller, something not the case here, Ed] as meaning that G’d assigned light its properties and night its properties. Nachmanides explains the term יום and לילה here as the limitations imposed on both day and night by G’d when He created them, i.e. He defined their properties. The period of light being known as “day,” and the period of night being known as “night.”

ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר, “it was evening, it was morning.” According to Ibn Ezra, the beginning of night is called ערב, evening, on account of light and darkness mixing with one another. The beginning of the day, on the other hand, is known as בוקר, morning, the term referring to man now being able to inspect and distinguish different shapes.

ים אחד. “one day.” According to Bereshit Rabbah the word is chosen to remind us that G’d is unique. Nachmanides claims that the reason why the Torah does not write יום ראשון, “a first day,” is because an ordinal number such as “first” can be used only if there already exists a “second.” In this case there was not yet a second day.” Other commentators feel that we are dealing here with an oblique reference to the motion of the planets, the earth describing an orbit once in 24 hours around its axis so that in different locations at different times there is always one location where it becomes morning. The same is true, of course, of there being always a location where it becomes evening. In other words, a day has been completed when every part of the globe has experienced an evening and a morning.

“God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day” [1:5]. And the Holy One called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And it was evening and it was morning, one day.

Perhaps the most widely cited source with regard to Sabbath observance at the North Pole is a note authored by the nineteenth-century authority R. Israel Lipschutz and published in his classic commentary on the Mishnah, Tiferet Yisra'el, as an addendum to his commentary on the first chapter of Berakhot. Tiferet Yisra'el carefully distinguishes between places such as his own city of Danzig, as well as Copenhagen and Stockholm, in which there is always at least a brief period of dusk, and places further north in which "there is no night at all but only daylight during the months of June and July." He also expresses concern with regard to people who sail close to the North Pole in order to catch "whalefish" because in that locale there are a number of months during the summer in which there is only daylight. Tiferet Yisra'el does not cite Mor u-Kezi'ah but adopts a position that is remarkably similar to that of R. Jacob Emden in one salient aspect. As did his predecessor, Tiferet Yisra'el rules that each twenty-four hour period constitutes a day. In support of that conclusion he draws upon the fact that the sun can be observed as completing a full circle above the horizon each twenty-four hour period. However, his position is fundamentally different from that of Mor u-Kezi'ah in that Tiferet Yisra'el maintains that the day is determined objectively rather than individually by each traveler. Thus throughout the year Shabbat occurs at the North Pole the same day as it does on the rest of the globe and is objectively determined by the "revolutions" of the sun in the sky. In the polar regions the sun is observed as moving in a circular pattern and completes a full circuit in the overhead sky every twenty-four hours. Each of those twenty-four hour circuits, maintains Tiferet Yisra'el, represents a single day. (R. Kalman Kahana, Ha-Ish ve-Ḥazono (Tel Aviv, 5724), p. 100, quotes an unpublished section of the manuscript of Ḥazon Ish’s “Kuntres Yod-Ḥet Sha’ot” in which Ḥazon Ish similarly declares that, in the polar regions, the sun’s completion of a twenty-four hour circuit represents a full day and the seventh circuit is the Sabbath day. A similar opinion is also espoused by R. Yechiel Michal Tucatzinsky, Bein ha-Shemashot, p. 55, who cites that view as earlier expressed by R. Jehoseph Schwartz, Teshuvot Divrei Yosef (Jerusalem, 5621), no. 8. [See also Teshuvot Even Yekarah, no. 11, who also addresses the problem of the biblical reference to “days” prior to the creation of the sun and comments that the biblical “day” is to be defined as the length of time required for the earth to make a complete revolution on the axis, i.e., twenty-four hours.] However, neither Rabbi Tucatzinsky nor Ḥazon Ish offer a clue with regard to the point in the sky which, when traversed by the sun, marks the beginning and the end of Shabbat. See infra, note 13. R. David Spira, Teshuvot Bnei Ẓion, III, Kuntres Midat ha-Yom, sec. 21, states that, during the polar winter, days are demarcated by the circuit of the stars in the overhead sky. Teshuvot Divrei Yaẓiv, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, no. 108, sec. 11, suggests that the day’s beginning and end should be regarded as congruent with the beginning and end of the day in the Land of Israel. Cf., infra, note 15. R. Yechiel Michal Gold, Me’asef le-Khol ha-Maḥanot, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 18:25, finds what he terms “clear evidence” for the underlying assumption that the “day” may be defined in terms of the revolution of celestial bodies rather than by the appearance of the sun in the comments of Rabbenu Baḥya, Genesis 1:13. Rabbenu Baḥya questions the cogency of the verse that declares “and it was evening, and it was morning” with reference to the first three days of creation, i.e., before the creation of the sun. Rabbenu Baḥya explains that the reference is not to “the light” but to “the sphere in which it revolves for, with regard to every portion of the sky, when it ascends that is its morning and when it sinks [below the horizon] that is its evening.” See also Ramban, Commentary on the Bible, Genesis 1:5. However, although Rabbenu Baḥya’s comments may provide support for the notion that demarcation of successive days may be determined on the basis of the rising and setting of celestial bodies other than the sun, those comments have no bearing upon the question of whether completion of a 360 degree rotation in the overhead sky has a similar import. See, however, R. Eliezer Ashkenazi, Ma‘asei ha-Shem (Venice, 5343), Genesis 1:5, who asserts that the first day of creation was determined by circuitous movement of the heavens whose return to the point of creation marked the completion of a day. Ma‘asei ha-Shem expressly applies that concept to the polar area in declaring, “There is no doubt that even one [for whom] the pole is above his head is obligated to observe Shabbat on the seventh circuit even though there was no darkness there at all.”) However, Tiferet Yisra'el fails to identify a phenomenon that might serve to demarcate successive days during the polar night when the sun is entirely concealed. (In a note appended to Mo‘adim u-Zemanim, II, no. 155, R. Moshe Sternbuch opines that “the day changes at precisely the moment that the sun reaches its most distant point and begins to draw closer.” The “most distant point” to which Mo‘adim u-Zemanim refers is presumably the point most distant in the sky from the point at which the sun makes its first appearance at the beginning of the polar spring. Mo‘adim u-Zemanim declares that “night” in such areas is no more than a split second in duration. See also Teshuvot ve-Hanhagot, I, no. 315. See as well Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 18:25, s.v. ve-hineh mah she-katav mori, who also states that the Sabbath must be observed only for the amount of time that it takes the sun to complete a single circuit. It may be noted that at the North Pole the sun neither rises nor declines in the course of its daily circuit. Rather, the sun is observed as circling the horizon once each day in a constant orbit that is a bit higher over the horizon each day until it reaches a height of approximately 23.5° at the time of the summer solstice. However, as one proceeds some distance south of the Pole, the sun, although it does not descend below the horizon during that period, may nevertheless be observed during the course of its daily circuitous movement above the horizon. In those areas—and only in those areas—it might be contended that day and night begin and end when the sun is at its lowest point above the horizon. See R. Eliyahu Baruch Kepetsch, Koveẓ Bet Aharon ve-Yisra’el, Tishri-Ḥeshvan, 5757, p. 150 and cf., R. David Heber, “When Does One Pray When There Is No Day?” Kashrus Kurrents, Autumn, 2002, pp. 17f. Adopting a somewhat different position, R. Jehoseph Schwartz, Teshuvot Divrei Yosef (Jerusalem, 5622), no. 8 and idem, Divrei Yosef, Tevu’ot Shemesh (Jerusalem, 5603), Derekh Mevo ha-Shemesh, p. 61b, states that the point in the sky occupied by the sun at its first appearance in the polar region in the spring represents the beginning of each “day” and the point at which the sun is last seen before it sets in the fall represents the beginning of each “night.” Accordingly, “day” and “night” commence when the sun reaches those points in the sky during the course of each twenty-four hour circuit. Divrei Yosef, p. 62a, asserts that during the winter months a similar determination is made on the basis of the position of the “two stars of the Little Bear, [which are in the] vicinity of the star of the Pole (the North Star),” i.e., the position of their first sighting in the fall marks the beginning of the “night,” and “day” begins when those stars have moved 180 degrees across the sky. Divrei Yosef’s description of the astronomical phenomena during the polar winter is both imprecise and inadequate as a basis for resolution of the problem. Pherkad, a third magnitude star, and Kochab, a second magnitude star, are known as the “Guardians of the Pole” because they circle Polaris (the North Star). All three stars are part of Ursa Minor (the Little Bear). The first two stars of Ursa Minor to become visible are Kochab and Polaris (the North Star). Both are second magnitude stars. However, the first celestial bodies to become visible are the planets Venus and Jupiter. Those planets do not become clearly visible until close to the end of civil twilight, i.e., when the sun drops six degrees below the horizon. At the North Pole civil twilight does not end until October 8. The first star to become visible north of the celestial equator is the zero magnitude star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes and is followed closely by the slightly smaller star Vega in Lyra and then by Capella in Auriga. However, even the largest star is not visible to the naked eye until the sun has declined approximately nine degrees below the horizon. At the North Pole, the sun disappears a little after the time of the autumn equinox but does not reach a declension of nine degrees until October 16, a little more than three weeks later. During that intervening period neither the sun nor any star is visible. The same is true during the period immediately prior to the spring equinox when the sun is not visible but is less than nine degrees below the horizon. Thus, for more than six weeks each year neither the sun nor any star is visible. During those periods, days cannot be demarcated by means of the circular rotation of stars in the overhead sky. Even if Venus and Jupiter are used for this purpose, there are four weeks in the year during the polar twilight in which those planets are not visible. I am indebted to Mr. Joe Rao of the Hayden Planetarium for making this information available to me.)

Tiferet Yisra'el cites no evidence in support of his view. The phenomenon of the sun's circular movement over the horizon each day is certainly not a demonstration that each twenty-four hour period in which such a revolution takes place constitutes a halakhic day. Quite to the contrary, Scripture records "and it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Read literally, the day is defined in terms of alternating periods of light and darkness, not in terms of a revolution of the earth upon its axis or of the circuitous movement of the overhead sun. How this might have occurred prior to the creation of the sun on the third day is a matter that has engaged the attention of numerous biblical commentators, most particularly, Rambam and Seforno, Genesis 1:5; Rabbenu Baḥya, Genesis 1:13; Rashbam, Genesis 1:4 and 1:14; R. Isaac Arama, Akeidat Yizḥak, sha'ar shlishi; and Malbim, Genesis 1:5.

According to the Sages, the Jewish day begins on the preceding evening, in accordance with the verse “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). This means that Shabbat begins on Friday evening. Some say that it is a mitzvah to add time from the weekday to Shabbat, at the beginning and at the conclusion. This mitzvah is called tosefet Shabbat (addition to Shabbat). The book of Nehemiah documents Shabbat as beginning before the onset of darkness: “And it came to pass that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath” (Nehemiah 13:19). We find additional documentation of this in the writings of Josephus, who states that Caesar Augustus commanded the provincial governor not to require the Jews to appear in court on Shabbat or on Friday afternoon after the ninth hour. (Antiquities 16:6:2.) During the Tannaitic period, tosefet Shabbat was limited to the time immediately preceding sunset, and was defined as any additional period.

We [are obligated to] recite the Shema twice daily - in the evening and in the morning (as [Deuteronomy 6:7] states: "...when you lie down and when you rise" - In Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 10), the Rambam mentions the beginning of this verse, ודברת בם... (And you shall speak of them...) as the source for the mitzvah of Kri'at Shema. Nevertheless, his statements in this halachah do not necessarily represent a change of mind. Here, the Rambam is not interested in the actual source for the mitzvah itself (which is the case in Sefer HaMitzvot), but in stating our obligation to recite the Shema twice daily, once at night and once in the daytime. This is derived from the end of the verse, as mentioned by the Rambam.) (The obligation to recite the Shema at night is mentioned first both in the Mishnah,Berachot 1:1 and here in the Mishneh Torah, following the pattern mentioned in the verse quoted above: "...when you lie down and when you rise." Berachot 3a understands this order as parallel to the creation of the world itself which began: ויהי ערב ויהי בקר (And then there was night and there was day..., Genesis 1:5 . (See also the Rambam's commentary on the Mishnah, Berachot 1:1.) i.e., when people are accustomed to sleep - this being the night - and when people are accustomed to rise - this being daytime. - The Mishnah (Berachot 10b) records a disagreement between the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel regarding the laws derived from the verse: "... and when you lie down and when you rise." Both agree that the Shema is recited twice daily, once at night and once in the morning. However, based on the above verse, Beit Shammai obligates one to recline while reciting Kri'at Shema at night, and to stand while reciting it in the morning. Beit Hillel holds that the verse simply establishes the general times at which the Shema is recited, as stated by the Rambam in this halachah; i.e., at the time that people sleep and at the time that they are accustomed to wake up.) - as [Deuteronomy 6:7] states: "...when you lie down and when you rise" - i.e., when people are accustomed to sleep - this being the night - and when people are accustomed to rise, this being daytime.

In the Torah, night precedes day for all matters. This is derived from the description of the world’s creation, about which the Torah states: “And there was evening and there was morning, day one” (Bereishit 1:5). This tells us that each 24-hour day begins at night, and thus Shabbat, the seventh day, begins at night. An important concept is enfolded within this Jewish outlook – night and darkness precede day and light. First questions and dilemmas arise and one is mired in darkness and uncertainty, but from this answers emerge and light shines upon him. This is also true of our history. At first we were enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt, but from there were freed, received the Torah, and entered Eretz Yisrael. This is how it always is for the Jewish people – darkness and troubles are followed by light and redemption. First we must deal with our problems, but from within them we are elevated and refined. In contrast, when it comes to the nations of the world, day precedes night. Nation after nation ascends the stage of history, makes a vast noise, and shakes up the world. But when difficulties arise and problems begin, the night draws nearer, and finally the nation declines and disappears. It happened to the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. The secret of Jewish immortality is connected to the fact that for us, the night precedes the day.

I awoke with my spirit pounding within me and my soul very troubled. I arose and my anger burned within me. I dressed, washed my hands, and took the books outside to the moonlight. There was written the following interpretation for the verse “there was evening and there was morning” (Genesis 1:5): “With dawn of the second day one full day ended, for nighttime follows daytime.” ( According to this interpretation, a 24-hour day extends from dawn of one day until dawn of the follow day. So the Sabbath would begin at dawn of the seventh day and conclude with the following dawn.) I almost tore my garment and also that commentary, saying: “It is better to violate one Sabbath so that Israel will not violate many Sabbaths, ( “The Torah teaches us that it is better for one to violate a single Sabbath in order that he may observe many Sabbaths” (Yoma 85b).) if they should see this evil interpretation. We would also all be a mockery and a scorn in the eyes of the uncircumcised (Christians).” However, due to the honor of the Sabbath I restrained myself.

I will now examine Creation, and I will begin to respond to the one who says that the night follows the day. If this were so, why did Scripture not state explicitly “from dawn to dawn is one day?” Or “from light to dawn?” Why did it interrupt with “it was dusk” (Genesis 1:5)? From the verse “it was dusk and it was dawn” it seems that from dusk until dawn is one day, contrary to what is stated earlier, “God called light ‘day’” (ibid.).

Now the darkness proceeded the light, as it is written (Genesis 1:2). The great movement (diurnal movement) includes the time of darkness and light, and that is called “yom” (day), that is, a complete day of twenty-four hours. ( Thus “day” includes a period of darkness and a period of light, in that order.) This does not conflict with the fact that Scripture first mentioned “God called the light ‘day’” (Genesis 1:5) before the night, for this is common with the Hebrew language, namely, when someone mentions two things he should begin with the latter. ( Verses 3 and 4 refer to the light, therefore verse 5 begins by calling the light “day.”) For example, “I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac, and I gave to Esau…” (Joshua 24:4). In the same way, “Your’s is the day also the night” (Psalms 74:16), and he mentions the minor luminary (the moon) that governs the night before the greater luminary (the sun), although the latter is more important than the former. Also, do not be perplexed when Scripture says “He formed the light and created darkness” (Isaiah 40:12). Scripture puts the light first because it has advantages over darkness, even though darkness came before the light. Similarly, in the verse “His sons Isaac and Ishmael” (Genesis 25:9). ( Isaac is mentioned first, even though he was the younger son.) Also, “There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife” (ibid. 49:31), although he buried her. ( Abraham is mentioned first although Sarah was buried first.)

Because Scripture mentioned “God called the light ‘yom’ (day)”, it needed to tell us how one should count a day of the Torah. For the word “yom” has two meanings (a period of daylight, 12 hours, and a 24-hour period). Therefore it says that these two beginnings, namely dusk and dawn, encompass the Torah’s day. For ‘erev (dusk) refers to the time when shapes merge and are not distinguishable to the eye, as in the verse “They intermingled (vayit’arvu) among the nations” (Psalms 106:35). Boker (dawn) is the time when the forms are distinguishable and are recognizable and examinable, as in the verses “the priest need not examine (yevaqqer)” (Leviticus 13:36), “As a shepherd (vaqqarat) tends his flock” (Ezekiel 34:12). The term yom (day) encompasses both these times, for a single motion includes both. Similarly we find “He created male and female…and called their name ‘Adam’” (Genesis 5:2), while it is also written “And [the Lord, God,] made for Adam and his wife garments of hide and He dressed them” (ibid. 3:21). ( We see that the name “Adam” has a double meaning, sometimes referring to the entire human species, both male and female, and sometimes only to the male (or a specific male).) Again it is clear from the description of Creation that a day is from evening to evening.

Before creation, the term "Time" was meaningless, since it can only assume meaning in relation to events prior and after creation. As long as there was only G'd, there had been no need to create "Time." Once the process of creation had begun, we find "evening" and "morning." These are pivotal points against which events can be measured, can be timed. The concepts of "before" and "after" came into existence once there had been a bereshit, a "beginning." The term zeman, season, refers to time as a general framework for events, the term eyt, "time" as a specific time frame for clearly defined happenings. The term "under the heavens," is applied to all that occurs in our cosmos, which is by definition a mobile one, in constant motion. The same does not hold true for the supernatural. In that abstract world, there is no motion, therefore neither progress nor regression. When the Mishnah in Avot 4,22, states that "one hour of repentance in our world is worth more than the whole of the future world," the meaning is twofold. A) Even a short time frame is extremely precious. B) When such time is spent constructively, it can double and triple its value, since it represents the entrance fee to a world of permanence. For this reason, Rabbi Meir advises people to minimise their earthly activities, and to maximise their Torah study, since "Time" was granted for the purpose of busying oneself with Torah study. "You shall be preoccupied with it by day and by night." (Joshua 1,8.) Should one ask how it is possible to attain worldly goods, seeing that they require much toil and time to amass, the answer is "be of humble spirit before all men." (Avot ibid.) Should one spurn Torah in favour of the acquisition of transient values, one's own end will be as finite as that of the commodities to acquire which one spent so much time and effort. The reverse is true if one concentrates on the acquisition of Torah values. To counteract any possible feeling of despair arising from the monumental nature of the task, Rabbi Tarfon adds: "it is not up to you to complete the task, yet you are not free to desist from it." Should someone not feel adequately rewarded for the effort, Rabbi Tarfon adds "your employer is faithful to pay you the reward for your work, but know that the reward of the righteous will come in the hereafter." This is based on the verse "which I command to you this day, to perform them." (Deut. 7,11) The Talmud Avodah Zarah 3, interprets the meaning as "to perform them today but not to receive the reward today." Since man is apt to lose sight of the swift passage of time, and the brevity of his stay on earth, the Torah commands us to count seven year cycles and fifty year cycles to remind us how quickly the time allotted to us passes, and to alert us to use such time wisely. "Man worries about the loss of his money, but fails to worry about the loss of his time. His money does not really help him, whereas his time is lost irretrievably." (Sefer Hachayim, 10,1) When the Torah legislates the counting of the cycles, (even of forty nine days ) it says "you shall count for yourself," meaning for your own benefit. The seven year cycles are symbolic of different stages of the average man's life cycle.

The term echad, one, is applied to items that are whole, not to parts of any unit. Anything that is incomplete, either through being defective or being surplus, redundant, cannot qualify for the description "one." G'd will be perceived as "One" in the messianic age, even though to our limited intellect He may appear as possessing many facets. "He will be one, and His name will be one." (Zecharyah 14,9) The Jewish people are goy echad, one nation. We have a mission in life, in history, which requires all parts of the nation to be part thereof. "It was evening, it was was night, one day." (Genesis 1,5) A day is not a night plus a day, but the total of the twenty four hour period is one day, one unit. When Joseph told Pharaoh that the repetition of his dream showed that the dream was one, he meant that each dream separately was meaningless, only when viewed together did it form a unit. Anyone who transgresses a single commandment of the Torah, destroys the unity of Torah, and is as if he had transgressed all the laws. The same applies to anyone tampering with Torah by either adding or subtracting a single law from it. (5 species for the lulav for instance) Man without woman is not really man at all, he cannot fulfil his purpose in life. When one person sins, he destroys the unity of the nation, makes the nation unable to achieve its destiny, its purpose in G'ds universe. Our sages view the relationship between Israel and G'd in such a manner that the unity of G'd is impaired when Israel does not enjoy His favour through acting in a manner contrary to His wishes. When Achan sinned by concealing treasure captured at Jericho, the whole nation was considered as having sinned. "Israel sinned." (Joshua 7,11) As a result, the people lost the first battle of Ai. In the case of Korach, when Moses asked "shall one man sin and You will be angry at the whole nation?" Moses reasoned that since Korach's sin had been due to deliberate opting out from being part of the national purpose, such action should not come under the heading of collective responsibility. Moses was taught that he had erred. A few people, trying to collect manna on the Sabbath are considered as if the whole nation had refused G'ds commandments. "How long are you refusing to observe My commandments?" (Exodus 16, 28)

It is for this reason that the chief and most select of the judges would stand in the place where the Divine Immanence manifested itself, this being the idea behind the presiding of the Men of the Great Assembly in the chamber of hewn stone [lishkath hagazith]. And it is for this reason that our sages of blessed memory said (Avodah Zarah 8b): "When they [the members of Sanhedrin] saw that murderers had multiplied, they said: 'Let us exile ourselves from our place, so as to put into effect (Deuteronomy 17:10): "And you shall do according to the thing that they tell you from that place" — this teaches us that the place is the critical factor'" [so that in exiling themselves from their place, they suspended the death penalty]. And all that our sages have said in this regard is to be understood along the same lines, viz. (Sanhedrin 7a): "Every judge that judges truly causes the Shechinah to reside in Israel, as it is written (Psalms 82:1): 'G-d stands in the congregation of the Almighty; He judges in the midst of the judges.'" And, similarly, (Shabbath 10a): "Every judge that judges truly — even one moment in the day — is regarded by Scripture as if he were a partner to the Holy One Blessed be He in the creation, it being written here [in respect to judging] (Exodus 18:13): 'from morning until evening,' and there [in respect to the creation] (Genesis 1:5): 'and it was evening and it was morning.'" This "partnership" is an allusion to what we have been saying — that just as in the creation the Divine effluence manifested itself in the terrestrial world, it being the source of all that was created, so, every judge that judges truly draws down that effluence, whether or not his judgment completely fulfills the societal requirements. For just as the sacrifices, though entirely outside the realm of natural cause and effect, made manifest the Divine effluence, so was this effluence drawn down by the judgments of the Torah, though these judgments had to be supplemented with the edicts of the king to guarantee a well-ordered society. We find, then, that judges were appointed to administer the judgments of the Torah alone, judgments righteous in themselves (as stated: "and let them judge the people a righteous judgment"), and the king was appointed to supplement these judgments with whatever was required for a well-ordered society and dictated by the needs of the hour.

The abstract thought version is numerical unity, namely, the root and beginning of all numbers. It is the sign and symbol of a beginning unprecedented by any other beginning. For every true beginning is termed "One", as for example: "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). Instead of saying "the first day", the verse uses the term "one (day)", because the term "one" refers to any beginning unprecedented by any other beginning. When repeated, it is called "the second", and when repeated again - "the third", and so on until the number "ten", "a hundred", "a thousand", which are also units of new series, and so on to infinity.

We find that some of our Sages are reported to have held the opinion that time existed before the Creation. But this report is very doubtful, because the theory that time cannot be imagined with a beginning, has been taught by Aristotle, as I showed you, and is objectionable. Those who have made this assertion have been led to it by a saying of one of our Sages in reference to the terms “one day,” “a second day.” Taking these terms literally, the author of that saying asked, What determined “the first day,” since there was no rotating sphere, and no sun? and continues as follows: Scripture uses the term “one day”; R. Jehudah, son of R. Simon, said: “Hence we learn that the divisions of time have existed previously.” R. Abahu said, “Hence we learn that God built worlds and again destroyed them.” This latter exposition is still worse than the former. Consider the difficulty which these two Rabbis found in the statement that time existed before the creation of the sun. We shall undoubtedly soon remove this difficulty, unless these two Rabbis intended to infer from the Scriptural text that the divisions of time must have existed before the Creation, and thus adopted the theory of the Eternity of the Universe. But every religious man rejects this. The above saying is, in my opinion, certainly of the same character as that of R. Eliezer, “Whence were the heavens created,” etc., (chap. xxvi.). In short, in these questions, do not take notice of the utterances of any person. I told you that the foundation of our faith is the belief that God created the Universe from nothing; that time did not exist previously, but was created: for it depends on the motion of the sphere, and the sphere has been created.

Now, as has been mentioned, there also is the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם as the matter of might-Gevurah and judgment-Din, as our sages, of blessed memory, stated, (See Midrash Bereishit Rabba 12:15) “At first He began creating His world with the quality of judgment-Din, as it says, (Genesis 1:1) ‘In the beginning God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם created.’ Seeing that it could not endure, He added the quality of mercy-Rachamim, as it says, (Genesis 2:4) ‘on the day that HaShem God-HaShem Elohi”m-יהו״ה אלהי״ם made earth and heaven.’” All this is true, well established, and correct. However, come and see wondrously great matters. The verse states, (Isaiah 40:26) “Raise your eyes on high and see Who-Mee-מי created these-Eileh-אלה.” Certainly, that which is called Who-Mee-מי created These-Eileh-אלה. This refers to the mystery of “day one-Yom Echad-יום אחד,” (Genesis 1:5) which is the matter of understanding-Binah. From it, until the day of Shabbat, there were six days in which the heavens and the earth and all therein were made. Now, in truth, the word Who-Mee-מי is above, (The Sefirah of understanding-Binah.) and the word Sea-Yam-ים is below. (The Sefirah of kingship-Malchut.) Now, Who-Mee-מי created, this being the beginning of the manifestation of the name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם within the secret of the Name HaShem-יהו״ה. That is, in its written form this quality is the name HaShem-יהו״ה, but in the secret of HaShem-יהו"ה it is vowelized and pronounced as God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם . (That is, the title Lord-Adonay-אדנ״י refers to the Sefirah of kingship-Malchut, which is below. In Torah, when the Name HaShem-יהו״ה is juxtaposed to the title Lord-Adonay-אדנ״י and follows it, such as (Deut. 3:24), “Lord HaShem-אדנ״י יהו״ה,” the Name HaShem-יהו"ה is pronounced Elohi”m-אלהי״ם,” in reference to the Sefirah of understanding-Binah. Thus, the name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם is hidden in the vowelization of the written Name HaShem-יהו״ה. These two names HaShem-יהו״ה and God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם are thus found as one.) Both are the mystery of Who-Mee-מי-50, as hinted in the verse, (Ecclesiastes 1:7) “All-Kol-כל-50 rivers flow into the sea-Yam-ים-50.” From this quality called Who-Mi-מי, which is the matter of the manifestation of God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם within the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, the quality of might-Gevurah inherited judgment-Din and fear-Pachad. This quality of might-Gevurah is the actual name God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם. (That is, both in its written form and in its pronunciation the quality of might-Gevurah-גבורה is called Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.) With these two, the quality called Lord-Adona”y-אדנ״י inherited the title God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם and donned its garments, and the world was then created through the matter of HaShem Lord-HaShem Adona”y-יהו״ה אדנ״י (pronounced Elohi”m Adona”y-אלהי"ם אדנ"י).

6. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם called the light.” (Genesis 1:5)

And because of Her, it is stated: (Ex. 3:2) And an angel of Y”Y appeared to him, in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush... Five times the word ‘bush’ (sneh) is mentioned in that passage, and five times ‘light’ (aur) correspond to them, in ‘the act of creation’, and they are: (Gen. 1:3–5) Let there be light... and there was light... the light for it was good... ELQYM divided between the light... And ELQYM called the light...

And at that time, it will be considered as though the world had newly been created, and the lights will be arranged as they are meant to be. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:5) And ELQYM called the light ‘day’, and the darkness He called ‘night’.

and left-hand side: (Gen. 1:5) ... and it was evening, and it was morning, one day – which is the evening of Isaac, and the morning of Abraham.

There are seventy veins in the liver, corresponding to ‘the seventy appointed-ones’ – and the liver and the extra lobe of the liver, are 72. Its extra lobe is the snake, ‘the wife of whoring’, because its [Var. her] leftovers are taken by the spleen which is darkness, and upon it is stated: (Gen. 1:5) ... and the darkness He called ‘night’ (laiylah) ... , for her dominion is in exile – which is night.

Come and behold, the supernal radiance [Binah], continues to radiate. Through this radiance, it should bring gladness to all. This is the right, which was crowned with the right to make the engravings. It is written, "How great is Your goodness, which You have laid upon those who fear You and which You have wrought for they who trust in You" (Ps. 31:20). "How great is Your goodness" alludes to the primordial light that the Holy One, blessed be He, stored away. "They who fear You" alludes to the righteous who fear sin, who are aforementioned. "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day" (Gen. 1:5) "And there was evening" from the side of darkness [Nukva] "and there was morning" from the side of light [Zeir Anpin]. And since they join together as one, it is written they are the "first day."

Three came out from one, one was established in three, came up in two, two give sustenance to one, one feeds many sides, and therefore they seem not one. And [yet] this is what is written "and it was evening and it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5), a day includes evening and morning and they are one: this is the secret of the brit of day and night, and in it it looks like it is not one [but all is one, as the brit makes us see the One is all reality].

"And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old" (Beresheet 27:1). Rabbi Shimon said, It is written, "And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night" (Beresheet 1:5). This verse had already been explained; nevertheless come and behold, All the actions that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs, are true, and in the secret of the upper world. And all the words of the Torah are words of faith and supernal mysteries, as they should.

Thus, it is written, "And Abraham was old, advanced in age" (Beresheet 24:1), that is, in the shining lights (of benevolences). And he is old, as it is written, "that shines ever more brightly until the height of noonday" (Mishlei 4:18). Therefore, "And Elohim called the light Day." "And the darkness he called Night." This is Isaac, who is dark, and gets to receive the night within him. Therefore, when he grew older, it is written, "And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see" (Beresheet 27:1). (he had become completely dark). Assuredly he had to be (totally) dark to cleave well to his grade.

Torah (Genesis 1:1-5)

“Was [vayhi].” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Every place that vayhi is stated, it is trouble or joy; if it is trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bat Naḥman came and made a distinction: Every place thay vayhi is stated it is trouble, [every place that] vehaya [is stated, it is] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: That light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day, a person could look and see from one end of the world to the other end. When the Holy One blessed be He saw the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion, He stood and sequestered it, and designated it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “But the path of the righteous is like a radiant light, growing brighter until noon”’ (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vayhi] evening; it was [vayhi] morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as everything created on the first day is destined to erode, as it is stated: “For the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment, and its inhabitants, likewise, will die, but My salvation will be forever and My righteousness will remain unbroken”’ (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: All the instances of vayhi during the six days of Creation. He said to them: ‘They, too, are not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., mustard requires sweetening, lupines require boiling, and wheat requires grinding.’ They raised an objection to him: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph, and he was [vayhi] a successful man and he was [vayhi] in the house of his master, the Egyptian” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as the bear (This is a metaphor for Potiphar’s wife.) solicited him.’ “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [to erect the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built.’ “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, Nadav and Avihu were killed.’ But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua; his renown was throughout the land”? (Joshua 6:27). ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, he rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments, fell on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel”’ (Joshua 7:6). But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king was settled in his house”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as on that very day, Natan the prophet came to him, and the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “However, you will not build the House”’ (II Chronicles 6:9). But is it not written: “The one who presented his offering…was [vayhi]”? (Numbers 7:12). He said to them: ‘That, too, is not joy, as it was seen before the Holy One blessed be He that they (The heads of the twelve tribes, who brought the offerings when the Tabernacle was erected.) would go with Koraḥ and his assembly in his dispute.’ Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Levi ben Perata: This is analogous to the son of a high ranking official who stole in the bathhouse. The bathhouse attendant feared identifying him by name. Nevertheless, he publicized him as a certain lad garbed in white. So, even though it [the Torah] did not explicitly mention the names of the princes who participated with Koraḥ and went along with him, it publicizes them by means of allusion: “Princes of the assembly, the distinguished of the convocation, people of renown” (Numbers 16:2), just as it says: “These are the distinguished of the assembly, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they are the heads of the thousands of Israel” (Numbers 1:16). “People of renown [shem],” as their names [shemotan] were mentioned in the census of the banners, just as it says: These are the names of the men who will stand with you…” (Numbers 1:5). They said to him: ‘We have said ours; you say yours.’ (We cited proof that vayhi could also connote joy. You rejected those proofs. Now, prove your claim that vehaya connotes joy. ) He said to them: ‘Everywhere that vehaya is stated, it is joy. “It will be on that day, that the mountains will drip nectar…” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that spring water will emerge from Jerusalem” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue, [setting His hand a second time to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be on that day, each man will maintain a young cow [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that [it will be said of] the remaining in Zion…[Holy, for everyone written for life in Jerusalem]”’ (Isaiah 4:3). [They said to him:] ‘But is it not written: “It was when Jerusalem was captured”? (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: ‘that, too, is not trouble, but joy, as on that day Menaḥem (A name for the messianic king.) was born and Israel paid off their debt for their iniquities, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: Israel paid off their debt for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your iniquity is completed, daughter of Zion; He will not continue to exile you”’ (Lamentations 4:22).

“On the first day” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Abba said: What is “the first day”? Since the first day that the Holy One blessed be He created the world, He desired to dwell with His creations in the lower worlds. See what is written regarding the creation of the first day: “It was evening; it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). “The first day” is not written, but rather “one day.” Just as the verse says “one day,” the verse could have said “two days,” “three days”? Rather, why did the verse say “one day”? (The first day is described as "one day", not the first day, whereas the other days are called the second day, the third day etc.) It is that, since the Holy One blessed be He was alone in the world, He desired to dwell with His creations in the lower worlds. He did not do so. (Thus, day one of creation was not the first day that God dwelled in the world. To indicate this, the word first was not used until the Tabernacle was erected.) It was only when the Tabernacle was erected, and the Holy One blessed be He rested His Divine Presence in it, and the princes came to present, that the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let it be written that on this day the world was created.’ Another matter, “on the first day” – it does not say “on the day the Tabernacle was erected” here, but rather, “on the first day.” What is “the first”? It is the first in terms of the creation of the world. It teaches that it was Sunday. Consequently, that day took ten crowns: First in terms of creation of the world; first for priesthood; first for princedom; first for the Divine Presence; as it is stated: “they shall craft a sanctuary for Me and I will dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8); first for service; first for the Priestly Benediction; first for the New Moons; first for the prohibition of improvised altars; first for partaking of consecrated food; first for the descent of the fire, as it is written: “Fire emerged from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar…” (Leviticus 9:24).

“He spoke to Koraḥ…Morning” – what did he see that led him to say: “Morning”? Moses said: ‘Perhaps they said this matter as a result of food and drink.’ He said: ‘Perhaps, in any case, they will repent.’ That is why it is stated: “Morning, the Lord will disclose.” He said to them: ‘I do not have permission to enter now. There is no eating and drinking before Him; however, it is because of us, because we have eaten and drunk.’ Another matter, Moses said to them: ‘The Holy One blessed be He imposed boundaries in His world. Are you able to mix day and night? That is what the verse said initially: “It was evening, it was morning” (Genesis 1:5); “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) for the use of the world. Just as He distinguished between the light and the darkness for the use of the world, so He distinguished Israel from the nations, as it is stated: “I have distinguished you from the peoples to be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). And so, He distinguished Aaron, as it is stated: “Aaron was set apart to sanctify Him with sanctity of the highest order” (I Chronicles 23:13). If you are able to remove that distinction that He distinguished between light and darkness, you can nullify this.’ That is why he said to them: “Morning, the Lord will disclose who is His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Him” (Numbers 16:5) – he is already designated – “and whom He shall choose, He will bring near to Him” (Numbers 16:5).

Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verses regarding the generations. “The earth was emptiness and disorder” – this is Adam the first man, who became oblivion and nothingness. “And disorder” – this is Cain, who sought to restore the world to emptiness and disorder. “And darkness” – this is the generation of Enosh, (They profaned God’s name (Genesis 4:26; Bereshit Rabba 23:7). ) based on the verse: “Their actions are in the dark and they say: Who sees us and who knows of us?” (Isaiah 29:15). “Upon the face of the depths” – this is the generation of the Flood, as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the great depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). “And the spirit [ruaḥ] of God was hovering over the surface of the water” – based on the verse: “God passed a wind [ruaḥ] over the earth” (Genesis 8:1). (Ruaḥ, too is an allusion to the Flood.) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Until when will the world conduct itself in darkness? (In the darkness of idol worship.) Let some light come.’ “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – this is Abraham. That is what is written [regarding Abraham]: “Who roused [he’ir] righteousness from the east?” (Isaiah 41:2). Do not read it as he’ir, (Spelled with an ayin, meaning roused.) but rather, he’ir. (Spelled with an alef, meaning illuminated.) “God called the light, Day, and the darkness, He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). “God called the light, Day” – this is Jacob. “And the darkness, He called Night” – this is Esau. “It was evening” – this is Esau; “and it was morning” – this is Jacob. “It was evening” – the evening of Esau; (The period of Esau’s waning power.) “and it was morning” – the morning of Jacob. (The period of Jacob’s rising power.) “One day” – as it is stated: “There will be one day, it will be known to the Lord, that is not day and not night…” (Zechariah 14:7). (This is an allusion to the ultimate redemption, when Jacob’s ascendance over Esau will be asserted.) Alternatively, “one day” – which the Holy One blessed be He provided him. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. (Even in this world there is one day when there is light for Jacob and darkness for the forces of evil.)

Rabbi Simon said: Light is mentioned five times here, corresponding to the five books of the Torah. “God said: Let there be light” – corresponding to the book of Genesis, in which the Holy One blessed be He engaged in creating His world. “And there was light” – corresponding to the book of Exodus in which Israel emerged from darkness to light. “God saw the light, that it was good” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Leviticus, which is full of multiple halakhot. (Hence the two positive expressions: “light” and “good.”) “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – corresponding to the book of Numbers, which distinguishes between those who departed from Egypt and those who entered the land. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – corresponding to the book of Deuteronomy, which is full of multiple halakhot. The students raised an objection to Rabbi Simon: ‘But is the book of Leviticus not full of halakhot [just like Deuteronomy]?’ (Regarding Leviticus, the double expression indicated the multiplicity of halakhot. Why does Deuteronomy, which is just like Leviticus, not have a the double expressionof light?) He said to them: ‘In its regard, too, it said a second word.’ (The verse corresponding to Deuteronomy also contains two positive expressions, “light” and “good.”)

“God called the light, Day” – are “light” and “day” not the same thing? This is bewildering. It is taught: The light that was created during the six days of Creation cannot illuminate by day, because it would make the orb of the sun seem dim [by comparison], nor can it [illuminate] at night, as it was created to illuminate only during the day. Where is it, then? (Since it does not illuminate the world at any time.) It was stored away, and is designated for the righteous for the future, as it is stated: “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of the seven days” (Isaiah 30:26). This is bewildering: (The verse just cited, which refers to the shining of the great light of Creation for seven days. ) “Seven [days]”? Are they not three? Is it not so, that the lights were created only on the fourth day? It is, rather, like a person who says: This and that I am preparing for the seven days of the wedding feast. (He says this even if his preparations are for only one or two of the seven days.) Rabbi Neḥemya said: These are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Methuselah, during which the Holy One blessed be He conferred extra light upon them. “God saw the light, that it was good, and God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). “God saw the light, that it was good” – Rabbi Ze’eira son of Rabbi Abahu preached in Caesarea: From where is it derived that someone does not recite a blessing on the candle [at havdala on Saturday night] until he avails himself of its light? It is from here: “[God] saw…and [God] distinguished [vayavdel].” Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: He set it aside (Vayavdel (“He distinguished”) can also mean He set aside.) for Himself. (As it is said (Daniel 2:22): “Light dwells with Him.”) The Rabbis say: He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. This is analogous to a king who had a fine portion of food and set it aside for his son. “God called the light, Day, and to the darkness He called Night. It was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). Rabbi Berekhya said: This is what two eminent men of the world, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, expounded: “[God] distinguished” – this refers to distinguishing in the literal sense. (Unlike the previous explanations.) This is analogous to a king who had two commanders, one to be in charge by day and one to be in charge by night. They were arguing with one another. This one said: ‘I will be in charge by day,’ and that one said: ‘I will be in charge by day.’ The king summoned the first one and said to him: ‘So-and-so, the day will be your realm.’ Likewise for the second one, he said to him: ‘So-and-so, the night will be your realm.’ So, too, “God called the light, Day” (This can also be translated: “God called out to the light: Day [will be your realm].”) – He said to it: ‘The day will be your realm.’ “And to the darkness He called Night” – He said to it: ‘The night will be your realm.’ Rabbi Yoḥanan said: That is what the Holy One blessed be He says to Job: “In all your days, have you commanded the morning and apprised darkness of its place?” (Job 38:12) – have you informed it of its place, where it is? This was a rhetorical question. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source for this: “He forms light and creates darkness, He makes peace” (Isaiah 45:7) – after they were created, He made peace [between them]. “God called the light, Day” – Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One blessed be He never associates His name with the bad, but only with the good. “God called the light, Day and to the darkness God called night” is not written here, but rather, “to the darkness He called night.” (Regarding darkness, the pronoun “He” is used instead of God’s name.)

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

Another interpretation, “it was in the days of Amrafel” – Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The following exposition was brought with us in our hands when we came up from the Diaspora: (When the exiles of Israel returned to the land of Israel with Ezra from Babylon.) Wherever it is stated: “It was [vayhi] in the days,” it indicates trouble. (Vayhi is seen as a combination of the words vay and hi, both expressions of woe and misfortune.) “It was in the days of Amrafel” – what was the trouble there? “They waged war” (Genesis 14:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: There are five such instances. (For the other four instances, see: Isaiah 7:1; Jeremiah 1:3; Ruth 1:1; Esther 1:1.) This is analogous to a friend of a king who lived in a certain province, and for his sake the king took an interest in that province. Once some barbarians came to attack him, and they said: ‘Woe unto us, as the king will not show favor to the province as was his wont if they kill his friend.’ That is what is written: “They turned back, and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7) – Rabbi Aḥa said: They came only to fight against the eyeball [ein] of the world; (Abraham is called the eyeball of the world, because it was only for his sake that God took an interest in and looked out for the benefit of the people of the world.) they sought to blind the eye [ayin] that overcame the attribute of justice [mishpat] in the world. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rav Aḥa said: Hu is written. It is he [hu] who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. When the barbarians came to attack him, everyone began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel.” “It was in the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). (Israel was under attack from all sides.) This is analogous to a king’s son, whose caretaker resolved to kill him. He said: ‘If I kill him, I will be liable to execution by the king. Instead, I will take away his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own.’ So, too, Aḥaz said: ‘If there are no kids, there will be no goats, and if there are no goats there will be no flock, and if there is no flock there will be no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there will be no world.’ (That is, the world will not be able to function in its conventional manner.) That is what Aḥaz thought to himself: ‘If there are no children [in school], there will be no students, if there are no students there will be no scholars, if there are no scholars there will be no elders, if there are no elders there will be no prophets, if there are no prophets the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence upon them [Israel]. (Consequently, he closed all the schools.) That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥonya bar Rabbi Elazar said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he locked up [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: Isaiah said: ‘“I will hope for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no moment that was as grim as that time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But at that very time, I [Isaiah] hoped for Him, as it is written [immediately afterwards]: “For it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). (When God said that He would hide His face from Israel, He continued, that nevertheless the Torah would never be forgotten by them.) Of what use was it to him [Ahaz]? (Despite his best efforts, the Torah continued to be taught, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) [Of no use, as Isaiah declared:] “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord gave me, are to become signs and wonders in Israel”’ (Isaiah 8:18). Were they (The young men Isaiah was referring to.) his children? Were they not actually his students? However, we learn from here that they [his students] were as beloved to him as sons. When he [Aḥaz] locked up the synagogues and study halls, people began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥaz.” “It was in the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? [It was as Jeremiah prophesied:] “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to a king who sent a proclamation throughout the province. What did the residents of one province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. Thus it is stated: “It happened that as Yehudi would read three or four sections…” (Jeremiah 36:23) (It was the Book of Lamentations that was being read.) – this means three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse, “Its besiegers have become dominant” (Lamentations 1:5) – “He cut it up with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When everyone saw this, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was in the days that the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) (A more literal translation would be, “in the days of the judging of the judges.”) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tax to the king. The prince sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do to him? They took him and beat him. They then said: ‘Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these events; what he sought to do to us, (Subdue us.) we did to him.’ So, too, in the days of the judging of the judges – when a person of Israel would engage in idol worship, and the judge sought to implement against him the attribute of strict justice, (And decree for him corporal punishment.) he would come and flog the judge. He said: ‘What he sought to do to me, I did to him.’ (“The judging of the judges” is interpreted to mean that the people committed acts of judgment and punishment against their judges.) They said: ‘Woe [vay] to the generation that judges its judges.’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). “It was in the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [Haman’s decree:] “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews]” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a certain vineyard, and three enemies rose up against it. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began cutting off the clusters, and the third began uprooting the vines. So too, Pharaoh [said]: “Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar [exiled] “the ḥarash and the masger, (These are two classes of Torah scholars (Gittin 88a).) one thousand” (Jeremiah 29:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: One thousand ḥarash and one thousand masger; the Rabbis said: They were one thousand altogether. Haman sought to uproot the entire vineyard, as it is stated: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews…” (Esther 3:13). When everyone saw that it was so, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥashverosh.” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers either to trouble or to joy; if the context is one of trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is one of joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and made a distinction: Everywhere that vayhi is stated, (Even when it is not connected with “in the days of.”) it alludes to trouble, and vehaya [alludes to] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “And there was [vayhi] light”? (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as the world was not privileged to use that light. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, He hid it away for the righteous in the future. That is what is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light, growing brighter until the day is established” (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day”? (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wear away, as it is stated: “For the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will wear away like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), “…a third day” (Genesis 1:13), “a fourth day” (Genesis 1:19), “a fifth day” (Genesis 1:23), “a sixth day”? (Genesis 1:31). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete [joy], as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires some act [to perfect it], e.g., mustard requires sweetening, wheat requires grinding, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph”? (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as that bear (Potifar’s wife.) then accosted him. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned”? (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as Nadav and Avihu died [that day]. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle”? (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it was hidden away with the building of the Temple. (Moses’ Tabernacle was stored away forever when the permanent Temple was built.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua”? (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it became necessary for him to rend his garments. (Joshua 7:6.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) resided in his house, and the Lord had given him respite…”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: It was nevertheless not complete joy, as Natan then came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House…for My name” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We have said our [arguments], now you say yours. He said to them, (To prove his contention that vehaya always alludes to a joyous event.) is it not written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge…” (Zechariah 14:8). It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man will keep a calf of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue…[to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). They raised an objection to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That was nevertheless joyous, as on that day, Israel gained atonement for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel gained great atonement for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, He will not continue to exile you again” (Lamentations 4:22).

(Fol. 10, b) And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus. R. Levi, and according to others, R. Jochanan, said: "There is a tradition among us from our ancestors [who reicev it from] the men of the Great Assembly, that wherever Vayehi (it came to pass) occurs, it refers to some disaster. (Ruth 1) And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, there was Haman; (Jud. 1) And it came to pass in the days of the Judges, there was hunger; (Gen. 6, 1) And it came to pass when men began to multiply, and soon after this it is written, And the children of man, etc. — [which caused the flood]; (Ib. 11, 2) And it came to pass as they journeyed toward the east, then there came the dispersion; (Ib. 14, 1) And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel … there was a war. (Josh. 5, 13) It came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, etc. and he saw a man with a drawn sword in his hand; (Ib. 6, 27) And the Lord was (Va'yehi) with Joshua, and soon after this. And the children of Israel committed a trespass; (I Samuel) There was (Va'yehi) a certain man of Romathaim, and afterward, Hannah he loved, but the Lord had shut her womb; (Ib. 8, 1) It came to pass when Samuel became old … and his sons walked not in his way; (Ib. 18, 14) And David was successful all his ways, and soon follows, Saul was in dread of him; (II Sam. 7, 1) And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house. But thou canst not build the Temple. But is it not written (Lev. 9, 1) And it came to pass on the eighth day, and we have been taught in a Baraitha: "That particular day caused as great rejoicing before the Holy One, praised be He! as did the day of creation, for it is written here. And it came to pass (Va'yehi) on the eighth day, and it is written (Gen. 1, 5) And it was (Vayehi) evening and it was morning the first day. [Hence we find Vayehi when a misfortune does not follow.] There also the tragedy of Nadab and Abihu happened (Lev. 10, 1-7). But is it not written (I Kings 6, 1) And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the going forth of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and it is also Written (Gen, 29, 16) While Jacob saw Rachel, and in Genesis (1, 5) And it was evening, and it was morning, the first day — and so on the second and third days although no disaster occurred? We must therefore say that wherever it is said, (Vayehi) It came to pass, there may or may not be a calamity; but whenever it is said, (Vayehi Bimai), And it came to pass in the days of, there a misfortune surely took place. There are five expressions, It came to pass in the days of, viz., in the days of Ahasuerus, the Judges, Amraphel, Ahaz (Is. 7) and Yehoyakim (Jer. 1) [and in every instance there was trouble] .

R. Elazar said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Micha 4, 2) And many nations shall come, and say. Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. The God of Abraham and Isaac, is not stated here, but that of Jacob; i.e., neither like that of Abraham, who described it as a mountain, as it is said (Ex. 22, 14) On the mount of the Lord it shall be seen; nor like that of Isaac, who described it as a field, as it is said (Ib. 24, 63) And Isaac was gone out to mediate in the field; but like that of Jacob, who described it as a house, as it is said (Ib. 35, 7) And he called the name of that place Beth-El (the house of God)." R. Jochanan said: "The day on which the reunion of the exiled will occur, will be as great as the day on which heaven and earth were created; for it is said (Hos. 2, 2) Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land; for great shall be the (Yom) day of Yisre-el. Behold, it is written (Gen. 1, 5) And it was morning and it was evening one (Yom) day."

And they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation. We are taught that even the very horses and asses joined in it. On arriving at the Cave of Machpelah, Esau once more protested, and said; Kiryatharbaa the same is Hebron." R. Isaac explained the meaning of the above name is that four pair were to be buried. Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah. Jacob disposed of his share when he buried Leah in it, and the remaining one belongs to me." But thou didst sell thy share with thy birthright," remonstrated the sons of Jacob. "Nay," rejoined Esau, "that did not include my share in the burial-place." "Indeed it did," they argued, "for our father, just before he died, said (Gen. 1, 5) 'In my grave which I have bought for myself.'" In the land of Canaan, "Where are the title deeds?" demanded Esau. "In Egypt," they replied. "Then let some one go for them immediately. The swift-footed Naphthali concerning whom the passage says (Ib. 49, 21) Naphthali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words, started for the records. Hushim, the son of Dan, being deaf, asked what was the cause of the commotion. When he was told that Esau stopped the interment until the deed would be brought from Egypt. "And until Naphthali returns from Egypt my father shall be in disgrace?" remarked he. Thereupon he snatched up a club and smote Esau so hard that his eyes dropped out and fell upon the feet of Jacob, at which Jacob opened his eyes and grimly smiled. This is the meaning of the passage (Ps. 58, 10) The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. In that moment Rebekah's prophecy was fulfilled (Gen. 27, 45) Why shall I be deprived also of you both in one day? For although they did not both die on the same day, both were nevertheless buried on the same day. Is it then possible that if Joseph would not have attended to the burial of his father, that his brothers would not have done it? Behold the passage says (Gen. 50, 13) And his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, [hence all his children performed the duty?] Indeed they were ready to perform the duty. They said, however, let us leave this task to Joseph because his (Jacob's honor will be greater when he is attended by kings than by ordinary people.

Rabbi Tanḥuma, Rabbi Berekhya, and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great interpreted in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile. Everyplace that vayhi is stated, it means nothing but trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman interpreted in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: This midrash came into our possession. Everyplace that vayhi bimei is stated, it means nothing but trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They are five: “It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Amrafel king of Shinar, Ariokh, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war with Bera, king of Sodom…” (Genesis 14:2). [This is analogous] to the beloved of a king who resided in a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. When barbarians came and afflicted him [the beloved of the king], they [the other residents of the province] said: ‘Woe unto us that the king is not attending to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One, blessed be He, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:4). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to His entire world. That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). They sought to afflict only the eye of the world [Abraham]. They sought to blind the eye that acts upon the attribute of justice in the world. ( This probably means that Abraham is responsible for the suppression of the attribute of justice, the result of which is that God rules the world through the attribute of mercy.) “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu [i.e. he rather than she] is written. He [Abraham] sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and he went into the fiery furnace. When everyone saw that all the kings came to afflict him, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.” “It was during the days [vayhi bimei] when the judges judged; there was a famine in the land and a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to stay in the field of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land.” [This is comparable] to a province that owed a tax to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They suspended him [on a pole] and struck him and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters; we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us. So too, when one of the people of Israel would perform inappropriate actions, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You humiliate your judges; by your lives, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to endure. What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “It was during the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). “It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Aḥaz son of Yotam, son of Uziyahu, king of Judah; Retzin, king of Aram and Pekaḥ, son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, went to war against Jerusalem, but he was unable to make war against it” (Isaiah 7:1). What was the trouble there? It was as it is written: “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). [This is comparable] to a king who handed his son over to a tutor, and his tutor hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, the world cannot exist. So Aḥaz thought and said: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars there are no elders, if there are no elders there is no Torah, if there is no Torah there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls, so that no one would engage in Torah study. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa derived it from this verse, as it is written: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for Him” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day because of all the evil that they did…” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But from that moment I hoped for Him, (A reference to the verse quoted above “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for Him” (Isaiah 8:17).) as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did you [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I [Isaiah] and the children whom the Lord gave me are to become signs and wonders in Israel” (Isaiah 8:18). Were they his children? Surely, they were nothing but his students! Rather, from here [we learn] that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Yehoyakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder; the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23). [This is comparable] to a king who sent letters from province to province and in each and every province that his letters reached, they would embrace and kiss them, standing on their feet, baring their heads and reading them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. When they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Aḥashverosh; that Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). [This is comparable] to a king who entered a vineyard and encountered three enemies: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. So too, wicked Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying: Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar, may his bones be crushed, began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “He exiled Yehoyakhin…and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:14). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; the Rabbis said: One thousand artisans and smiths. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Haman the wicked, may he be crushed and wiped out, began uprooting the vines; that is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel, he wanted to devastate the whole house [of Israel]. Once everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yonatan said: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers to trouble or to joy; if it is to trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is to joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabban Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a different distinction: Everywhere that it says vayhi (it was), it refers to trouble, everywhere that it says vehaya (it will be), joy. They objected: Is it not written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light”? He said to them: Even that is not joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When the Holy One, blessed be He, perceived that the generation of Enosh, the generation of the flood, and the generation of the dispersion (after the Tower of Babel) were destined to sin before Him, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “From the wicked was withheld their light” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They objected: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6). They objected: It is written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day,” “…a third day,” through the sixth day. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, as they were not completely made, e.g. wheat requires grinding, and mustard and lupines require sweetening. They objected: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as that resulted in that bear (Potifar’s wife.) confronting him. They objected: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned Aaron and his sons” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, is not good, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died and all of Israel lamented them, as it is stated: “Your brethren, the entire house of Israel, will lament the burning” (Leviticus 10:6). They objected: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was put away when the eternal Temple was built. They objected: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day Ya’ir, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin, was killed; that is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, about thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather “like thirty-six;” ( The verse says: “The men of the Ai killed about thirty-six [ki-shloshim ve-shisha] men…” The prepositional ‘ki-’ can designate approximation, “about thirty-six” or comparison, “like thirty-six.”) that is Ya’ir, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin [of 70 or 71 members]. What is written there? “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6). They objected: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it resulted in what is written: Saul felt enmity to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They objected: “It was [vayhi] when David dwelled in his house” (I Chronicles 17:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who builds Me the House” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar and the hills will flow with milk” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge from Jerusalem” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep a calf of the herd and two sheep alive, and from the abundance of milk produced, he will eat butter, for everyone who remains in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey” (Isaiah 7:21-22). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, in the midst of many peoples like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he passes, tramples and mauls, and there is no deliverer” (Micah 5:7). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, and the lost in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt will come and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 27:13). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water which yields fruit in season; its leaves shall not wither, and whatever he does will prosper” (Psalms 1:3). They objected to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Menaḥem (The Messiah.) was born and Israel made penance for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel made great penance at the moment that the Temple was destroyed. That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion” (Lamentations 4:22).

(Exodus 18:13) "And it was on the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people.": on the morrow of Yom Kippur (after Moses had descended with the second tablets.) "from morning to evening": Now did Moses judge Israel from morning to evening? Do not judges judge only until the time of eating? We are hereby taught that if one judges a judgment of truth Scripture accounts it to him as if he were a partner with the Holy One Blessed be He in the creation, of which it is written (Genesis 1) "and it was evening and it was morning."

Another interpretation (of Numb. 16:5): IN THE MORNING. Moses said: the Holy One has distinguished boundaries for those in his world. Can you confuse morning with evening? And that is what is written in the beginning (in Gen. 1:5): THERE WAS EVENING AND THERE WAS MORNING. AND (in vs. 4) GOD SEPARATED THE LIGHT AND THE DARKNESS, as a service to the world. And just as he made a separation between the light and the darkness, so did he separate Israel from the nations, [as stated] (in Lev. 20:26): I HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM THE PEOPLES . So also did he separate Aaron, [as stated (in I Chron. 23:13): AARON WAS SEPARATED] TO CONSECRATE THE MOST HOLY THINGS, HE AND HIS SONS . If you can confuse those distinctions in which he made a separation between the day and the night, you may be able to nullify this. For this reason he said to them (in Numb. 16:5): IN THE MORNING THE LORD WILL MAKE KNOWN THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM. Such a one is already designated. (According to ibid., end) THE ONE WHOM HE WILL CHOOSE HE WILL HAVE DRAW NEAR UNTO HIM.

(Ps. 48:3 [2]): , THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, . R. Jonathan ben Eleazar said: There is a story about a certain pragmateutes (The Greek word means “trader.”) {shepherd} who went to the land of Israel to sell peppers. (Exod. R. 51:5; PR 41:2.) He came and dwelt there, but he did not make a sale. He said: Is this they have said (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH? In one hour he had sold all his peppers. He said: This is surely THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, EVEN MOUNT ZION, THE REMOTE REGIONS OF ZAPHON, THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Now what is all this glory for? Because it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Since Jerusalem has been destroyed, (Is. 24:11:) ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED; THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH HAS DEPARTED. What is the meaning of IS OBSCURED (rt.: 'RB)? (Below, Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 3:9.) "Became dark," qavelah (in Aramaic). as they say (in Gen. 1:5): (Also in Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) AND THERE WAS EVENING ('RB). In this world THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH has ceased. When the Holy One returns and rebuilds Jerusalem, he will bring back gladness, as stated (in Is. 51:3): TRULY THE LORD HAS COMFORTED ZION; HE HAS COMFORTED ALL ITS RUINS. HE HAS ALSO MADE ITS DESERT LIKE EDEN AND ITS DRY PLAIN LIKE THE GARDEN OF THE LORD. JOY AND REJOICING SHALL BE FOUND IN IT, THANKSGIVING AND THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Blessed is the one who does not have a passion for wine, for you find such to be the case with the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, in that their ancestor had commanded and told them not to drink wine. But what was his reason for not drinking wine? It is simply that he had heard Jeremiah prophesying that the temple would be destroyed. He said to them: From now on you are to be in mourning. (Jer. 35:7:) YOU SHALL NOT BUILD A HOUSE, [SOW SEED,] PLANT A VINEYARD, OR OWN SUCH THINGS; BUT YOU SHALL DWELL IN TENTS ALL {THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE} [ALL YOUR DAYS]. Now they had observed the commandments of their ancestor; but when Jeremiah was prophesying to Israel < and > telling them to repent, they were not doing so. The Holy One said to Jeremiah: You are telling them to repent, and they are not doing so. Now in the case of the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, when their ancestor gave them a simple commandment, they observed it; but when I tell Israel to repent, they do not observe < my commandment >. It is so stated (in Jer. 35:14): THE {WORD} [WORDS] OF JONADAB BEN RECHAB HAVE BEEN UPHELD. HE COMMANDED HIS CHILDREN NOT TO DRINK WINE, AND TO THIS DAY THEY HAVE NOT DRUNK IT, BECAUSE THEY HAVE {OBSERVED} [OBEYED] THE COMMANDMENTS OF THEIR ANCESTOR. BUT I SPOKE {TO YOU} [UNTO YOU] {FROM EARLY MORNING TO LATE EVENING} [CONSTANTLY], AND YOU DID NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME. What is written there? The Holy One said to Jeremiah: Say to them: By your life, whereas you have heeded this commandment, your lineage shall never disappear from before me, even as it is written (in vs. 19): THEREFORE, THUS SAYS THE LORD [OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL]: SOMEONE BELONGING TO JONADAB BEN RECHAB SHALL NOT {EVER} BE CUT OFF [FROM STANDING] BEFORE ME FOR EVER. He therefore enlightens them concerning wine (in Lev. 10:9): DRINK NO WINE OR INTOXICATING LIQUOR. Isaiah said (in Is. 24:11): THERE IS A CRY OVER WINE IN THE STREETS; ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED. What is the meaning of ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED (rt.: 'RB)? (Above, Exod. 11:8.) < That > all gladness has become dark, just as you say (in Gen. 1:5): (Also Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) AND THERE WAS EVENING ('RB). (Is. 24:11, cont.:) THE JOY OF THE EARTH HAS {COME TO AN END} [DEPARTED], because Zion has come to an end. Thus it is written (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): BEAUTEOUS LANDSCAPE, JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, < EVEN MOUNT ZION >. The Holy One said to Israel: In this world wine is a sign of a curse, but in the world to come I will make it into fresh grape juice. Thus it is stated (in Joel 4:18 [3:18]): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ON THAT DAY THE MOUNTAINS SHALL FLOW WITH FRESH GRAPE JUICE….

Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5 [4], cont.): EVIL MAY NOT ABIDE WITH YOU. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said in the name of R. Johanan: The name of the Holy One is not mentioned in connection with evil but only in connection with good. You know that it is so. When the Holy One created the light and the darkness and gave them names, < Scripture > mentioned his name in connection with the light but did not mention his name in connection with the darkness. (Gen. R. 1:6.) Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:5): AND GOD CALLED THE LIGHT DAY, AND THE DARKNESS HE CALLED NIGHT. So also you find that, when he created Adam and Eve, < Scripture > mentioned his name in connection with them, as stated (in Gen. 1:28): THEN GOD BLESSED THEM…; but when he cursed them, it did not mention his name in connection with them. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 3:16–17): AND UNTO THE WOMAN HE SAID< …. > AND UNTO ADAM HE SAID< …. > Now if you say: < Scripture > mentioned < his name > in connection with the serpent when he cursed him, [since it is written (in Gen. 3:14): SO THE LORD GOD SAID UNTO THE SERPENT: BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE THIS, MORE CURSED SHALL YOU BE < THAN ALL THE CATTLE, THAN ALL THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD…. >]; the sages have taught this: The Holy One has mentioned his name in connection with three things, even though they stood for evil:

(Lev. 1:1:) THEN CALLED UNTO MOSES. From where [did he call him]? (Tanh., Lev. 1:4.) From the Tent of Meeting. May his name be blessed forever, because he left the upper world and chose to dwell below in the Tabernacle out of love for Israel. Solomon said (in I Kings 8:27): FOR WILL {THE LORD} GOD REALLY DWELL ON THE EARTH? [EVEN THE HEAVENS AND THE HEAVENS ABOVE THE HEAVENS CANNOT CONTAIN YOU, HOW MUCH LESS THIS HOUSE THAT I HAVE BUILT!] Is there a potter who yearns for vessels of clay? , as it were, (in Jer. 10:16): FOR HE HAS FORMED EVERYTHING. However, out of love (according to Ps. 84:3 [2]): MY SOUL LONGS FOR AND EVEN PINES FOR …. And so it says (in Lev. 1:1): THEN CALLED UNTO MOSES . Moses was great. See what is written (in Gen. 1:5). AND GOD CALLED THE LIGHT DAY. [There is a "calling" for the one (in Gen. 1:5), and there is a "calling" for the other (in Lev. 1:1). Who is greater, the captor or the captive? You must say: The captive. (Cf. Gen. R. 78:1; M. Pss. 91:6; 104:3; Sifre, Deut. 11:21 (47); Luke 22:27; also Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Neziqin 18.) See what is written. AND GOD CALLED THE LIGHT DAY.] Now there is no light but Torah, as stated (in Prov. 6:23): FOR THE COMMANDMENT IS A LAMP, AND TORAH IS A LIGHT. Moses captured the Torah, as stated (of him at Sinai in Ps. 68:19 [18]): YOU ASCENDED ON HIGH; YOU CAPTURED [CAPTIVES…. The Holy One said to him: In this world I have made you head ; (The bracketed words come from the traditional Tanh., Lev. 1:4.) but in the world to come, (This formula normally ends a parashah. Perhaps the fact that the next section jumps to vs. 7 encourages the midrash to use the formula here.) when the righteous come to receive their reward, you will come at the head of them all. It is so stated (in Deut. 33:21): AND HE CAME AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE…. (This translation is required by the midrash.)

(Numb. 16:5:) “In the morning [the Lord will make known those who belong to him].” What reason did he have for saying, “In the morning He will make known?” (Numb. R. 18:7.) Moses said, “Perhaps they said this thing because they had been excessively eating and drinking.” He therefore said, “In the morning.” Perhaps between now and then they will repent. He said to them, “I have no authority to enter [the tabernacle] now. Even though there is no eating and no drinking, it is simply because of us [that we are forbidden to enter] as we have taken food and drink.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 16:5), “In the morning.” Moses said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, has distinguished boundaries for those in His world. Can you confuse morning with evening? And that is what is written in the beginning (in Gen. 1:5), ‘There was evening and there was morning.’ And (in vs. 4) ‘God separated the light and the darkness,’ for its use in the world. And just as he made a separation between the light and the darkness, so did he separate Israel from the nations, [as stated] (in Lev. 20:26), ‘I have separated you from the [other] peoples to be Mine.’ So also did he separate Aaron, as stated (in I Chron. 23:13), ‘Aaron was separated to consecrate the most holy things.’ If you can confuse those distinctions in which he made a separation between the day and the night, you may be able to nullify this.” For this reason he said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known [those who belong to Him].” Such a one is already designated; (according to ibid., end) “the one whom He will choose He will have draw near unto Him.” (Numb. 16:6:) “Do this; take censers, [Korah and all his company].” What was his reason for saying this to them? (Numb. R. 18:8.) He said to them, “In the religions of the nations there are many laws, (NYMWSYN. Gk.: nomoi.) and they do not all assemble in one house. Now as for us, we only have one God, one Torah, one justice, one altar, and one high priest; but you two hundred and fifty men are [yet all] seeking high priesthood! I also am willing in this regard.” (Numb. 16:11:) “Therefore you and all your company” have come together against the Lord. (Numb. 16:6 -7:) “Do this, take censers. And place fire in them.” Here you have a ministry more precious than all the others. It is the incense, the most precious of the sacrifices. But a deadly poison had been put within it, through which Nadab and Abihu were burned. He therefore warned them (in vs. 7, cont.), “then it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one,” And do we not know that the one that the Lord chooses is the holy one? It is simply that Moses said to them, “See, I am telling you that you are not to incur guilt on your two hundred and fifty souls, because when you sacrifice, [only] the one to be chosen from among you shall come out alive, and all [the rest] of you shall perish.” (Numb. 16:7:) “You Levites have gone too far!” See, I have told you a great thing! Were they not fools, in that when he gave them this warning, they took it upon themselves to offer sacrifice? They had sinned against their own lives, as stated (in Numb. 17:3), “The censers of these who have sinned at the cost of their lives.” Now since Korah was a clever man, how did he see fit to commit this folly? It is simply that his eyes misled him. He foresaw a great lineage stemming from himself, [e.g.,] Samuel, who was the equivalent of Moses and Aaron, as stated (in Ps. 99:6), “Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call His name.” Moreover, the twenty-four [Levitical] shifts would stem from his descendants, all of whom would prophesy by the holy spirit, as stated (in I Chron. 25:5), “All these were sons of Heman, (A descendant of Korah.) the king's seer in matters pertaining to God for his greater glory.” He said, “Is it possible that, when this greatness is going to stem from me, I should perish?” But he did not foresee correctly, since his children would repent, and those [great ones] would stem from them. But Moses did foresee well. He therefore participated on this assumption, when he heard from the mouth of Moses that they all would perish, but one would escape, as stated (Numb. 16:7) “then it shall come to pass that the man whom the Lord chooses is the holy one.”

(Lev. 10:8-9:) “And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, [saying], ‘Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.’” Why did He give a commandment concerning wine? (Lev. R. 12:1; cf. Numb. R. 10:2; M. Prov. 23.) Because anyone who drinks wine will have boils, sores, shame, and reproach come upon him. So the holy spirit cries out (in Prov. 23:29-35), “Who has woe; who has sorrow; who has contentions; who has talk; who has unexplained sores; who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry over wine [….] Do not stare at wine when it is red, [when it gives its color to the cup….] In the end it will bite like a snake; [….] Your eyes will see strange things; [….] You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, [….] They struck me, but I felt no hurt.” (Vs. 29) “Who has woe; who has sorrow” [means,] about whom do they say, “Woe?”; “who has contentions,” [means,] about whom do they say [that he is a master of] quarrels. [(ibid., cont.) “Who has talk, means,] and about whom do they talk? (ibid., cont.) “Who has unexplained sores,” [means,] whom [do they say] has boils on his face? [(ibid., cont.) “Who has redness of eyes ('ayin),” [means,] and about whom do they say that his eyes ('ayin) are bleary and red from wine? About whom do they say all these evils? (Vs. 30) “Those who tarry over wine.” (Vs. 31) “Do not stare at wine when it is red.” Its end is blood. It is fine on the outside and bad on the inside; so never say that it is beautiful on the inside, just as [it appears] on the outside. (According to ibid., cont.,) “When it gives its color ('ayin) to the cup (kos).” [This is the oral text (the qere).] The written text (ketiv) [says] “to the purse (kis).” The drunkard sets his eye on the cup, but the shopkeeper [sets his eye] on the purse. “When it gives its color to the cup.” When one sees his comrade drinking, he says, “Pour one for me to drink.” Then he drinks and defiles himself in dung and urine. (Ibid., cont.) “He/it (In the Biblical context it is the wine that goes down smoothly.) goes down smoothly.” He ends in selling all the objects in his house and all his useful implements. Thus he [is left with] no clothes and no useful implements for the house, so that [he is left] with nothing and the house is empty from [having] everything. “He/it goes down smoothly.” In the end he declares transgressions permissible and makes them something accessible [to all] like a commons. He converses with a woman in the market place where he talks obscenely and says evil things in a drunken state without being ashamed, because he is confused and knows neither what he is saying nor what he is doing. (Prov. 23:32) “In the end it will bite like a snake.” When the snake bites a person, he does not feel it for a time; but after he goes home, [the poison in] the wound permeates him. “In the end it will bite like a snake,” most certainly like a snake. Just as in the case of the snake, [the Holy One, blessed be He,] cursed the land on account of it, as stated (in Gen. 3:17), “cursed is the land because of you”; so in the case of wine, Canaan, who was a third of the world was cursed on account of it, as stated (in Gen. 9:24-25), “Then Noah awoke from his wine…, [And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan].’” (As Enoch Zundel explains in his commentary on Tanh., Lev. 3:5, Canaan’s curse comes through his father Ham, upon whom the curse actually fell. Since Ham represented a third of Noah’s sons, a third of the world came from him. So also Numb. R. 10:2.) Ergo (in Prov. 23:32), “In the end it will bite like a snake….” (Vs. 33) “Your eyes will see strange things.” See what wine causes one who drinks it! “Your eyes will see strange things” [is a reference to], (Ps. 81:10) “There shall not be a strange god with you.” It causes him to serve idols. So it says (in Is. 28:7), “These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink.” What is the meaning of these? [These of] which it is spoken (in Exod. 32:4), “These are your gods, O Israel.” Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:6), “and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to engage in amorous sport.” [It was] because of wine that they said (in Exod. 32:4), “These are your gods, O Israel.” Therefore (in Prov. 23:33), “and your heart will speak deceitful things.” Thus it causes four things: idolatry, uncovering of nakedness, shedding of blood, and evil speech. See how strong wine is! So it is written (in Hab. 2:5), “And moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.” It is also written (in Prov. 21:24), “An insolent and arrogant one, scorner is his name.” Now “insolent” must mean idolatry. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 119:21), “You rebuke the cursed insolent ones.” Moreover, “insolent ones” must [also] refer to the uncovering of nakedness. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 86:14), “O God, insolent ones have risen up over against me…”; and it says (in Ps. 19:14), “Also keep your servant from insolent ones.” Moreover, when one drinks and transgresses, he sees the whole world as a ship. It is so stated (in Prov. 23:34), “You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea.” When he lies down they smite him, but he does not feel it. Thus it is stated (in vs. 35), “They struck me, but I felt no hurt; they beat me, but I did not know it.” So when he is unknowing and unashamed, he uncovers himself. Then afterwards he returns and seeks it (i.e., wine). [Thus it is stated (ibid.),] “when I wake up, I seek it yet again.” See how evil is the end of those who drink wine. [Isaiah said (in Is. 5:11),] “Woe to those who rise early in the morning to pursue strong drink; who remain behind in the evening for wine to inflame them.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Inasmuch as wine causes such [evils], it is right for Me to command the priests not to drink wine when they minister before Me. Ergo (in Lev. 10:9:), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Solomon said (in Prov. 23:20), “Do not be among those who imbibe wine.” Do not cause yourself to drink [wine (yyn), which implies] seventy. Then you would face seventy [judges of the Sanhedrin] and fall into the hands of death. Y (= 10) plus y (= 10), for a subtotal of 20, plus n (= 50) results in seventy. (Cf. Sanh. 38a.) So you would face seventy [members of] the Sanhedrin (Gk.: Synedrion.) and cause your own death. See what is written (in Deut. 21:18-19), “If one has a defiant and rebellious son…, his father and mother shall take hold of him [and bring him out unto the elders of his town]….” Then the sentence shall be passed over him; and (in vs. 21) “[All the people of his own town] shall stone him [to death] with stones.” Why? Because he is (according to vs. 20) “a glutton and a drunkard.” So Solomon has said (in Prov. 23:20), “Do not be among those who imbibe wine, who gorge themselves on meat,” (See also Prov. 23:22, which adds an admonition to obey parents.) lest you bring stoning upon yourself, the most weighty of the executions. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said, “In the Hebrew language the name [for wine] is yyn, and in the Aramaic language its name is hmr. By gematria (Gk.: geometria or grammateis. Gematria is an exegetical method in which an interpretation is reached from the sum of the numerical value of the letters in a word.) hmr becomes two hundred and forty-eight, corresponding to the [number of] parts in a human being. The wine enters into each and every limb, so that the body becomes weakened and knowledge becomes confounded. When wine enters, knowledge departs.” And so Eleazar Haqappar has taught, “Wine (yyn), with a numerical value of seventy enters; and secrets (swd), with a numerical value of seventy, (S (= 60), W (= 6), and D (= 4) add up to 70.) depart.” (Cf. Sanh. 38a, which attributes the teaching to R. Hiyya.) Therefore, the high priest was commanded not to drink wine during the time of the service, lest it confound his knowledge; for he preserves the Torah (and preserves the service) and the knowledge. Thus it is stated (in Mal. 2:6), “The true Torah was in his mouth, and no injustice was found on his lips.” It also says (in vs. 7), “For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge.” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Aaron (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor, you and your children as well.” And do [not] think that I may have commanded you [only] for the past in the beginning, at a time when the Temple was standing and you were ministering in it, since it is stated (ibid., cont.), “when you come unto the tent of witness….” [Rather,] you shall also keep yourselves from wine forever, as stated (ibid., cont.), “it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.” Therefore, keep yourselves from wine, because wine is a sign (Gk.: semeion.) of a curse. In the case of Noah, what is written about him? (In Gen. 9:21), “Then he drank of the wine and became drunk.” Cham entered and saw his nakedness. What did [Noah] say to him? He cursed his son (in vs. 25), “And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan.’” Therefore (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” And so you find that the ten tribes went into exile only from wine. (Cf. Lev. 5:3; Numb. 10:3.) See what [scripture] says (in Amos 6:1), “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,” because they were dwelling at ease in pleasure palaces. (Ibid., cont.) “and who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria,” because they were dwelling confidently in [Sebaste]. (The city built by Herod on the site of old Samaria.) (Ibid., cont.:) “The notables of the leading nation, the ones to whom the House of Israel comes.” In what sense? The peoples of the world would sit and talk. They would say, “Who is the mightiest in Israel?” And they would answer, “Samson.” Then again they would say, “Who is the mightiest among the gentiles?” And they would answer, “Goliath,” about whom it is written (in I Sam. 17:4), “his height was six cubits and a span.” Ergo (in Amos 6:1), “The notables of the leading nation, the ones to whom the House of Israel comes.” Then again they would say, “Who is the wealthiest among the peoples of the world?” And they would answer, “Hadrian.” Then, “Who is the wealthiest in Israel?” And they would answer, “Solomon.” And these would agree with those that Solomon was the wealthiest, as stated (in I Kings 10:27), “And the king made silver [in Jerusalem as plentiful as stones].” Come and see, each and every tribe had its own May festival. (Gk. Maioumas.) When one wanted to go to his May festival, he would take his herd with him, so that he would eat fatlings from his flock. It is so stated (in Amos 6:4, 6), “and they would eat lambs from the flock…. Those who drink [straight] from the wine bowls….” What is their end? (Amos 6:7) “Therefore they shall now go at the head of the exiles.” Why? Because they had a passion for wine. For this reason he warns Aaron (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Blessed is the one who does not have a passion for wine, for you find such to be the case with the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, in that their ancestor had commanded them, “Do not drink wine, you and your children forever” (Jer. 35:6). But what was his reason for saying, “Do not drink wine, you and your children?” It is simply that he had heard Jeremiah prophesying that the Temple would be destroyed. He said to them, “From now on, (Jer. 35:6-7), ‘Do not drink wine… You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, [or own such things]; but you shall dwell in tents all your days.” Now they had mourned and observed the commandments of their ancestor; but when Jeremiah was prophesying to Israel [and] telling them to repent, they were not doing so. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, “You are telling them to repent, and they are not doing so. Now in the case of the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, when their ancestor gave them a simple commandment, they observed it; but when I tell Israel to repent, they do not observe [My commandment].” It is so stated (in Jer. 35:14), “The words of Jonadab ben Rechab have been upheld. He commanded his children not to drink wine, and to this day they have not drunk it…. But I spoke to you from early morning to late evening, [and you did not hearken unto me].” What is written there? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, “Say to them, ‘By your life, whereas you have heeded this commandment, your lineage shall never disappear from before Me, even as it is written (in vs. 19), “Therefore, thus says the Lord [of hosts, the God of Israel], ‘Someone belonging to Jonadab ben Rechab shall not (ever) be cut off [from standing] before Me for ever.’”’” He therefore enlightens them concerning wine (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Isaiah said (in is. 24:11), “There is a cry over wine in the streets; all gladness is obscured.” What is the meaning of “all gladness is obscured (rt.: 'rb)?” (Above, Exod. 11:8.) [That ] all gladness has become dark, just as you say (in Gen. 1:5), (Also Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) “and there was evening ('rb).” (Is. 24:11, cont.:) “The joy of the earth has [departed], because Zion has come to an end.” Thus it is written (in Ps. 48:3), “Beauteous landscape, joy of the whole earth, [even Mount Zion].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “In this world wine is a sign of a curse, but in the world to come I will make it into fresh grape juice. Thus it is stated (in Joel 4:18), “And it shall come to pass on that day the mountains shall flow with fresh grape juice….”

And it was on the eighth day: Rabbi Tanchuma, Rabbi Chiya, Rabbah and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is nothing but a term of grief [hinting to the sound, (vay), meaning woe]." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "This midrash came up to our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a term of grief.'" And there are five: (1) "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1). What grief was there over there? They made a war to kill Avraham, our father, as it is stated (Genesis 14:2), "made war." [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then people] came and grappled with him with words. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no longer be concerned about the province as he was." So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be blessed." And when the kings came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It (hee) is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he (hu) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified (hu kidesh) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah 9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own." So did the evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the message; seal the instruction with My disciples." And when they saw that the things were like this, they all started to cry out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable] to edicts of the kings that were brought to the provinces of the kingdom. In each and every province, when it came to their hands, everyone would stand on their feet, uncover their heads and read them with fear, trembling and perspiration. But when they were brought to the province of the king, they tore them up and burned them: When the Holy One, blessed be He, sends His messenger to the nations of the world, they repent, cover themselves in sackcloth and fast - as did the people of Nineveh, as it is stated (Jonah 3:7), "from the order of the king and his principals, etc." They, may their memory be blessed, said, "One who had a beam or a stone that was stolen in his house would destroy the house and remove it and return the theft." And because of this did Yonah fear to prophesy to Nineveh. As Rabbi Tarfon said, "The fish was designated, etc." And the nations of the world are afraid in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, and [so, they are] close to repentance, whereas Israel is stiff-necked. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree that is hanging over us." And the other (4) - "And it was in the days of Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: The king is King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He; His vineyard is Israel, as it is stated (Isaiah 5:7), "For a vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel"; [And] their three enemies are Pharaoh, Nevukhadnetsar and Haman. Pharaoh began with the small berries, as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar ripped the clusters, as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths." Who are the craftsmen (charash)? These are the ones that pray the mute prayer silently, and are victorious with their prayer over all the nations of the world. The smiths? That all the nations of the world come in a vice in front of them but [then] flee, as they put a vice on all the nations - and Nevukhadnetsar come to destroy them; and he destroyed the craftsmen and the smiths, and exiled them. The evil Haman [then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe," and they mourned in front of the Omnipresent. (5) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was famine there; and what grief is greater than famine? And from where [do we know] that there was famine? As it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and there was a famine in the land." And why was there a famine? Because Israel and the judges were not judging true judgement; as it is is stated, "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" - [and] we find [following it], "he", which indicates evildoers. [As] so do we find, "he was Datan and Aviram" (Numbers 26:9); "he was Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1); "he was [...] Achaz" (II Chronicles 28:22). So too were the judges. And to what is the matter comparable? To a province that was liable a tax to the king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time, as Elimelekh would judge the judges; [since] he was a strongman and there were many men below him. He saw the distress and the famine, but he did not warn the sinners to repent from their evil. And he stopped living in Beit Lechem for himself to live in the field of Moav - to sustain his soul during the famine, and the soul of his wife during the famine, and the soul of his sons; and he did not know that [it is] the Torah that sustains its masters and not the vanities of the world. And he was one who was important, as it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and a man went from Beit Lechem, Yehudah." And we only say, "man," about an important man, as it is stated (Numbers 12:3), "And the man, Moshe, was very humble." As Elimelekh was an important man, as they would consider him [so] in his place - and [yet] he went to save his soul and the soul of his household, and did not trouble himself about the matters of the community; even as he was an important man and they would have believed his words, [such as] to make them repent from their evil and bring them to repentance. And therefore, it occurred to him as it is written in the verse (Ruth 1:3), "And Elimelekh, the husband of Naomi died." And so [too,] his sons died, as it is stated (Ruth 1:5), "And [...his] two [sons,] Machlon and Khilyon died, and the woman survived her two children and her husband." As so were they judging their judges, like Sodom. Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is used for grief and it is used for joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." (The text is missing the following integral part of the midrash, found in Bereishit Rabbah 42:3 and other places: Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy; [but] 'and it was' [is for] grief.") The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, "Vayehi (here used as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them. That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' - 'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin, fell at that time; as it is stated (Joshua 7:5), 'And the men of Ai smote of them, like thirty-six men' - and the master said, 'That is Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9), 'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1), 'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written (Jeremiah 38:28), 'vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed, Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

(Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has on the skin of his flesh.” This text is related (to Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness. [This verse is] to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not delight in convicting a person, as stated (in Ezek. 33:11), “As I live, says the Lord, it is not My delight for the wicked to die.” In what does He delight? In vindicating (rt.: tsdq) His people. Thus it is stated (in Is. 42:21), “The Lord was delighted because of His [servant's] vindication (tsdq)…,” (This is the interpretation of the midrash and of the new JPS translation.) [i.e.] because of His people's vindication (tsdq)] and not [their] conviction. So also you find that in the case of the first Adam, when he created him, He set him in the Garden of Eden. Then He gave him a command and said to him, “Eat this, but do not eat from this, for (according to Gen. 2:17) ‘on the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.’” [When] he transgressed, he brought a sentence (Gk.: apophasis.) upon himself. [And then] the Sabbath came, and He acquitted him. (Heb.: pinnahu. This word means “removed him” as well as “acquitted him.” In other words, Adam’s acquittal meant that his sentence was reduced from death to removal from the Garden. So M. Pss. 92:3.) He began to talk with him [about] whether he would repent. It is so stated (in Gen. 3:9), “The Lord God called unto Adam and said, ‘Where are you?’” [This means, “What is your state?”] The Lord can only mean the quality of mercy, as stated (in Exod. 34:6), “The Lord, the Lord is a merciful and gracious God.” For him He had the quality of mercy precede the quality of strict justice. Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness,” in that He does not delight in convicting a person. He began to talk with him, as stated (in Gen. 3:11-12), “Who told you that you were naked? Then the man said, ‘The woman….’” He left Adam alone and began to talk with the woman, as stated (in vs. 13), “Then the Lord God said to the woman….” But when He came to the serpent He did not talk with him. Instead He immediately gave him a sentence, as stated (in vss. 14–15), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this …. I will put enmity between you [and the woman]….’” [Then] He returned to the woman and said to her (in vs. 16), “I will greatly multiply your pain in pregnancy.” And when He returned to the man, He did not convict him. Rather He intimated to him that he should repent. Where is it shown? R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Levi, “When He said to him (in vs. 19), ‘By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread, [until you return …].’ ‘You return’ can only be mean repentance, since it is stated (in Hos. 14:2), ‘Return O Israel, to the Lord your God, as you have stumbled in your iniquity.’” When [Adam] did not repent, He expelled him from the Garden of Eden, as stated [(in Gen. 3:24), “And He drove out the man.” Ergo I would say (in Ps. 5:5), “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness.” What is the meaning of (ibid., cont.), “evil may not abide with You.” R. Tanhuma bar Hanila'i in the name of R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Johanan, “Before the Holy One, blessed be He, stand only angels of peace and angels of mercy, but the angels of wrath are far from Him. It is so stated (in Numb. 14:15), ‘the Lord, of long patience.’ Do we not already know that He is of long patience? But rather what is the meaning of He is ‘of long patience?’ That the angels of wrath are far from Him, as stated (in Is. 13:5), ‘They come from a far land from the end of the heavens, even the Lord and the weapons of his wrath.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Johanan said, “If you do not pursue evil, evil will not pursue you, nor will it dwell with you. Ergo, (Ps. 5:5, cont.), ‘evil may not abide with You,’ as ‘abide with You,’ can only mean dwelling, as stated (Exodus 2:48), ‘And if a stranger dwells with you.’” Another interpretation (of Ps. 5:5, cont.), “evil may not abide with You”: R. Eleazar ben Pedat said in the name of R. Johanan, “The name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not mentioned in connection with evil but only in connection with good.” You know that it is so. When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the light and the darkness and gave them names, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with the light but did not mention His name in connection with the darkness. (Gen. R. 1:6.) Thus it is stated (in Gen. 1:5), “And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.” Behold, it mentioned His name with the light; but when it comes to the dark it doesn’t say, “and God called the darkness night,” but “He called [the darkness] night.” So also you find that, when He created Adam and Eve, [Scripture] mentioned His name in connection with them, as stated (in Gen. 1:28), “Then God blessed them…”; but when He cursed them, it did not mention His name in connection with them. [Thus it is stated] (in Gen. 3:16-17), “And unto the woman He said […]. And unto Adam He said.” Now if you say [that] behold, [Scripture] mentioned [His name] in connection with the serpent when He cursed him, since it is written (in Gen. 3:14), “So the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, more cursed shall you be’”; the sages have taught thus: The Holy One, blessed be He, has mentioned His name in connection with three things, even though they stood for evil: In connection with the inciter, i.e., the serpent, since he incited the woman and said (in Gen. 3:5), “’For God knows that on the day that you eat from it, your eyes shall be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,’ like Him. Just like He created His world, you [two] will be able to create worlds like Him. [But He doesn’t want this,] as every artisan hates his fellow [artisan].” So because he incited her and spoke slander, [Scripture] mentions His name in connection with [the serpent]. In connection with one who transgresses the words of the sages, as is stated (in Jer. 11:3), “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Cursed is the one who does not heed the words of this covenant.’” In connection with one who puts his trust in flesh and blood, as stated (in Jer. 17:5), “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in a human being, who makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns from the Lord.’” So also you find in the case of Noah, [that Scripture used (God’s) name] when he blessed his sons, as stated (in Gen. 9:26), “And he said, ‘blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem…;’” but when he cursed Canaan, [Scripture did not mention the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, in connection with him], as stated (in vs. 25), “And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan….’” So also you find in the case of Elisha the prophet, that when the king of Aram came to fight against Israel, he consulted with his servants and made pits [to trap] them. He said, “When Israel comes to fight against us, they will fall into the pits,” as stated (in II Kings 6:8-9), “When the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, [he consulted with his servants, saying, ‘My camp shall be in such and such a place.’ But the man of God sent unto the king of Israel [saying], ‘Take care [not to pass this place, because the Aramaeans are camping there.]’” So the Holy One, blessed be He, does nothing (according to Amos 3:7) without having revealed His purpose unto His servants the prophets. When Israel passed by once and twice without falling in, the king of Aram took notice and said to his servants (in II Kings 6:11), “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” His servants said to him (in vs. 12-14), “’[It is because] Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words which you speak in your bedroom.’ So he said, ‘Go and see [where he is, so that I can send and seize him,’ and it was told to him, saying, ‘Behold he is in Dothan.’ Then he sent horses and chariots and a heavy force there.” Immediately Elisha’s youth rose and saw that horses, riders and a force encircled the city. Immediately he cried out (in vss. 15-16), “and said [unto him], ‘Alas, my Lord, what shall we do?’ Then he said, ‘Fear not, for there are more with us than with them.’” Immediately Elisha prayed and mentioned the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in vs. 17), “Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, please open his eyes and let him see’; so the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw, and there was the hill full of fiery horses and chariots round about Elisha!” Immediately Elisha arose and cursed the Aramaeans (in vs. 18), and he said, “’Please smite this nation with a blinding light’; so He smote them with a blinding light according to the word of Elisha.” Now [Scripture] did not mention the name, but when [Elisha] prayed over them again for their eyes to be opened, he said (in vs. 20), “O Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” Ergo, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is mentioned in connection with good, but not with evil. So also you find that when the prophet saw the four chariots that were compared to the four kingdoms (that would rule over Israel), [it states (in Zech. 6:1),] “and I lifted my eyes, and behold, four chariots were coming out between the two mountains….” But when it spoke about the redemption, [it states (in Zech. 2:3),] “Then the Lord showed me four smiths.” So also you find that when the five angels of destruction came to destroy Jerusalem, as stated (in Ezek. 9:2), “And here were six persons coming by way of the upper gate [which faces north, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand]”; Gabriel was sent with them, as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city,” as it is written (in Ezek. 10:2), “Then He spoke unto the person clothed in linen and said, ‘Go in among the wheelwork [under the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city].’” (Cf. below, Lev. 8:5.) Gabriel came and stood at the wheel. The cherub said to him, “What do you desire?” He said to him, “Thus and so has the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded me.” He said to him, “Take [them].” He said to him, “You put them in my hand.” Immediately (according to Ezek. 10:7), “Then the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim [unto the fire that was among the cherubim…].” R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon ben Johay, “If the coals had not been cooled off [while passing] from the hand of a cherub to the hand of Gabriel, there would not have remained of the enemies of Israel (a euphemism, meaning Israel) a [single] survivor or refugee.” (Yoma 77a. For more details, see Lam. R. 1:13 (41).) So the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to do what was evil, not by Himself, but through an angel. In the age to come, however, He will do what is good by Himself, as stated (in Ezek. 36:25), “I will sprinkle pure water upon you….” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not abide with You.” What is the meaning of (Ps. 5:5) “and evil may not abide with You?” [It is] that [Scripture] does not cause the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, to rest upon evil, except for two [evil] sayings upon which the Holy One, blessed be He, did cause His name to rest. These are the following: (The first one is Dan. 9:14:) “So the Lord watched over evil and brought it upon us, because the Lord our God is righteous.” Was it because the Lord our God is righteous (tsaddik), that He brought the evil? It is simply that the Holy One, blessed be He, was charitable (tzekekah) to us when He first brought about the exile to Babylon of Jeconiah before the exile of Tsidikiyah. And what was charitable? That He first brought about the exile of Jeconiah to Babylon along with the artisans, the smiths, and all the valiant men. Now [those] descended to Babylon and they established a [framework] for Torah [study]. For if it had not happened like that, the Torah would have been forgotten in the exile. It is simply that those who believed in the words of Jeremiah went forth with the Torah. [They included (according to II Kings 24:16)] “a thousand artisans and smiths.” What is the meaning of “artisans (hrsh)?” (Git. 88a; Sanh. 38a; Yalqut Shim‘oni, Dan., 1066.) When they opened with words of Torah, all [present] became as those who are (deaf-)mute (hrsh). [And what is the meaning of] “smiths (rt.: sgr)?” After they closed (rt.: sgr) it, there was no one in all Israel who was able to open it. Ergo (in Dan. 9:14), “because the Lord our God is righteous.” So He acted justly during that exile in that He watched over it, and He still performed a great kindness for Israel [with reference to that exile]. How? In [the month of] Tebet they were scheduled to go into exile from Jerusalem, for so does [Scripture] say (in Ezek. 24:1-2), “[Then the word of the Lord came unto me in the ninth year of the tenth month on the tenth day of the month, saying,] ‘Son of man, write down the name of the day, [this very day;] on this very day [the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem].’” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He said, “If they go forth now in the cold, they will die.” What did He do for them? He waited for them and sent them into exile during the summer. This is what the prophet says (in Jer. 8:13), “I will utterly gather them, says the Lord.” "Gather" ('sp) can only mean "exile," since it is stated (in Micah 2:12), “I will gather Jacob, all of you.” Hence, this too was a great kindness. Now, the second [evil saying associated with the name of the Holy One, blessed be He] is (Ezek. 9:4:) “And the Lord said unto him, ‘Pass through the midst of the city, [through the midst of Jerusalem and mark (the letter) taw (The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. For various interpretations of its meaning, see the parallel version in Shab. 55a.) on the foreheads of those people who moan and groan over all the abominations] ….’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel, “Go and write an ink taw upon the foreheads of the righteous, so that the angels of destruction will have no dominion over them. Then upon the foreheads of the wicked write a blood taw so that the angels of destruction will have dominion over them.” [The] prosecution (Gk.: kategoria, i.e., “accusation,” “charge.” Here the concept is hypostatized as a separate being.) came in before the Holy One, blessed be He, [and said to him], “Master of the world, how do the former differ from the latter?” He said to it, “The former are completely righteous, and the latter are completely wicked.” It said to Him, “It was in their power to protest, but they did not protest.” He said to it, “It was revealed and known to Me that, if they had protested, [the sinners] would not have accepted their [protest].” It said to Him, “Master of the world, if it was revealed and known in front of You, was if revealed in front of them? Hence they should have protested against them and demeaned themselves for the sanctification of Your name and take beatings from Israel upon themselves, just as the prophets endured [them].” So look at how many woes Jeremiah suffered from Israel; also Isaiah, of whom it is written (in Is. 50:6), “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to the tearers of hair.” And [so with] the rest of the prophets. Immediately (in Ezek. 9:6) He spoke again to the angels of destruction, “[Kill off] old folk, youth ….” This also was a kindness, in that the Holy One, blessed be He, mitigated His wrath [by striking out] against Jerusalem, as stated (in Lam. 4:11), “The Lord has completed (klh) His wrath.” For if He had not done so, all Israel would have received a verdict of destruction (klyh). Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with You,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His name to rest upon evil. So also even in the case of the wicked of Israel, He allotted them glory and did not mention them for evil. When He came to the offerings, He said to Moses (in Lev. 1:2), “Speak unto the Children of Israel and say unto them, ‘When one of you presents an offering to the Lord,’” [i.e.] “from Israel” and not from the idolaters. However, when He came to mention leprosy spots, He said (in Lev. 13:2), “When anyone has,” only saying “anyone.” Ergo (in Ps. 5:5), “and evil may not abide with you.”

(Lev. 1:1:) “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses.” From where did He call him? From the tent of meeting. May His name be blessed forever, because He left the upper world and chose to dwell below in the tabernacle out of love for Israel. Solomon said (in I Kings 8:27), “For will God really dwell on the earth; even the heavens and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You?” Is there a potter who yearns for a clay pot, as it were? (Jer. 10:16) “For He has formed everything.” However, out of love (according to Ps. 84:3), “My soul longs for and even pines for [the courts of the Lord].” And so it says (in Lev. 1:1), “Then [the Lord] called unto Moses [and spoke unto him] from the tent of meeting.” Moses was great. See what is written (in Gen. 1:5), “And God called the light day.” There is a "calling" for the one (in Gen. 1:5), and there is a "calling" for the other (in Lev. 1:1). Who is greater, the captor or the captive? You must say, “The [captor] (captive).” (See ‘Etz Yosef here on Tan., Vayikra 1:4. Cf. Gen. R. 78:1; M. Pss. 91:6; 104:3; Sifre, Deut. 11:21 (47); also Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Neziqin 18.) See what is written. “And God called the light day.” Now there is no light but Torah, as stated (in Prov. 6:23), “For the commandment is a lamp, and Torah is a light.” Moses captured the Torah, as stated (of him at Sinai in Ps. 68:19), “You ascended on high; you captured a captive.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “In this world I have made you head over all Israel; but in the world to come, (This formula normally ends a parashah. Perhaps the fact that the next section jumps to vs. 7 encourages the midrash to use the formula here.) when the righteous come to receive their reward, you will come at the head of them all.” It is so stated (in Deut. 33:21), “and he came at the head of the people….” (This translation is required by the midrash.)

And He called to Moshe: And why does it say, "And He called?" Rather it is is because it stated above (Exodus 40:35), "and Moshe could not come to the Tent of Meeting" - when the Divine Presence rested upon the Tent of Meeting. And he could not come since the cloud [of glory] was resting upon it. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, called him. "Saying": What is "saying?" To say to the Children of Israel. "A man from you that brings a sacrifice": Why does it state, "a man (adam)" and it does not say, "eesh?" It wants to say, when a man sins like Adam (the first man) started to sin - he should bring a sacrifice. Why does it state, "from the beast," when it [also] states, "from the cattle or the sheep?" Rather, it wanted to say [that we should] distinguish them from the beast; that his soul does not descend to the lowest pit like the beast, the soul of which descends below to the earth - as it is stated (Ecclesiastes 3:21), "Who knows if the [soul] of man ascends above, and the [soul] of the beast is the one that descends below." And truly does a man not know? Rather it is like the verse stated (Joel 2:14), "Who knows, [God] may turn and regret" - and this is its understanding: He "who knows" that he is a sinner, should "turn" to "God," and He will atone for him for all of his iniquities. What is "and regret?" Rather, He will relent about the bad that He planned to do to him. And likewise it is saying [here], "Who is the one that knows and understands and has intelligence and understanding - he will understand and know that the soul of man ascends above to the place from which it was fashioned, and the spirit of the beast descends below to earth." As so did King Shlomo, peace be upon him, state (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "and the spirit returns to God who gave it." And which spirit returns to "God who gave it?" These are the spirits of the righteous ones, the pious ones and the penitents who stand in front of Him in great stature. And that is the life that has no death with it, and the good which has [nothing] bad with it. This is the [meaning of] that which is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 22:7), "so that it shall be good for you," forever. And we learned from the heard tradition, "'so that is shall be good to you,' in the world that is completely good; 'and you shall have length of days,' in the world that is completely long." And the reward of the righteous is that they will merit and live for the good. Happy is the man that merited good and delight; may the Omnipresent have us merit it with the righteous! And the early sages have already informed us that man does not have the ability to investigate and speak [about] the goodnesses of the world to come, as it has no measure, nor comparison nor model. And so did the verse state (Isaiah 64:3), "no eye has seen, God, but You, who acts for those who wait for Him" - meaning to say, the good that no eye has seen besides You, God. And that which they called it, "the world to come," is not because it is not found now. [Rather,] for us who are in this world now, it is [still] to come. And hence he says, the world to come - after a man leaves this world. And one who says that [first] this world is destroyed, and afterwards comes the world to come - the matter is not like that. Rather, when the righteous depart from the world, they immediately ascend and stand in this stature, as it is stated (Psalms 31:20), "How great is Your goodness that You have stored for those that fear You, that You have done for those that take refuge in You." But [the souls] of the evildoers float throughout the whole world and do not find rest for the soles of their feet. And they only ascend to the place from which they were fashioned [after] twelve months. What does it do [during this time]? It goes to the grave and comes back, and its seeing the body rotten and that it is maggots and worms is difficult for it. To what is the thing comparable? To a man that had a nice house and it fell. He goes to see it every day, that thorns are growing on it, brambles are covering its face and its stone fence is destroyed - and he cries and mourns over it, since he sees it like this. And so is the spirit floating throughout all of the world and coming back to the grave. And so did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Berakhot 18b), "Maggots are as harsh for the dead as a needle for the flesh of the living." And from where [do we know] that the soul mourns over it? As it is stated (Job 14:22), "But his flesh pains him, and his soul mourns over it." That is [the meaning of] "the beast" - and it is destroyed like a beast. And therefore it stated, "from the beast," and it stated "from the cattle and from the sheep" - since they will offer from the cattle and from the sheep, so that his soul not descend below like a beast. And why do we offer sacrifices from fowl, from lambs, from sheep and from goats, but not from fish - as it is stated, "if from the fowl is his burnt-offering sacrifice?" Rather, since they are flesh and blood like man and they come out of the belly of their mothers like man, [so too, do] they atone for a man. But fish are eggs - they come out of them and live. Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said "Any image that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the dry land, He [also] created in the ocean with fish." Rabbi Tarfon said, "The fish was designated from the six days of creation to swallow Yonah, as it is stated (Jonah 2:1), 'And the Lord designated a great fish.'" Yonah fled from his God on the fifth day. And why did he flee? Rather the first time, [God] sent him to restore the border of Israel; and his words were fulfilled, as it is stated (II Kings 14:25), "He restored the border of Israel." The second time, He sent him to Jerusalem to destroy it; but the Holy One, blessed be He, worked up His great mercies and relented from the bad, and did not destroy it. And [so] they would call him a false prophet. The third time, He sent him to Nineveh to destroy it. Yonah judged the case between him and himself - Yonah said: I know that the [other] nations are close to repentance. Now if I go on my mission, they will repent immediately and the Holy One, blessed be He, is long-suffering and of great kindness - at the time that they repent, He will immediately have mercy [on them]. And the Holy One, blessed be He will [resultantly] become enraged towards Israel, as He did at the time of Sancheriv. When Ravshakeh came to blaspheme the living God, he said, "You are saying that mere words of the lips is counsel and valor for war; now, on whom are you relying, that you have rebelled against me? And if you tell me, 'we are relying on the Lord, our God,' He is the one whose shrines and altars Hizkiyahu did away with" (II Kings 18:20, 22) - what did Hizkiyahu do at that time? "And Hizkiyahu prayed to the Lord and said, 'Lord, God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubs - You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth; You made the heavens and the earth. Lord, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see - hear the words that Sancheriv has sent to blaspheme the living God!' And Yishayahu son of Amots sent to Hizkiyahu, saying, 'Thus said the Lord, God of Israel, "I have heard that which you prayed to Me concerning King Sancheriv of Assyria. I will [delude] him, etc."' (II Kings 19:15-16, 20, 7)." And four hundred angels armed with swords and spears came and drove him away, etc. - "And it was on that night that an angel of the Lord went out and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp, and the following morning behold, they were all dead corpses. And King Sancheriv of Assyria moved and went and returned, and he stayed in Nineveh" (II Kings 19:25-26). He said to [his] sages, "Why is the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, with Israel more than all the nations of the world?" They said to him, "They had an ancient father and his name was Avraham, and he went to slaughter his son to bring up as a burnt-offering." He said to them, "Did he slaughter him?" They said to him, "No." He said to them, "[With] him, it was because it was his will to slaughter [his son, that] there was [such] love between him and his God." He said, "I will [then actually] slaughter my son and bring him up as a burnt-offering." And so did he do, as it is stated (II Kings 3:27), "And he took his first-born son, who was to reign in his place, and brought him up as a burnt-offering." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "How much do the nations of the world, to whom I did not give statutes and judgments, do for My name; as it is stated (Malachi 1:11), 'and everywhere incense is presented for My name.'" [And] immediately, "and a great wrath came upon Israel" (II Kings 3:27). Therefore Yonah said, "The nations will repent and the anger of the Holy One, blessed be He, will be upon Israel; as He will say, 'The nations, to whom I did not give statutes and judgments - when I make a decree upon them and they know [about it], they immediately repent. But Israel is not like this, as I send them My prophets all the time, yet they are stiff-necked.' And therefore, 'a great wrath [will come] upon Israel.'" And not only does Israel call him a false prophet, but even the nations of the world [will] call him so. Yonah said, "I am fleeing from in front of Him to a place where His glory is not [found]. What shall I do? If I ascend to the heavens, His glory is there, as it is stated (Psalms 113:4), 'upon the heavens is His glory.' And if upon the earth, His glory is there [too], as it is stated (Isaiah 6:3), 'the whole earth is full of His glory.' Behold, I will flee to the sea, as His glory is not stated there." [So] he went down to Jaffa, but he did not find a ship to board there. And the ship that Yonah would board upon was two days' journey away from Jaffa, in order to test Yonah. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He brought a great storm in the sea and brought [the ship quickly] to Jaffa. And Yonah saw this and rejoiced in his heart and said, "Now, I know that my path is straight in front of me." And he did not know that the Holy One, blessed be He, was causing the thing to let him know that His glory was there (in the sea). He said to [the boatsmen], "I will come with you." And the way of all ships is that when a man exits from them, he gives his payment. But in the joy of Yonah's heart, He preceded and gave his wage [right away], as it is stated (Jonah 1:3), "And Yonah arose to flee to Tarshish from in front of the Lord [... and he gave its pay]." And they traveled the distance of a day, and a great storm came upon them in the sea from their right and from their left. And the way of all ships is to come and go in peace and quiet. And the ship upon which Yonah boarded was in great distress to break apart, as it is stated (Jonah 1:4), "And the Lord placed a great wind upon the sea." Rabbi Chaninah said, "[Men of all] the seventy languages were in the ship, and each and every one had his god in his hand." They said, "The god that answers and saves us from this distress, he is the [true] God." And they stood and each man cried out in the name of his god, but they did not help. [Meanwhile,] Yonah dozed off and was sleeping in the distress of his soul; and the captain came to him. He said to him, "Behold, we are standing between death and life, and you are dozing off? From which people are you?" He said to them, "I am a Hebrew." They said to him, "And have we not heard that the God of the Hebrews is great? 'Cry out to your God' (Jonah 1:6). Maybe He will do for us like all of His wonders at the Red Sea." He said to them, "This distress has come upon you because of me, as I am fleeing from in front of Him, as I thought that His glory was not in the sea, and now I see that His glory is on the dry land and in the sea." He said to them, "Because of me; 'Lift me and put me in the sea, and the sea will be quiet upon you' (Jonah 1:12)." Rabbi Shimon said, "The men did not accept from Yonah to drop him into the sea; and [so] they cast lots, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), 'and they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Yonah.'" What did they do? They took the vessels that were on the ship and threw them to the sea to make themselves lighter, but it did not help a bit. They sought to return to dry land, but they were not able, as it is stated (Jonah 1:13), "And the men rowed, etc." What did they do? They took Yonah and stood him upon the edge of the ship and said, "God of the world, Lord, 'do not put innocent blood upon us' (Jonah 1:14), as we do not know what is the nature of this man; yet he says to us with his mouth, 'because of me has this distress come upon you.'" They placed him [into the sea] until his knees, and the sea stopped from its fury. They [then] took him back towards them, and the sea stormed against them. They placed him [into the sea] until his navel, and the sea stopped from its fury. They [then] took him back towards them, and it stormed against them. They placed him completely [in the sea, and] the sea was immediately quiet from its fury, as it is stated (Jonah 1:15), "And they lifted Yonah and placed him, etc." "And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Yonah, and Yonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights"(Jonah 2:1) - and Yonah entered its mouth, like a man that enters a large synagogue, and the two eyes of the fish were like opened windows giving light to Yonah. Rabbi Meir said, "A pearl was hanging in the innards of the fish, and it would give light to Yonah, like the sun lights up in its strength in the afternoon. And Yonah could see everything that was in the sea and that was in the depths, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is planted for the righteous, and joy for the righteous of heart." The fish said to Yonah, "Do you not know that my time has come to be eaten into the mouth of the Leviathan?" He said to it, "Take me there and I will save you, and my soul." It took him to the Leviathan. He said to the Leviathan, "Because of you have I come to see your dwelling place in the sea. And not only that, but in the future I will come down to put a rope on your neck and to bring you up for the great meal of the righteous ones." He showed it his seal from Avraham, our father (his circumcision). The Leviathan saw it and fled the journey of two days from before Yonah. He said to the fish, "Behold, I saved you from the mouth of the Leviathan; [now] show me all that is in the sea and in the depths." And [so] it showed him the great river of the waters of the ocean, as it is stated (Yonah 2:6), "up to my soul was the deep." And it showed him the paths of the Red (literally Reed) Sea, as it is stated, "reeds are twined around my head." And it showed him the place from where the breakers of the sea and its waves go out, as it is stated (Yonah 2:4), "all Your breakers and waves passed over me." And it showed him the pillars of the Earth in its foundation, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), "the bars of the earth were around me forever." And it showed him Geihinnom, as it is written (Jonah 2:3), "from the belly of the pit I cried out; You heard my voice." And it showed him under the Chamber of God, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), "I descended to the bases of the mountains." From here we learn that Jerusalem stands on seven mountains. And he saw the Stone of the Foundation there, set in the depths. And he saw the sons of Korach, standing and praying upon it. It said to Yonah, "Behold, you are standing under the Chamber of the Lord; pray and you shall be answered." Immediately Yonah said to the fish, "Stand in the place that you are standing, as I would like to recite a prayer." And the fish stopped. And Yonah began to pray in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the Universe, You have been called the One that brings down and raises up - behold, I have gone down, [now] raise me up; You have been called the One that brings death and that brings life - behold, my soul has reached death, [now] bring me life." And he was not answered until [this] came out from his mouth (Jonah 2:10): "that which I have vowed, I will fulfill, etc." - "That which I have vowed" to bring up the Leviathan in front of You, "I will fulfill" on the day of Israel's salvation, as it is stated, "But I, with loud thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You that which I have vowed." And immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, indicated [to the fish], and it spewed Yonah out to the dry land, as it is stated (Jonah 2:11), "And the Lord said to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out to the dry land." When the sailors saw all of the great miracles, signs and wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, did with Yonah, they got up and every man cast away his god, as it is stated (Jonah 2:9), "They who preserve the vanities of emptiness forsake their kindness." And they went back to Jaffa and went up to Jerusalem, and they circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, as it is stated (Jonah 1:15), "And the men feared a great fear of the Lord, and they slaughtered a sacrifice to the Lord and they made vows" - and did they slaughter a sacrifice? Rather, [this was] circumcision, which is like the blood of a sacrifice. And each man of them vowed to bring his children and everything that he had to the God of Yonah. And they vowed and they fulfilled [it]. And about them is it said, the converts were righteous converts.

Rabbi Levi said, "Recite a Psalm for the Sabbath day, for there is no darkness in it." It is written (Genesis 1:5), "And there was evening and there was morning, one day," referring to every day except for the Sabbath. Rabbi Levi bar Nissimah said, "The thirty-six hours of twilight on Friday signify the approach of the Sabbath, followed by the night and then the Sabbath day itself." When a person sees the departure of the Sabbath accompanied by the dimming of the sun and the onset of darkness, he begins to worry and say, "Woe is me, perhaps what God said (Isaiah 21:12) will happen to me: 'He will pour out my head like water.' " He brings the verse (Psalm 139:11), "But the darkness will cover me." He sits and contemplates in his heart whether the serpent, which deceived him on the eve of the Sabbath, will come and bite him as retribution. A pillar of fire is sent to illuminate him and protect him from any harm. He sees the pillar of fire and rejoices in his heart, saying, "Now I know that God is with me." He blesses the Creator of the lights of fire and, when he withdraws his hand from the fire, he says, "Now I know that the Sabbath is distinguished from the weekdays, for we are not permitted to light a fire on the Sabbath." He recites the blessing, "Blessed are You, who distinguishes between holy and mundane." Some say that God gave him two stones, one of darkness and one of brightness, as it is written (Job 28:3), "He has set an end to darkness," referring to the stone of darkness, "and all perfection he has created," referring to the stone of brightness. Adam, the first man, took the two stones and struck them together, and fire emerged from them, which distinguished between holy and mundane. Therefore, we distinguish between light and darkness at the conclusion of the Sabbath. Rabbi Huna said, "We also distinguish between holy and mundane on Yom Kippur, by separating the light at the same time."

5. R. Shimon Ben Yochai taught: Moses could not have known the exact moment, nor the approximate minute, nor the general time at night. This is why he said “About midnight.” (Ex 11:4) However, the Kadosh Baruch Hu knew the exact moment, and the approximate minute, and the general time at night. That is why God entered [without being early or late] by a hair's breadth. So who was it that divided [the hours of the night]? R. Benjamin bar Jafet in the name of R. Yohanan, the night divided itself. Our Rabbis say that the Creator divided it. Here it says, “And it came to pass at midnight” (Ex 12:29) and elsewhere it says, “And he divided the night against them.” (Gen 14:15) Rabbi Tanchuma said: Your father set out with Me at midnight, and I will set out with his children and midnight. The Rabbis said: the Kadosh Baruch Hu said, “your father set out with Me from last night until midnight, and I will set out with his children from midnight until the morning.” R. Yonatan said: The angel guarding over Egypt cannot fall except during the day. What is the reasoning? [From the verse] At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her power shall cease in her; [as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.](Ez 30:18) [Elsewhere it also] says, In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language [of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called the city of destruction. ] (Is 19:18) Which five cities are these? R. Hilkiah said in the name of R. Simon: Noa, Noph, Tehaphnehes, the City of Destruction, and the City of the Sun; Noa is Alexandria, Noph is Memphis, Tehaphnehes is Hophnias, the City of Destruction is Sharakani, and the City of the Sun is Heliopolis. R. Yohanan ben Zakkai said: We have found both night and day referred to as “day,” as it is written: And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Gen 1:5) R. Joshua bar R. Nechamah understood [the same claim] from this: Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness is even as the light.(Ps 139:12) Darkness is [the same as] lightness to Me, and [only] human beings consider it night. This is what is meant [by saying] it was on the day that the firstborn of Egypt died [although it was midnight]. This is how [it happened]: They were afflicted with the deadly curse in evening time, then their bodies shook all night, and then they died in the day time. What is the reasoning? [Because] It is not written “All of us have all died,” but rather “All of us are dying ” (Ex 12:33) Then they went and died . As it is written: On the day that I struck down all the first-born [of the Land of Egypt] (Num 3:13), and further on it says, on the day that I sanctified all the firstborn to Me (paraphrase of Num 8:17 ). On this basis one may conclude that it was on the very same day that the firstborn of Egypt died, which [God said], “on this day I have sanctified to me the firstborn [of the Israelites].”

"And on the seventh day God finished his work" (Gen. 2:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven dedications, six of them He dedicated, and one is reserved for the (future) generations. He created the first day and finished all His work and dedicated it, as it is said, "And it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). He created the second day and finished all His work and dedicated it, as it is said, || "And it was evening, and it was morning, a second day" (Gen. 1:8); and so through the six days of creation. He created the seventh day, (but) not for work, because it is not said in connection therewith, "And it was evening and it was morning." Why? For it is reserved for the generations (to come), as it is said, "And there shall be one day which is known unto the Lord; not day, and not night" (Zech. 14:7).

Eight things were created on the first day, namely, Heaven, Earth, Light, Darkness, Tohu (Chaos), Bohu (Void), Wind (or Spirit), and Water, as it is said, "And the wind of God was moving upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). Some (wise men) say that day and night also, as it is said, And there was evening and morning, one day (Gen. 1:5). Eight things were created on the second day, namely, the Well, the Manna, the Rod, the Rainbow, the art of writing, the written characters, the Garments, and the destroying spirits. Ten things arose in the thought (of the Creator), namely, Jerusalem," the spirits of the patriarchs, the paths of the righteous, Hell (Gehenom), the waters of the flood, the second tables, the shabbat, the temple and the light of the world to come.

The great cycle of the moon is 21 years; it has 7 small cycles each containing 8 years. The total of the days of the lunar month is 29½ days, 40 minutes, and 73 parts. Each constellation serves the days of the lunar month for 2 days and 8 hours; three constellations serve for 7 days. The chief which begins on the new moon (of the lunar month) is the same which concludes at the end of the lunar month. The moon becomes new at every Molad, once at night and the next time by day, || and this is their sign: "And it was evening and it was morning" (Gen. 1:5). Between one Molad and (the corresponding) Molad in the ensuing year (there elapse) 4 days, 8 hours, and 876 parts.

Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile: (From Babylonia. Presumably, this is a way of stating that it is an ancient tradition.) Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, [it alludes to] trouble. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, it can serve [to allude to] either trouble or joy. If it is trouble, there is none like it. If it is joy, there is none like it. Rabbi Shmuel said: There are five [instances of] “during the days of [bimei].” “It was [vayhi] during the days of [bimei] Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1) – what was the trouble there? They waged a war. [It is analogous] to the friend of a king who was located in a certain province. Because of him, the king took care of the province. One time, barbarians came and beset him [the king’s friend]. They say: Woe for us, the king will no longer care for the province as he had done. Likewise, the entire world was created only due to the merit of Abraham our patriarch; that is what is written: “They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat, (Ein Mishpat literally means ‘eye of justice’.) which is [hi] Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Aḥa said: They came to beset the eyeball of the world. (Abraham.) The eye that overcame the attribute of justice in the world you seek to blind? (The midrash is rhetorically addressing the kings that attacked Abraham.) “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu Kadesh. (The word hi, meaning ‘which is,’ is spelled with a vav as the middle letter, which could be read as the masculine hu. The midrash is reading hi Kadesh as hu kidesh, he sanctified.) He [Abraham] sanctified [kidesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. (See Tanḥuma, Lekh Lekha 6.) When everyone saw that all the kings came to beset him, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “It was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11) – [it is analogous] to the son of a king who had a tutor who sought to kill him. He [the tutor] said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So did Aḥaz say: If there are no kids, there are no rams, and if there are no rams there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd. So Aḥaz thought to say: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, cannot rest His Divine Presence in the world. Therefore, I will seize all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Avin: Isaiah said: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as difficult for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face” (Deuteronomy 31:18) – in this world. But from that moment, “I hoped for Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Was it [this verse] fulfilled for him [Isaiah]? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me” (Isaiah 8:18) – were they his [Isaiah’s] children? Were they not his students? It teaches that they were as dear to him as his sons. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: that is, “It was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, and the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23) – [it is analogous] to a king who sent a proclamation to a province. What did the residents of the province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. They said: Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these matters. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), (This is the fifth verse of the first chapter of Lamentations.) immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the end of the scroll, upon the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [It was] “to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). [It is analogous] to a king who entered a vineyard and three enemies beset him: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third sought to uproot all the vines. Likewise, the wicked Pharaoh begin picking the unripe grapes; that is what is written: “[Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:] Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22). The wicked Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “[He exiled Yehoyakhin.…] and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:15–16). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All of them were one thousand. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars. Haman the wicked sought to uproot the entire egg; (Egg, in the sense of the very origins of Israel.) [as] they say buy [the hen] with the egg (A aphorism meaning that he sought to complete the task, leaving no future.) – “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) – [it is analogous] to a province that owed a tax to the king. What did the king do? He sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They took him, struck him, and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: What he sought to do to us we did to him. Likewise, during the days when the judges judged, an Israelite person would worship idols, and a judge would seek to bring him to trial, and he would come and flog the judge. He would say: What he sought to do to me, I did to him. Woe unto a generation whose judges are judged; (The midrash is reading the verse to mean that it was in the days that the judges were judged, i.e. punished.) that is, “It was during the days when the judges judged.” Shimon bar Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that it [“it was,” vayhi] is stated, [it alludes to] trouble or to joy; if trouble, there is no trouble like it, if joy, there is no joy like it in the world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a [different] distinction: Everywhere that it says, “it was [vayhi],” [it alludes to] trouble, everywhere that it says “it will be [vehaya],” joy. But it is written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light.” He said to them: Even that is not light of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When He perceived that the wicked were destined to appear, like the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion, (After the Tower of Babel.) and like the people of Sodom, He took it [the light] away. That is what is written: “From the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). He sequestered it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11). They objected to him: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as the heavens are destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6). They objected to him: Is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day.… third.… fourth.… fifth.… sixth” (Genesis 1:8–31). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., it is necessary to sweeten mustard, lupines must be sweetened, and wheat requires grinding. But it is written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written: “For they placed me in the pit” (Genesis 40:15). But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed [assembling the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built, as it is stated: “Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:35). (The verse does not seem to be related to the point. Perhaps it is brought to communicate that even on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the celebration was tempered by the fact that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when Joshua was [at Jericho]” (Joshua 5:13). He said to them: That too is not joy, as Joshua rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6). (After the setback at Ai.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1). (The day of the dedication of the Temple.) He said to them: That too is not joy, as on that day Nadav and Avihu died. (See Leviticus 10:1–2.) But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) dwelled in his house” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That too was not joy, as it was then that Natan the prophet came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours. (Prove that every place it says vehaya it is an expression of joy.) He said to them: It is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second time, [to recover the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep [a calf of the herd and two sheep] alive” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, [and they will come…and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that one who is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem [will be called holy]” (Isaiah 4:3). They objected to him: It is written: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Israel made complete penance for their iniquities, on the day that the Temple was destroyed. Conclusion of the prologue to Rut Rabba

Another matter, “they brought the Tabernacle” – that is what is written: “Emerge, daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the rejoicing of his heart” (Song of Songs 3:11). When was this verse stated? On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, when there was great celebration in Israel because the Holy One blessed be He rested amongst them. “Daughters of Zion [tziyon]” – the children who are conspicuously [hametzuyanim] Mine, as acknowledged by the idolaters. (Jewish children, who are conspicuous in their manner of dress, including ritual fringes, in their hairstyle, and in their manner of behavior (Matnot Kehuna; Etz Yosef). ) Just as a signpost is pointed at with a finger, so, too, Israel is pointed at with a finger. (Just as a signpost is conspicuous and easily identified, so are Jews. ) That is, “the daughters of Zion.” “[Look] at King Solomon [Shlomo],” at the King of Whom [it may be said] that peace [hashalom] is His; that is the King of kings the Holy One blessed be He. “With the crown with which his mother crowned him,” this is the Tabernacle. Why did he call it a crown? Because just as a crown is beautifully designed, so, too, the Tabernacle was beautifully designed, as it is stated: “And the embroiderer in sky blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and in linen, and of the weaver, performers of all craftsmanship and devisers of designs” (Exodus 35:35). That is, “with the crown with which his mother crowned him.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: I reviewed the entire Bible and I did not find that Batsheva crafted a crown for Solomon. (Therefore, the verse is not to be taken literally but rather as an allusion to the Tabernacle. ) Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai asked Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Yosei: ‘Did you, perhaps, hear from your father what is meant by [the phrase]: “With the crown with which his mother crowned him”?’ He said to him: ‘Yes; it is analogous to a king who had an only daughter and he loved her exceedingly. He called her: My daughter. He did not cease increasing his love for her until he called her: My sister, and until he called her: My mother. (A daughter is subservient to her father; a sister is equal to her brother, whereas a mother is owed honor and respect from her child as a matter of course and of law. Thus, each title reflects ever greater levels of love and dedication (Etz Yosef). ) So, initially, the Holy One blessed be He called Israel a daughter, as it is stated: “Listen, daughter, and take note; incline your ear. Forget your people and your father’s house” (Psalms 45:11). He did not cease increasing His love for them until he called them: My sister, as it is stated: “Open for me, my sister, my love, my faultless dove, for my head is filled with dew, my locks, with drops of night” (Song of Songs 5:2). He did not cease increasing His love for them until he called them: My mother, as it is stated: “Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation [uleumi]; for Torah will emerge from Me and My judgment I will lay down as a light for peoples”’ (Isaiah 51:4). (Uleumi is expounded as though it were written ule’imi, to My mother.) Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai stood and kissed him on the head. “On the day of his wedding,” at Sinai; “and on the day of the rejoicing of his heart,” in Jerusalem. Alternatively, “on the day of his wedding,” at the sea; “and on the day of the rejoicing of his heart,” in the Tent of Meeting. Alternatively, “on the day of his wedding,” in the Tabernacle; “and on the day of the rejoicing of his heart,” in the Temple. Likewise, David said: “Beautiful in its view, joy of the entire world, is Mount Zion, the northern summit, the city of the great King.” (Psalms 48:3). “Beautiful in its view, joy of the entire world.” Rabbi Yonatan ben Elazar said: There was an incident involving a certain merchant who went to Jerusalem to sell his merchandise. He went and sat there but did not sell [anything]. He said: ‘Is this [the city] of which they say it is the “joy of the entire world”?’ A short time later he sold all his merchandise. He said: “Beautiful in its view, joy of the entire world.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There was a dome of accounting outside of Jerusalem, and anyone who sought to take an accounting would go and take an accounting there, (Anyone who wanted to take an accounting of his expenditures or business activity could stop under this dome and make his calculations. ) so that he would not take an accounting in Jerusalem and be distressed, (He might be upset if his business activity was not as successful as he had hoped. ) for it is called “joy of the entire world.” Why is it the object of all this praise? Because it is “the city of the great King.” But when it was destroyed: “All joy is negated [arva], gladness of the land is exiled” (Isaiah 24:11). What is arva? It grew dark, just as it says: “It was evening [erev] and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). In this world, “the joy of the entire world” is suspended. But when the Holy One blessed be He will rebuild Jerusalem, He will restore all the joy to its midst, as it is stated: “For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all its ruins; He will render its wilderness like Eden and its desert like a garden of the Lord. Gladness and joy will be found in it, thanksgiving and the sound of music” (Isaiah 51:3).

15) What is the intent of (Vayikra 9:1) "And it was (on the eighth day")? We are hereby taught that (the day of the erection of the mishkan was as joyous before Him on high as the day of the creation of heaven and earth, of which it is written (Bereshith 1:5): "And it was evening and it was morning." And here it is written "And it was." And when Israel finished the work of the mishkan, Moses came and blessed them, viz. (Shemoth 39:43): "And Moses saw all the work … and Moses blessed them." With what blessing did he bless them? He said to them: "May the shechinah repose on the work of your hands. R. Meir says: He blessed them thus: "May the L–rd, the G d of your fathers, add to you, such as you, a thousand times!" (Devarim 1:11), and they responded: "And may the pleasantness of the L–rd our G d (His shechinah and His consolations) be upon us. And establish the work of our hands (the mishkan) upon us (that the shechinah reside therein), and the work of our hands (in our daily lives) establish it (that blessing repose upon it"). (Tehillim 90:17). And of that time it is written: "Go out and see, O daughters of Zion (children who are distinctive ["metzuyanim" (like "Zion")] with mitzvoth), the king Shelomoh (the King who is the source of peace [shalom] with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him." (Shir Hashirim 3:11). "his mother": This is the tent of meeting, which was distinctive with blue and purple wool, with scarlet and with linen. "his mother": This is none other than Israel, viz. (Isaiah 51:4): "And my nation (leumi), give ear to me." Read it not "leumi" but "leimi" (my mother).

Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Ḥiyya say, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i: This midrash came up from the Diaspora in our possession. Wherever it is stated, “it was in the days,” it is nothing other than trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: They are five. “It was in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war, etc.” (Genesis 14:2). This is analogous to the friend of a king who entered a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. Barbarians came and confronted him. When they came and confronted him, everyone said: ‘Woe unto us, for the king will not attend to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the entire world. The Chaldeans came and confronted him. [People] said: ‘Woe unto us that the Holy One blessed be He will not attend to His world the way that He once did.’ That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: They sought to confront only the eyeball [galgal eino] of the world. (Abraham was as precious to the world as the eyeball is to a person. ) They sought to blind the eye [ayin] that confronted the attribute of justice in the world. (The name Ein Mishpat is interpreted as a reference to eye [ayin] and justice [mishpat]. ) “Which [hi] is Kadesh,” Rabbi Aḥa says: Hu (The word “which” is pronounced hi, but written hey-vav-aleph, such that it can be read hu, which literally means “he.” is written, [indicating that] it was he who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He, and descended into the fiery furnace. When the kings came to confront him, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai]; “it was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel the king of [Shinar].” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1). What trouble was there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west; [they devour Israel with an open mouth]” (Isaiah 9:11). This is analogous to a king who entrusted his son to a steward, but the steward hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will become liable to be executed by the king. Rather, I will withhold his wet nurse from him and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats, there is no flock, and if there is no flock, there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there is no world. So said Aḥaz: If there are no children, there are no students,17If there are no children at the beginning stages of their studies there will be no students at the intermediate level. and if there are no students, there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there is no Torah, if there is no Torah, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was his name called Aḥaz? Because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: You may derive it from this [verse]: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim as this time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). From that moment “I sought Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me [are to become signs and wonders in Israel]” (Isaiah 8:18).18This is stated by the prophet Isaiah. Despite the attempts of Aḥaz, Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. But were they his children? Were they not merely his students? Rather, it is derived from here that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not]” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to letters of a king that entered a province. In each and every province that his letters would reach, the residents of the province would stand on their feet, bare their heads, and read them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. But when they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, when Yehudi read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they saw this, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a vineyard and three enemies confronted him. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Every son who is born [you shall cast him into the Nile]” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “And the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:16).19This is a reference to the social elites, who were exiled in the exile of Yehoyakhin, eleven years before the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbi, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda says: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths, and the Rabbis say: Both together were one thousand. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: These are Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are the benefactors. The Rabbis say: These are the counselors. The wicked Haman began uprooting the vines. That is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel. He sought to purchase every foundation.20A literal translation of the Hebrew is: “He sought to purchase every egg,” meaning to control and extinguish all future potential before it could be developed. When everyone saw that Aḥashverosh was selling and Haman purchasing, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tribute to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did residents of the province do? They arose and hung him and appropriated it from him. They [then] said: ‘Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters, that we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us.’ So too, when one of the people of Israel would do something improper, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You demean your judges; as you live, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to withstand.’ What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Shimon bar Rav Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Wherever [the term] vayhi is stated, it refers to trouble or joy; if trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if joy, unparalleled joy. Rabbi Yishmael came and suggested a different distinction: Wherever vayhi is stated there is no joy; wherever vehaya is stated, there is no trouble. They raised an objection: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: With the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day a person could observe and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh and the actions of the generation of the Flood were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “The light is withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening [and it was morning, one day]” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to come to an end. That is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth [will be tattered like a garment]” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), [and] third, fourth, fifth, the sixth.21The same phrasing is used in the descriptions of the creation of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth days. See Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation require completion; wheat requires grinding, mustard requires sweetening, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, for as a result, that wicked woman confronted him. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day [Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [erecting the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on the day of the Temple’s construction, it was sequestered.22The Tabernacle was not permanent, and was hidden when the Temple was completed. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as Ya’ir, who was equivalent [in stature] to the majority of the Sanhedrin, was killed. That is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, approximately thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather approximately, or like, thirty-six; that is Ya’ir ben Menashe, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin. They raised an objection: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written there: “Saul was hostile to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him respite” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who will build [Me] a house” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.23We have stated our objections; now you state the proofs to your position. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep alive a calf of the herd [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water” (Psalms 1:3). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, [in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the flocks of sheep]” (Micah 5:7). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That, too, is not trouble, as on that day, Israel received retribution for its sins, as Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Naḥman said: Israel received great retribution on the day that the Temple was destroyed.24Israel was punished for its sins through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Were it not for that, the entire populace would have been killed as a result of their sins (Etz Yosef). That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, and He will not continue to exile you” (Lamentations 4:22).)

“And the elders of Israel”(Leviticus 9:1). Rabbi Akiva said: Israel is likened to a bird. Just as a bird cannot fly without wings, so too, Israel is unable to do anything without its elders. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: Great is Torah scholarship [zikna], (The term zikna, literally old age, is often interpreted by the Sages to refer to Torah scholarship (see, e.g., Kiddushin 32b). ) for if they are elders, they are cherished, and if they are young men, their childishness is secondary for them, (Their childishness is not their most blatant characteristic. ) as Rabbi Shimon ban Yoḥai taught: Not in one place and not in two places have we found that the Holy One blessed be He accords honor to the elders, but rather in several places. At the bush, “go and gather the elders of Israel” (Exodus 3:16). In Egypt, “and you shall go, you and the elders of Israel” (Exodus 3:18). At Sinai, “ascend to the Lord; you, Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel” (Exodus 24:1). In the wilderness, “gather for me seventy men [of the elders of Israel]” (Numbers 11:16). At the Tent of Meeting, “and the elders of Israel” (Numbers 11:16). In the future as well, the Holy One blessed be He will accord honor to the elders. That is what is written: “The moon will be disgraced and the sun will be ashamed, [for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 24:23), and it is written: “and before His elders, glory” (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Yishmael bar Beivai, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Reuven said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: The Holy One blessed be He is destined to appoint an academy of elders of His own: That is what is written: “For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders, glory” (Isaiah 24:23). “Before elders” is not written here, but rather, “before His elders, glory.” Rabbi Avin said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yehoshua: The Holy One blessed be He is destined to sit as on a threshing floor, and the righteous will sit before Him, like this: “The king of Israel and Yehoshafat king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in garb, on the threshing floor [at the entrance of the gate of Samaria]” (I Kings 22:10). Were they sitting on a threshing floor? Rather, it is like what we learned: The Sanhedrin was arranged like half of a circular threshing floor, so that they would see each other. (Mishna Sanhedrin 4:3.) Solomon said: I saw Him constricting Himself in their midst. That is what is written: “Her husband is renowned at the gates, as he sits with the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31:23). (The entire chapter is an allegory of the relationship between a husband – God, and his wife – the congregation of Israel.)

With regard to the phrase “one day” that is stated with regard to the prohibition against slaughtering an animal itself and its offspring, the day follows the night. Therefore, one may slaughter an animal during the day and slaughter its offspring that night, but one may not slaughter an animal at night and slaughter its offspring the following day. Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma derived this by means of a verbal analogy. It is stated in the act of Creation: “One day” (Genesis 1:5), and it is stated with regard to the slaughter of an animal itself and its offspring: “One day” (Leviticus 22:28). Just as concerning the phrase “one day” that is stated in the act of Creation, the day follows the night, so too concerning the phrase “one day” that is stated with regard to the slaughter of an animal itself and its offspring, the day follows the night.

And the members of the non-priestly watch, who represented the entire community that week, would fast four days a week, from Monday until Thursday. And they would not fast on Shabbat eve, in deference to Shabbat, as they did not wish to start Shabbat while fasting. And they did not fast on Sunday, so as not to go from rest and delight immediately to exertion and fasting, and run the risk that they might die as a result of the abrupt change. Which portions of the Torah would the members of the non-priestly watch read on each day? On Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:1–8). On Monday they would read: “Let there be a firmament” and “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9–13). On Tuesday they would read: “Let the waters be gathered” and “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14–19). On Wednesday: “Let there be lights” and “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20–23). On Thursday: “Let the waters swarm” and “Let the earth bring forth” (Genesis 1:24–31). On Friday: “Let the earth bring forth” and “And the heaven and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1–3). A long passage, consisting of six verses or more, is read by two people, and a short passage is read by one, as one cannot read fewer than three verses from the Torah together. They read from the Torah in the morning prayer and in the additional prayer. In the afternoon prayer the members of the non-priestly watch enter the synagogue and read the daily portion by heart, just as one recites Shema every day. On Shabbat eve at the afternoon prayer, they would not enter the synagogue for the communal Torah readings, in deference to Shabbat.

The symbolisms expressed by the use of בת-אחות-אם "daughter-sister-mother" relationship between G–d and the Jewish people, or the matriarchs and G–d, which we have described on page 137 and later, may be alluded to in the way the Torah divides the number of years Sarah lived into three distinct periods, i.e. "one hundred years, twenty years and seven years" (Genesis 23,1). Bereshit Rabbah 58,1 explains that Sarah was as beautiful at twenty as she had been at seven years of age, whereas she was as free from sin at a hundred years of age as she had been at twenty. The number seven may allegorically be explained as referring to the seven days of Creation (including the Sabbath) before the original light was withdrawn. This association gives Sarah the אם כל חי, "Mother Superior" image. When the Torah was given to the Jewish people and the serpent's pollutant was neutralised, the world was restored to a state when כתנות אור, garments woven of light, could have been worn. The passage dealing with the creation of light in Genesis 1, 3-5, mentions the word אור, light, five times, an allusion to the five Books of Moses, as pointed out in the Midrash. The Zohar sees in the verse commencing with Hashem Hashem in Exodus 34,6 an allusion to the number twenty, i.e. the Ten Commandments and the ten directives by which the universe was created. These complemented each other. When you spell the two letters Yud as words, i.e. יוד, their combined value is also 20. This idea is reflected in the "twenty years" the Torah here speaks of. Although the universe did not actually revert to the condition it had been in prior to withdrawal of the אור בראשית, the original light, the precondition existed, and, but for the sin of the golden calf, Israel would have achieved that status through Torah study and observance, and the original light would have been revealed to them. At the moment the Torah was revealed, the light appeared to them just as it had been during the seven days of Creation. This is the deeper meaning of Proverbs 7,4: אמור לחכמה אחותי את, "Say to wisdom 'you are my sister.'" Israel, due to the Revelation and Torah study, was on the level we have described as אחות. Afterwards, when the people made the golden calf, they ruined even that level of closeness to G–d with the result that the כ in 23,2 became reduced in size. When the Temple, which was one hundred cubits high, was built, this provided some degree of rehabilitation for the opportunity lost through the golden calf. [The Temple the author refers to must be the one of Herod; Solomon's Temple was only thirty cubits high. Ed.] When Bereshit Rabbah 58,1 on our verse next compares Sarah's innocence at one hundred to her innocence at twenty, this is an allusion to the partial rehabilitation during the period of the second Temple. There were public offerings which achieved atonement for the people. Nonetheless, the people were only on the level of בת, (the lowest of the three levels described on pages 137/138). This is why we find Israel referred to as בת ציון, בת ירושלים in Isaiah, Lamentations and elsewhere. The small letter כ in the word ולבכותה is a clear allusion to the aforegoing. When you remove the letter כ completely, you are left with the word לבתה, "to her daughter," i.e. the word בת, daughter. When the Temple was destroyed, the letter ק was also reduced in size, as pointed out by the Baaal Haturim in his commentray on Genesis 27,46 where Rebeccah expressed disdain for her own life if Jacob, too, were to marry a Canaanite girl. The cause of Rebeccah's desperate outcry, according to Baa l Haturim, was that in her mind's eye she saw the destruction of the hundred-cubit high Temple. When the Temple was destroyed the Jewish people forfeited even the status of בת in their relationship with G–d. For some time after that the most they could achieve in the way of direct communication with G–d was the בת קול, an echo of their former relationship. Nowadays, due to our sins, we do not even experience that form of communication with G–d. This situation will not improve until the Messiah will come, hopefully very soon. At such a time, אור חדש will shine over Zion.

We find hints of such a future in the statement of Rabbi Yochanan in Tractate Pesachim 88a: "The day when the exiled will be gathered in is as great as the day on which heaven and earth were created, as described in Hosea 2,2: 'The people of Yehudah and the people of Israel will assemble together and appoint a single head [leader] for themselves; they shall rise from the ground, for marvelous shall be the day of Jezreel.'" It is also written: "It was evening it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1,5) [the day of Jezreel is a reference to the first day in Genesis]. When the true ingathering of the exiles takes place, at the time our righteous Messiah appears, Creation itself will renew itself; a new "light" will emerge. At that time body and soul will be able to fuse. Also the earth itself, though purely matter, will be full of knowledge; thus together with the perfection existing "down here," the full extent of G–d's blessings from "above" will be experienced, so that body and soul may live forever. At the time of creation man was described as אדם ביקר בל ילין, "unable to last the night despite his precious qualities." (Psalms 49,13). Man had corrupted his potential so that mortality was decreed upon him. G–d however, has given us the Torah by means of which we can acquire the merit we need to assure us of an everlasting future. He has given us commandments which teach us that this is indeed the case, for they provide the clue to the eventual immortality of the body, in addition to that of the soul. At the present time, the "eternity" of man's body is restricted to man as a species. דור הול ודור בא, "one generation goes and another comes in its place" (Kohelet 1,4). Man's soul, however, enjoys eternal life even in these times, for every individual soul survives the death of its body. Whereas nowadays the body's "life" is considered as incidental, its death is permanent; the soul's life is however, eternal, its "death" being merely incidental [apparent, seeing it can no longer function within the body. Ed.].

At this point I want to tell you what G–d has revealed to me concerning the metaphysical aspects of the spies' mission. The mission never was intended to pave the way for conquest by natural means. On the contrary, it was to pave the way for conquest by employing supernatural forces. The twelve spies represented the twelve tribes of G–d, who in turn corresponded to the twelve possible permutations of the four-lettered ineffable name of G–d as we have explained elsewhere. Celestial forces descend to earth via twelve "lines", the letter ו represents a line. Six of these lines emanate from the left side of the emanations, i.e, from the attribute of Justice, the other six from the right side, i.e. the attribute of Love, חסד. This is in line with the concept which we refer to often when we speak about G–d as השם אלוקינו, השם אחד own, meaning both of G–d's attributes. All of the above is alluded to when the letter ו is spelled as a word, i.e. ואו. The two letters ו, represent the attribute of דין and חסד respectively, whereas the letter א establishes the bond between them. I have explained elsewhere on the verse in Genesis 1,5, ויהי ערב, ויהי בוקר יום אחד that the first six hours of the night are under the aegis of the attribute דין, Justice, whereas the remaining six hours from midnight on gradually switch to being under the aegis of רחמים, Mercy. By day, on the other hand, as long as the amount of light keeps increasing, the first six hours are under the aegis of רחמים, whereas from noon on they switch towards the attribute of דין, Justice. At any rate, the 24 hours consecutively together form one day. The letter ואו, i.e. spelled as a word, totals 13 in numerical value, the same as the word אחד. The idea of the “line,” or better "lines," that act as the ducts for emanations from Celestial Spheres are symbolized by the external appearance of the letter ו, which is after all a "line." This is further symbolized by the verse שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד a verse containing six words. (ו=6) The verse we recite immediately afterwards, i.e. ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, also contains six words. The combined twelve words comprise the twelve horoscopes, of which six are above the horizon at any one time, whereas the other six are below the horizon. The book Beer Mayim Chayim, points out that the verse שמע ישראל is made up of 25 letters, whereas the verse ברוך שם כבוד וכו' is also made up of 25 letters. Between them they represent the 49 שערי בינה, plus the “hidden” 50th gate (which has not been revealed to man) which enables all the others to be joined together.

This is the metaphysical aspect of the word אמת, that we find mentioned by Joshua's spies; it is the measuring line described as the "תקות החוט" (see Joshua 2,14 for the word אמת, and 2,18, for the red line)ץ When the letter ו is written as a word, it symbolizes אמונה, faith, loyalty, since the middle letter א joins the two letters ו together. By so doing it creates a bond between דין and רחמים. Since the א also means “one,” this means that either group of six tribes is always joined with the אלוקי יעקב, "the Lord G–d of Israel”. Each group of six represents half the permutations of the ineffable name of G–d. The specific attribute for Jacob is that of תפארת, the sixth of the ten emanations, ספירות. This corresponds to the letter ו in the Ineffable Name. This is what Joshua's spies had in mind when they spoke about the אות אמת. We also know that Jacob and אמת are inextricably linked, since it says תתן אמת ליעקב, You have given "truth" to Jacob (Michah 7,20). If, G–d forbid this א would be separated from its respective ו, this would point at a universe in which more than one authority would rule, as the heretics claim. Their argument is that it is inconceivable that the power that created light should be the same as that which created darkness. This amounts to a denial of the verse: "It was evening, it was morning, one day (Genesis 1,5)."

This is the reason that we recite the paragraphs dealing with G–d having created the universe both in the mornings and in the evenings immediately prior to reciting the Kriyat Shema declaration. In those paragraphs we mention G–d as having created both night and day in order to demonstrate our conviction that they are part of the same whole and do not represent different domains presided over by different deities. This is why the Torah, when describing the process of creation, keeps saying ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר, "it was evening it was morning." Night is part of the unit called day and vice versa. Rashi explains on Exodus 10,21: וימש חשך, "that the darkness was tangible," that this was a phenomenon that intensified the normal darkness of the night. The night is darkest immediately before dawn. Before the sun sets in the evening, we observe the sun assuming a reddish colour in preparation for evening and night; the same process happens in reverse prior to sunrise. All this proves the basic unity of night and day. G–d is eternal, without beginning or end, without limitation of His powers, etc., as I have explained on other occasions. When G–d created the universe, He created "limits," as distinct from Himself who is limitless. In order to do this G–d imposed some restrictions, צמצום, upon Himself. The universe itself represents an act of G–d's self-restriction.

When G–d said: "They shall make a Sanctuary for Me and I shall dwell within them," בתוכם, this referred also to the fact that much of the Tabernacle was due to the תוכם, the innermost feelings of the donors. The Tabernacle could not have been completed if the people donating all these materials had not been motivated by a spirit of generosity. The word בתוכם is therefore essentially not much different from the word בתוכו, which we would have expected the Torah to use. There is another dimension to the verse ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם. The word בתוכם, refers to the innermost part of the Tabernacle. It is there that the שכינה resided and merged with the people of Israel. This is the mystical dimension of Exodus 26,24: ויהיו תאמים מלמטה ויחדו יהיו תמים על ראשו אל הטבעת האחת, "They shall match at the bottom and be perfectly aligned at the top inside one ring." It is a reference to the uniqueness of G–d and the uniqueness of the Jewish people respectively. G–d will never abandon His people for the sake of His great Name; the uniqueness of each i.e. אחד=13, i.e. 26 when combined. This equals the numerical value of G–d's "great" Name י-ה-ו-ה =26. The verse is a reference to the mystical union between קודשא בריכיה and כנסת ישראל, between the well known concepts of the holiness of G–d and the spiritual unity of the Jewish people. This is the reason why we find the מקדש described as היכל ה' on occasion. The numerical value of the word היכל equals the numerical value of א-ד-נ-י, a term for G–d which includes the souls of the people of Israel, as in Psalms 68,27: במקהלות ברכו אלוקים, (י-ה-ו-ה) א-ד-נ-י ממקור ישראל. "In assemblies bless G–d, the Lord, O You who are the fountain of Israel." To signify this dual meaning, the name of G–d is spelled as the Ineffable Name but pronounced (read) as א-ד-נ-י. There were one hundred silver sockets (אדנים) for the boards forming the walls of the Tabernacle which are symbolised by our reciting one hundred benedictions daily, which all mention the name of G–d (א-ד-נ-י). The עמודים, columns, each one within a socket, אדני, were an allusion to the emanation תפארת, the Ineffable Name which is found within the name א-ד-נ-י. The ווי העמודים, hooks attached to the columns, allude to the number 6=ו, the sixth emanation, i.e. תפארת, which is the mystical dimension of the letter ו in the Ineffable Name. That letter also represents the mystical dimension of the word אחד as we know from Genesis 1,5: ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום אחד. We have explained earlier in this chapter how day and night are part of a single unit. Night has 12 hours, the first six of which until midnight are under the domain of the attribute of Justice, whereas the last 6 hours are under the domain of the attribute of Mercy. The day, too, is divided into these two periods of 6 hours each, the first six hours under the domain of the attribute of Mercy, the last six under the domain of the attribute of Justice. As long as the light intensifies, the attribute of Mercy is in the ascendancy; once it diminishes, the attribute of Justice comes into its own. Since they have both been created by the same Creator, they appear linked together in the story of creation. This is the deeper meaning then of "evening and morning being one day." When you spell the letter ו as a word, thus: ואו, you have an allusion to the respective 6 hour periods during which each attribute exercises its dominance; the letter אלף in the middle alludes to the One and Only Creator who has created both day and night, both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy. You will also observe that the numerical value of such spelling of the letter ואו=13, the same numerical value as that of the word אחד. When the Torah in 26,6 describes the Tabernacle as becoming אחד, one, this is merely a confirmation of how the various components all combined to create this unified microcosm.

The "light" which will be preserved in the universe at large after shining forth from the Temple is the light of Torah learning, as already explained in Bereshit Rabbah 3,5: "Rabbi Symon said that the word אור, light, occurs five times in the report of the first day of creation (Genesis 1,3-5). This corresponds to the five books of the Torah."

יום אחד האמור באותו ואת בנו כו' – because the portion of “the animal and its young” (Leviticus 22:28) is adjacent to the sacrifice, and it is written (Leviticus 22:27): “[ad from the eighth day on] it shall be acceptable as a gift to [the LORD],” and adjacent to it, “the animal and its young” (Leviticus 22:28). But with Holy Things, the night follows after the day, as it is written (Leviticus 7:15): “[And the flesh of his thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being] shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be set aside until morning.” So we see that the night that is after it is called the “on the day...until morning.” It is possible that even this is the case [it is stated here, “one day”] and it is stated in the Creation story (Genesis 1:5): “[And there was evening and there was morning] the first day.”

The “one day” mentioned in connection with the law of “it and its young” means the day and the night preceding it. This was how Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma expounded (: it says “one day” (Genesis 1:5) in connection with the creation and it also says “one day” (Leviticus 22:28) in connection with “it and its young” Just as the “one day” mentioned in connection with the creation means the day and the night preceding it, so too the “one day” mentioned in connection with “it and its young” means the day and the night preceding it. This mishnah, which I shall explain here and not below, teaches that when we reckon the day on which an animal was slaughtered, the night goes with the day that follows it. Thus if he slaughtered one animal at night and then the following day he slaughtered its mother or offspring, he has violated the law of “it and its young.” But if he slaughters an animal during the day and then the following night he slaughters its mother or young, he has not violated the law. The basis for this law are the verses from Genesis 1 that state, “and it was evening and it was morning, the first day,” and so on for each day. These verses imply, to the rabbis, that the day begins with the preceding night. And since the words “one day” are used in the context of creation and in the context of the law concerning “it and its young,” the day is reckoned in the same way for each.

[I HAVE TAKEN UPON ME.] Ho’alti (I have taken upon me) does not mean I began; it means I wanted. Ho’il Moshe (took Moses upon him) (Deut. 1:5) is similar. The caf of anokhi (I) is superfluous. (Anokhi, meaning I, is a variant of ani. J.P.S. renders va-anokhi (literally, and I) as who am.) On the other hand, it is possible that there are two different words for I in Hebrew. (Ani and anokhi, and the two are not related.)

ערבה Is darkened. Comp. עֶרֶב evening.

HE SHALL NOT INQUIRE. Yavakker (he shall…inquire) means he shall separate. I have previously explained that the word yavakker is related to the word boker (morning). (See I.E. on Lev. 13:36.)

Of all natural phenomena none is more central nor wondrous than light. However, as with water, Providence can alter its nature too as circumstances require. Has Job any such power over it? From the moment the sun and moon were put into position on the fourth day of Creation, the cycle of day and night as we now know it began. In this cycle, daybreak is a shadowy line of longitude that moves continuously across the face of the Earth from east to west with a period of 24 hours. God asks Job if he knows from where that line started to move on the fourth day of Creation. Have you ever called up the morn?... This refers to the first morning of Creation. According to Malbim, during each of the first three days of Creation, i.e., before the sun and moon were placed in position, there was light over the entire planet Earth for 12 hours followed by 12 hours of darkness everywhere. The change from light to dark and back again was gradual, such that 'evening came and morning came' (Genesis 1:5).

ויקם פרעה לילה, Pharaoh rose up during the night, etc. The reason that the Torah mentions "at night," something that was obvious, is that according to the Zohar 2, page 38 that night was as bright as daylight. I have already found an allusion to this fact in Exodus 13,8 where the Torah instructs the Jewish father to tell his sons about the happenings during that night ביום ההוא, "on that day." The Torah means that the father should not fail to mention that one of the things that occurred during that night was that the night turned into day. In the event that we would think that the daylight during that night shone for both the Egyptians and the Israelites, the Torah emphasises that when Pharaoh rose he thought it was night because for him it was dark.

ויהי ביום השמיני, it was on the eighth day; We need to analyse why the Torah had to introduce this chapter with the word ויהי. We are told in Megillah 10 that Rabbi Levi claimed there was an ancient tradition that every time the word ויהי appears it has a connotation of something painful having occurred. This view was challenged by the questioner pointing to the word ויהי in our portion which introduces the joyous event of Aaron performing the rites in the Tabernacle; furthermore, we have a Baraitha according to which this day was as joyous an occasion as the day on which G'd created Heaven and Earth, a day which is also introduced in the Torah by the words ויהי ערב ויהי בקר, "it was evening it was morning, etc." The Talmud answers that the saddening event in our portion was the death of Nadav and Avihu. The questioner in the Talmud continues, wanting to know why the word ויהי is used in Kings I 6,1 when the building of Solomon's Temple is reported. He also points to Genesis 29,10 where Jacob's encounter with his bride-to-be Rachel is introduced by the word ויהי. The questioner mentions a further occurrence of that word every time G'd completed part of the creation of the universe and the Torah describes the completion of that portion with the words ויהי ערב ויהי בקר. What were the negative elements on those occasions which prompted the Bible to draw our attention to them by means of the word ויהי? Rav Ashi answers that the word ויהי by itself may have either positive or negative connotations. When the word ויהי is followed by the word בימי, "during the lifetime of, etc." it invariably has a negative connotation. The Talmud added that there are five occasions when the expression ויהי בימי occurs in the Bible. Thus far the discussion in Megillah 10.

In his fine words, he incidentally answered the question of Rashi in Genesis 1:5, who asked: "according to the order of creation, the verse should have said 'first day', but according to the author's words, the intent of the verse was to teach on absolute creation, which was the beginning of everything, even time.

מיום אל יום, “from one day to the next.” This verse makes it clear that revoking a vow must occur during the same day, the day being considered the same period as during the six days of creation. The day commences with nightfall and extends for 24 hours until the next evening. It is not a period of 24 hours commencing at the moment when the husband hears about his wife’s vow. If the woman made a vow in the morning of any day the husband upon hearing of it has only till nightfall of the same day to oppose and revoke it. This is the reason the sages permitted the husband to revoke vows made by his wife on the Sabbath if these vows were not directly related to the Sabbath (Nedarim 77). This, in spite of the fact that revoking a vow is similar to pronouncing judgment, something that is forbidden on the Sabbath. If the husband were not allowed to revoke such vows his wife could always make vows on the Sabbath and thus undermine her husband’s authority to cancel her vows. This relaxation of the rules of the Sabbath applies only to a husband revoking the vow of is wife. If she needs the services of a judge, expert or quorum of three laymen to release her from a foolish vow, she will have to wait until after the Sabbath as outsiders who are not affected by her vows are not given leeway to use their authority in releasing someone from a vow on the Sabbath. If the woman’s vow involved matters pertaining to the Sabbath on which she made the vow, the expert has the right to use his authority to release her from such a vow even on the Sabbath. An example of such a vow would be one which would have prevented her from eating on the Sabbath in question. The time frame we discussed applies both to the father and to the husband as the case may be, starting from the time they heard of the vow in question. If a husband or father canceled the woman’s vow later than the time the Torah permitted and the wife or daughter ignores her vow relying on her father or husband having revoked it, he is held liable for violating her vow. This is why the Torah writes here: ”if he will revoke them (the vows) after his having heard” (in contrast with verse 13 where the wording is “on the day he hears about it”), he will bear her iniquity.” This verse gives rise to a general rule in halachah: “he who through his actions causes his fellow to become guilty of a trespass will personally bear the penalties which result for his fellow from his action” (Sifri Mattot 156, quoted by Rashi).

ובהאריך הענן , “and when the cloud remained stationary for a long period,” the Torah describes these matters at length to compliment the Israelites who were guided in their journeys or lack of movement by the behaviour of the cloud. The desert was not uniform; some places where the Israelites camped were more pleasant than others, and it would have been understandable for the people to be restless to get away from the less pleasant sites. Proof that there were distinct differences in the natural habitat are such descriptions as “the bitter waters at Marah” contrasted with the pleasant oasis Eylim which was liberally supplied with date palms (Exodus 15, 23 and 27 respectively). The Torah testifies that as soon as the cloud would move, even if the camp was a very pleasant site, the Israelites would get ready to move. To sum up: the Israelites instead of arranging their journeys in accordance with their own preferences submitted willingly to the decision made on their behalf by G’d as expressed by the movement of the cloud. The Torah here also describes another act of kindness by G’d in that all occasions when the people broke camp were in the morning. We derive this from the words או יומם ולילה, “or a day and a night,” instead of או לילה או יום, “or a night and a day” (verse 21). According to the report of the creation (Genesis 1,5 as interpreted by Chulin 83), day followed night, i.e. ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר. However, had the Torah followed that script, we would have concluded that at least on some occasions the Israelites were required to break camp in the evening.

אך אם יום או יומים יעמוד, “however, if he will survive for one or two days, etc.” if the Torah had referred only to the possibility of this slave surviving one day we would have understood the word יום as the day of the Torah, i.e. an evening followed by night and a day, such as the days described in the first chapter of Genesis. By adding the word יומים, a day which appears as if two days is included. In other words, a 24 hour-period composed of two different daylight periods. Seeing that the words ומת תחת ידו, and he died under his hand,” gave the impression that the death penalty would apply only if the slave died as an immediate result of the beating, it had to add that if he died within the next twenty-four hours such death would still be attributed directly to the beating he had received. A survival until the third day is not mentioned as in that event the master would not be liable through court action (Nachmanides).

A Midrashic approach (Tanchuma Tazria 9): Why has this paragraph not been introduced by the customary: “speak to the Children of Israel; if a person has such and such symptoms, etc.?” The absence of this introductory formula is to teach you that it is not the Lord who initiates afflictions as we know from Psalms 5,5 כי לא אל חפץ רשע אתה לא יגורך רע, ”for You are not a G’d who desires wickedness, evil cannot abide with You;” David does not belabour the obvious; he speaks about G’d having no desire to make any creature guilty of anything. We have proof of this also in Ezekiel 33,11: “as true as I am alive, says the Lord, G’d, I do not desire the death of the wicked.” On the contrary, what is it that G’d desires? He wants to find an excuse to justify His creatures’ actions as we know from Isaiah 42,21: ה’ חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר, ”The Lord desires His creatures’ vindication, that He may magnify and glorify (His) Teaching.” If our paragraph had commenced in the normal way some people might have misunderstood and thought that G’d derives satisfaction from having to afflict people even though they were guilty of something. Another comment by the Midrash: the words “evil does not abide with You” which we quoted from Psalms 5,5 mean that the name of G’d is not associated with events of an evil nature but only with things positive. When G’d created light and darkness, He did associate His name with the light but not with the darkness. In Genesis 1,5 the Torah writes: “G’d called the light day, and the darkness He called night.” When G’d blessed the first pair of human beings, His name was associated with the blessing for both of them, as the Torah writes (Genesis 1,28: “G’d blessed them.” On the other hand, when G’d decreed a curse on man, (Genesis 3,16) The Torah writes: “to the woman He had said, etc.,” and we find similar language in connection with the penalty decreed on Adam. The Torah writes (Genesis 3,17): “and to Adam He had said, etc.” You may ask that when G’d cursed the serpent we also find this kind of language, i.e. (Genesis 3,14) “the Lord G’d had said to the serpent, ‘because you have done this, etc.’” Our sages answered this query in Tanchuma Tazria 9 by saying that there are indeed three occasions when G’d did associate His name with something evil, such as a curse. The first instance is the case of the מסית, someone who seduces others to worship idols; the first personification of such a seducer was the serpent who seduced Chavah in Gan Eden saying to her: “G’d knows that on the day you (pl) will eat from the tree your eyes will be opened and you will become just like G’d” (Genesis 3,5). The serpent implied that just as G’d had created worlds so she and Adam would be able to create worlds; the serpent implied that G’d had forbidden eating the fruit because He was jealous of potential competition. The serpent implied that just as a skilled craftsman is anxious not to reveal the secrets of his craft, so G’d wanted to keep the secret of how He had created the universe. Seeing that the serpent had used G’d’s name in its seduction of Chavah, G’d in turn associated His name with the punishment, the curse. The second instance of G’d’s name being associated with something evil concerns people who deliberately transgress the decrees of the sages whose authority has been given to them by G’d and has been confirmed at Mount Gerizim. The prophet Jeremiah referred to the fact that such people are guilty of death when he wrote in Jeremiah 11,3: “Thus said the Lord: cursed be the man who will not obey the terms of this covenant which I enjoined your fathers when I freed them from Egypt, etc.” The sin of these people is that they place their trust in man instead of in G’d as the prophet said in Jeremiah 17,5: “Thus said the Lord: ‘cursed is he who trusts in man, who makes a mere flesh his strength and turns his thoughts from the Lord.’” In other words, when does the curse mentioned earlier apply? When someone turns his heart away from the Lord. When Noach blessed his sons Shem and Yaphet, he used the name of G’d in his blessing, saying: ברוך ה’ אלו-הי שם, “blessed be the Lord, the G’d of Shem,” etc. When he cursed Canaan (Genesis 9,26) he simply said: ארור כנען, “cursed be Canaan;” he did not mention G’d in that context. When the prophet Elisha prayed to G’d asking for deliverance from the Arameans (enemy of the Israelites at that time, Kings II 6,17) he invoked the name of the Lord in his prayer saying: “Lord open his eyes let him see” (a reference to his attendant who was afraid). When he then turned to cursing the Arameans (verse 18 of the same chapter), Elisha only said: ”please strike these people with a blinding light.” The name of G’d was not invoked in the prayer to bring a curse upon them. Even when the Israelites were sinful, G’d referred to them with respect and honor. When G’d legislated the kind of animals which were to be offered by the Israelites, -when, where and under what circumstances,- the legislation is introduced with the words: “if one of you wishes to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, etc.” When introducing the צרעת legislation, however, the name of G’d does not appear. Clearly, even when the legislation presupposes sins by the afflicted, the Torah still does not wish to involve G’d directly, as the One who initiates the “curse.” This is why the verse starts merely with the words: “when someone develops a white spot on the skin of his flesh, etc.” What sins cause such afflictions? In retribution for illicit sex. (Tanchuma Tazria 11) This is also what happened in Jerusalem whose inhabitants were struck by this disease because their sexual mores had deteriorated so much (Isaiah 3,16) ”because the daughters of Zion are so vain and walk with their heads thrown back, with roving eyes, and with mincing gait, making a tingling with their feet...the Lord will uncover their heads.” The word used there is שפח which is the equivalent of צרעת as we know from Leviticus 14,5. The words אדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו שאת או ספחת, are equivalent to what we read n Chabakuk 1,7 איום ונורא ממננו ושפתו ושאתו יצא, “they are terrible and dreadful; they make their own laws and are overbearing.” The prophet speaks about Adam who was the direct creation of G’d, created in His likeness, who was composed of particles from all the corners of the globe and whose dominion before his sin therefore extended over all parts of the globe. At that time Adam was able to see with his eyes from one end of the earth to the other. Adam’s wife, Chavah was created from his very body, she who caused his mortality. Seeing that she gave Adam to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge she made him mortal. Another Midrashic explanation: The words “terrible and dreadful” which we quoted from Chabakuk refer to Pharaoh who ruled over the whole earth as we know from Psalms 105,20. The words: “they make their own laws, etc.” refer to Moses who grew up in the very house of this wicked Pharaoh and eventually deprived him of his rule after bringing ten plagues upon him. Moses used to take a look at his holy staff to see which kind of plague was appropriate to smite Pharaoh with; he would then inflict this plague upon him; hence the prophet speaks about something “terrible and dreadful.” Yet another interpretation of that verse in Chabakuk relates the adjectives in that verse to the principal characteristics of the four host nations who had control of the Jewish people in exile at different times. [The Midrash broadens its perspective of allegorical meanings; the interested reader is referred to the original text seeing that our author does not contribute to the understanding of this Midrash except quoting its text. Ed.]

BEIN HA’ARBAYIM’ (AT EVENTIDE). “The period beginning at the sixth hour and onward, [counted from the beginning of the day, which in Torah-law is always divided into twelve hours], is called bein ha’arbayim (at eventide), because the sun inclines in the direction of its setting there to become darkened. It appears to me that the expression bein ha’arbayim denotes those hours which are between the beginning of the darkening of the day and the final darkening at night. The darkening of the day is at the beginning of the seventh hour of the day, from the time the shadows of the evening are stretched out, (Jeremiah 6:4.) and the darkening of the night is at the beginning of the night. The word erev (night) is an expression of gloom and darkness, just as in the verse, All joy is ‘arbah’ (darkened).” (Isaiah 24:11.) Thus the language of Rashi. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra refuted [this explanation of Rashi] by pointing to the verse which says, And when Aaron lighteth the lamps ‘bein ha’arbayim’ (Further, 30:8.) [‘There is no doubt that he lights the lamps at sundown”], as it is written there, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order from evening to morning. (Ibid., 27:21.) [Thus it proves that bein ha’arbayim does not begin with the seventh hour of the day as Rashi would have it, but at sundown near night.] Besides, the verse regarding the paschal offering itself states: There thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering at even, at the going down of the sun, at the time thou camest forth out of Egypt, (Deuteronomy 16:6.) and “the going down of the sun” occurs at sunset. [How then could Rashi explain bein ha’arbayim mentioned here as commencing at the seventh hour of the day?] But this is no refutation of the Rabbi’s [Rashi’s] explanation. Our Rabbis have already said (Berachoth 9a.) that the meaning of the verse is as follows: “At even, you slaughter [the Passover-offering]; at the going down of the sun, you eat it; at the time thou camest forth out of Egypt, [i.e., in the morning of the fifteenth day of Nisan, it becomes nothar] (Literally, “left over.” Portions of sacrifices left over after the prescribed time within which they are to be eaten must be burnt. See “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 103-4. Now since the Passover-offering is to be eaten only on the night of the fifteenth day, whatever is left by the morning of that day is to be burnt. The actual burning, however, takes place on the morning of the sixteenth day, since it is not permissible to burn nothar on a Festival day.) and you burn it.” The Rabbi [Rashi] has already so commented [in his commentary to Deuteronomy 16:6]. The correct interpretation on this matter appears to me to be that the night is called erev, as it is said, ‘ba’erev’ ye shall eat unleavened bread. (Further, Verse 18.) and this is at night, as it clearly states, And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread. (Ibid., Verse 8.) Similarly, And there was ‘erev’ and there was morning, (Genesis 1:5.) means the beginning of night when the stars do come forth. The same applies to the verse, In the twilight, ‘ba’erev’ of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness, (Proverbs 7:9.) [where the word ba’erev, coming after “the twilight,” must signify the night]. Now the end of the day is also called erev, as the verses indicate: And the two angels came to Sodom ‘ba’erev,’ and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; (Genesis 19:1. In view of the fact that Lot surely did not sit in the gate at night, ba’erev must mean at the end of the day.) And it came to pass ‘ba’erev’ that the quails came up, (Further, 16:13.) and the quails did not come at night. (Ibid., Verse 12: At eventide ye shall eat flesh. This clearly indicates that the quails came before the night. The word ba’erev in the verse, And it came to pass ‘ba’erev’ that the quails came up, must therefore mean at the end of the day.) There are many other such cases. It is further written: ‘Erev,’ and morning, and at noonday, I will sigh and moan. (Psalms 55:18.) Now these three periods include the whole day [of twenty-four hours. Therefore, if we interpret erev as meaning actual night, the hours from noonday to night will be missing here. We must] thus conclude that [the period] immediately after noonday is called erev, [which lasts from the latter part of the day till morning. Thus the verse encompasses the whole day of twenty-four hours]. Morning is so called from sunrise and thence onward as long as the sun remains in the east. This period lasts four hours, just as the Rabbis testified (In Tractate Eduyoth 6:1. This testimony is attributed to Rabbi Yehudah ben Baba.) that the morning Daily Whole-offering [for the entire congregation of Israel] may be offered in the [first] four hours of the day [but not later]. After morning, the time is called tzohorayim (noonday), just as it is said, from morning until ‘tzohorayim’ (noon). (I Kings 18:26.) It consists of two hours: the fifth and the sixth hours of the day. The word tzohorayim is of the root ‘tzohar’ (A light) shalt thou make to the ark, (Genesis 6:16.) and implies brightness. It is written in the plural [tzohorayim] because it is the two [brightest parts of the day] which, so to speak, make two tzohorayim. It may be that it is written in the plural because light is then disseminated on all sides. In the morning the light is centered in the east, and towards evening it is in the west, but in the middle of the day when it is high in the sky, it gives light on all sides. When tzohorayim (noonday) passes and the sun departs from shining upon two sides, the time of the day is called arbayim — [from the root erev (darkness)] - because the sun has darkened from [its state of shining on] those two sides. This period [of arbayim] lasts as long as the sun shines in the sky [and is permissible for the slaughtering of the Passover-offering]. But beginning with sundown, which is about an hour and a quarter [before the day terminates with the coming out of the stars], it is no longer the time for the slaughtering thereof according to the opinion of our Rabbis, (Mechilta Pischa, 5: “At eventide. I might understand this to mean at the evening twilight. Scripture therefore says, etc.”) for that period of time is no longer arbayim but rather erev yom (the evening of the day). (In the twilight, ‘b’erev yom’ (in the evening of the day) (Proverbs 7:9).) The reason it is called bein ha’arbayim [in the Torah, and not just arbayim], is not that the word bein signifies here “between,” [as Rashi above explained that the expression bein ha’arbayim denotes that time-period which is “between” the beginning of those hours, etc.], but it is something like “in their midst,” similar to these verses: Let there now be an oath ‘beinotheinu beineinu ubeinecha'; (Genesis 26:28. It is generally translated: between us, even between us and thee. But according to Ramban, the meaning thereof would be: “let there be an oath in our midst, even in us and in thee.”) A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that ‘beini ubeincha’?; (Ibid., 23:15. It is generally translated: between me and thee. Ramban understands it: “in the midst of me and you, the value of the land is not worth discussing.”) And her stature was exalted ‘al bein’ (among) the thick branches; (Ezekiel 19:11. Ramban would explain it: “her stature was exalted in the midst of the thick foliage.”) Take fire ‘mibeinoth’ the wheelwork, (Ibid., 10:6. It is generally translated: “from ‘between’ the wheelwork.”) which means from “within their midst”; Take up their fire-pans ‘mibein’ the burning, (Numbers 17:2.) which means “from the midst thereof,” similar to the expression, She rises also ‘be’od’ night, (Proverbs 31:15. It is generally translated: “she rises also ‘while it is yet’ night.”) which means in the midst of the night. And so is the expression bein ha’arbayim, [which signifies “in the midst of that part of the day called arbayim,” as explained above]. It does not state ba’arbayim, for that might have indicated the erev of many days. Thus Scripture is saying that we should slaughter the Passover-offering in the midst of the arbayim, since the time prescribed by the Torah for the slaughtering of the Passover-offering is from after the sixth hour of the day till the commencement of sunset. And Scripture also says, In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month ‘bein ha’arbayim’ (at eventide) is the Passover of the Eternal, (Leviticus 23:5.) which refers to the time of the slaughtering [of the Passover-offering]. Similarly, the verse, In the fourteenth day of this month ‘bein ha’arbayim’ ye shall observe it, (Numbers 9:3.) refers to the beginning of the observance, which is the slaughtering, [while the eating of the Passover-offering takes place on the following night]. The verse stating [in connection with the quails], ‘bein ha’arbayim’ ye shall eat flesh, (Further, 16:12.) also refers to the hours mentioned, [i.e., from after the sixth hour of the day till the start of sunset], since they had extensive time for the eating of meat. The following verse there which states, And it came to pass ‘ba’erev’ (at even), that the quails came up, (Ibid., Verse 13.) is [so stated] because on the first day, the quails came up for one hour within that period called erev. (In other words, Scripture is stating that during the part of the day called erev which, as explained above, extends from immediately after tzohorayim until the end of the day — making a period of six hours — the quails came up for a time. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 327, for further discussion of this text.) [Therefore it does not say, “and it came to pass bein ha’arbayim that the quails came up,” for that would have signified that the quails came up during the whole stretch of time from after the sixth hour of the day till sundown.] It is possible to explain the expression bein ha’arbayim in accordance with the explanation of Rashi, (The plural form of arbayim suggests two kinds of erev, and the word bein signifies “between.” Thus bein ha’arbayim denotes those hours which are between the darkening of the day and the darkening of the night. Thus is the explanation of Rashi. Ramban proceeds to confirm Rashi’s explanation that the word bein means “between,” but adds that the plural form of arbayim denotes two different periods of the day, unlike Rashi who wrote that it is between the darkening of the day and the darkening of the night, as will be explained.) i.e., that there are two kinds of erev, an erev of the morning and an erev of the day, for Scripture so calls them: the ‘minchah’ of the morning, (Further, 29:41. Ramban will explain the word minchah.) and the ‘minchah’ of the evening, (II Kings 16:15.) as it is said, And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of making the ‘minchah’, (Ibid., 3:20.) and it further says, And I sat appalled until the ‘minchah’ of the evening. And at the evening ‘minchah’ I arose up from my fasting. (Ezra 9:4-5.) Now the word minchah is an expression denoting the resting of the sun and the diminution of its great light, just as the Targum rendered [l’ruach hayom] l’manach yoma (where the day comes to rest). (In Genesis 3:8, we read: And they [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Eternal G-d walking in the garden of Eden ‘l’ruach hayom,’ which Rashi interpreted: “in that direction towards which the sun travels, which is the west.” Onkelos rendered it: l’manach yoma, “in the afternoon,” or literally, “when the day comes to rest.” Thus it is seen that the word minchah denotes rest.) And the plural form of arbayim connotes the two afternoons: “the greater afternoon,” [i.e., the time from six and a half hours after the beginning of the day], and “the smaller afternoon,” [i.e., from nine and a half hours after the start of the day until sunset], which the Sages have mentioned. (Berachoth 26b.) Now during this entire period [of bein ha’arbayim], it is permissible to kindle the lamps of the candelabrum [in the Sanctuary] (Unlike the opinion of Ibn Ezra mentioned above, i.e., that the kindling of the lamps of the candelabrum in the Sanctuary was done at sundown.) and to burn the incense, both of which are not permissible to be done at night but only at the time of the Daily Whole-offering of the eventide, and in fact their performance precedes the actual offering of the sacrifice upon the altar. Onkelos’ opinion seems to incline towards this explanation [that the plural form of arbayim denotes two different parts of the day], for he translated bein ha’arbayim as bein shimshaya (between the suns), meaning the times when the sun is in the east and the sun is in the west. The verse stating, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order from evening to morning, (Further, 27:21. From this verse, Ibn Ezra had proven at the beginning of this discussion — see at Note 123 — that the lamps of the candelabrum are kindled at sundown. Ramban proceeds to explain that the purport of the verse is that the priests are to put into the lamps their due measure of oil so that they will burn from evening to morning, but not that it mattered that they were kindled only at sundown. As explained above, that could be done anytime during “the greater afternoon” and “the smaller afternoon.” Thus Ibn Ezra’s strictures on Rashi are removed.) means [that it be given its due measure of oil] so that it may burn a whole night [although the actual kindling thereof could be done anytime in the bein ha’arbayim. It does not mean, as Ibn Ezra explained, that this verse teaches that the kindling of the candelabrum took place at sundown]. Thus we can explain the verse, There thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering ‘ba’erev’ (at even), (Deuteronomy 16:6. See above at Note 124 how Ibn Ezra brought this verse in proof against Rashi’s explanation. Ramban already refuted it above on the basis of the teaching of the Rabbis. Here he refutes Ibn Ezra on the basis of the plain meaning of what he has shown, i.e., that erev also means the afternoon, etc. Ramban’s own explanation of this verse is yet to follow.) to mean at the above-mentioned time, [i.e., the afternoon], for that is called erev [as explained]. The following expression there, at the going down of the sun, is connected with the following verse, And thou shalt roast and eat it. (Ibid., Verse 7.) There are many such cases in Scripture [where an expression in one verse is connected with the following verse]. (See Vol. I, pp. 437-8.) In my opinion however, the verse, There thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering, does not at all refer to the time of the slaughtering thereof, [which took place on the afternoon of the fourteenth day of Nisan]. Rather, the purport thereof is to state that at the place which the Eternal thy G-d chose to establish His name in, there thou shalt observe [the commandment concerning] the Passover-offering at night, at the going down of the sun, which is the time thou camest forth out of Egypt. It is concerning this performance that Scripture says [in the following verse], And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place (Ibid., Verse 7.) mentioned. The sacrifice itself is called zevach, (Ramban’s intent is to clarify that the word tizbach — There thou shalt ‘tizbach’ the Passover-offering — does not mean “slaughter,” in which case it would necessarily be referring to the afternoon of the fourteenth day of Nisan. Instead, Ramban proceeds to show that the word zevach refers to the sacrifice itself, and the verse therefore refers to the eating thereof which takes place on the following night of the fifteenth day. All this, however, is from the standpoint of the plain meaning of Scripture. Ramban has already noted that the Rabbis in the Talmud (see Note 125), as well as Rashi in his commentary to Deuteronomy 16:6, have explained tizbach as “slaughter.”) as Scripture says, Thou shalt not offer the blood of ‘zivchi’ (My sacrifice) upon leaven, (Further, 34:25.) which means “My Passover-offering.” This then is the purport of the whole chapter [in Deuteronomy]: Observe the month of Aviv, and observe the Passover unto the Eternal thy G-d; for in the month of Aviv the Eternal thy G-d brought thee forth out of Egypt by night, etc. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it. (Deuteronomy 16:1-3.) Thus He mentioned the observance of the Passover-offering and the night, [clearly indicating that in those verses, He refers only to the time of the eating of the Passover-offering, which occurs on the night of the fifteenth day, and not to the slaughtering thereof which takes place in the afternoon of the fourteenth day]. Commanding how they are to eat it, He then mentioned that [we must eat no leavened bread] for seven days. (Ibid., Verse 3.) But in this entire chapter, there is not a single reference to the fourteenth day of Nisan on which the slaughtering of the Passover-offering takes place. Similarly He said there, Neither shall any of the flesh which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning, (Ibid., Verse 4.) Now the expression, the first day at even, [definitely] means the fifteenth day of Nisan, the first of the seven days mentioned, (Ibid., Verse 3.) since the fourteenth day is not mentioned here at all. So also, the verse stating, On the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, (Further, Verse 18.) means the night of the fifteenth day. Thus the intent of the expression, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, (Ibid., Verse 4.) is that neither shall any of the flesh of the offering which you are eating on the night of the first day [of the seven-day festival] remain until the morning.

AND TO DIVIDE THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “By the coming forth of the sun at daytime and the light of the moon at night, they shall divide the light from the darkness.” (Ibn Ezra’s opinion is that the word ul’havdil (and to divide) refers to both the sun and moon, that each in coming forth separates between light and darkness. (Tur.)) In my opinion, the light mentioned here refers to the day, and the darkness is the night for such are their names, as it says, And G-d called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. (Verse 5. Thus according to Ramban, the meaning of the verse is: “and to divide the day from the night,” meaning, that light is to serve at daytime and darkness at night. (Tur.)) Now in connection with all the works of creation, Scripture mentions the Divine command and then tells of the deed. And here too He commanded, And they shall be for lights, (Verse 15.) and then it relates, And G-d set them. (Verse 17.) He further said, And to rule over the day and over the night, (Verse 18.) meaning that one is to rule by day and the other by night, the rulership being that which He commanded when He said, And they shall be for signs, and for seasons. (Verse 14.) And now He related that the rulership of the two is not alike but instead consists of dividing the darkness from the light. The greater luminary will rule by day and light will be everywhere, even where the sun does not reach, and the smaller luminary will rule by night, and there will be darkness except that the moon will lighten its darkness. This then is the command He gave in order to divide the day from the night, (Verse 14.) as it says, And G-d divided the light from the darkness. (Verse 4.)

AND G-D DIVIDED THE LIGHT FROM THE DARKNESS. This is not “the darkness” mentioned in the first verse (“First verse.” It is actually mentioned in Verse 2. However, in view of Ramban’s interpretation above that the first two verses tell of everything else to come, he refers to Verse 2 as “the first verse.”) which, as explained above, refers to the element of fire; rather, the “darkness” mentioned here means the absence of light, since G-d gave a length of time to the light and decreed that it be absent afterwards until it returns. Now some commentators (Reference here is to Yehuda Halevi who, in his philosophic work Al Khazari, sets forth this theory: The first light was created at the time of sunset, and it was an illumination which soon passed away, leaving the world in darkness. The established order was then that night preceded day, as it is written, It was evening and it was morning (2:20, Hirschfeld’s translation). See also my Hebrew commentary, 2d edition, p. 547, that Ramban may also refer here to Rabbeinu Zerachyah Halevi, who was of a similar opinion.) have said that this light was created in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is to say, in the west, (In accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Abahu who says, “The Divine Presence is in the West” (Baba Bathra 25a).) and He immediately caused it to disappear for the period of the night, and afterwards it gave light for the period of the day. This is the reason for the verse, And there was evening and there was morning, since the night came first and afterwards the day, and both of them came after the existence of the light. But this is not correct at all, for in this way they might add a short day to the six days of creation. (Since night and day were after the creation of light, and light was created at the time of sunset, it follows that there was a short day (that is, light without darkness) preceding the first day. Thus a short day is added to the six days of creation.) It is possible, however, to say that the light was created in front of Him, blessed be He, but did not extend over the four elements mentioned [in the second verse, as explained above] and then He divided between it and the darkness by assigning to each a certain period. Light now remained before Him for the length of night, and then in the morning, He caused the light to shine upon the elements. In this way night preceded day. It is further possible that we should say that when the heavens and the earth came forth from nought into existence, as mentioned in the first verse, time came into being, for although our time consisting of minutes and hours is measured in light and darkness, yet from the moment some substance came into existence time was already part of it. If so, after the heavens and the earth were created they so remained for the length of a night without light. Then He said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light, and He decreed that it remain the same period as the first, and that after that it be absent from the elements. Thus, there was evening, and there was morning.

מן הבקר עד הערב FROM MORNING UNTO EVENING — Is it really possible to say so — that Moses sat the whole day long? But the explanation is that any judge who gives a rightful decision as truth demands it, even though he spends but one hour on it, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had occupied himself with the Torah the whole day long, and as though he became co-partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of the Creation of which it is stated, “It was evening and it was morning” (cf. Mekhilta; Shabbat 10a).

כי בשש משה [AND WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW] THAT MOSES DELAYED LONG — Understand (בשש as the Targum does, as an expression denoting “lateness”.. Similar are: (Judges 5:28) “[Why is] his chariot so long (בשש) [in coming]?”; (Judges 3:25) “And they waited until it was late (עד בוש)”. For when Moses ascended the mountain he said to them (to the Israelites): at the end of a period of forty days (i. e. on the fortieth day) I shall return during the first six hours of the day (before noon). They thought that the day on which he ascended the mountain (the seventh of Sivan) was to be included in this number (thus — Sivan having 30 days — he was expected back before noon on the sixteenth of Tammuz). In fact, however, he had said to them “after forty days” meaning complete days — forty days, each day together with its night that precedes it — (as is the customary Jewish reckoning; cf. Genesis 1:5: ויהי ערב ויהי בקר). Now, as regards the day of this ascent, its night was not part of it that it can be reckoned as a complete day, for he ascended on the seventh of Sivan early in the morning (cf. Rashi on Exodus 19:3); it follows therefore that the fortieth day really fell on the seventeenth of Tammuz and not as the people had believed on the sixteenth. On the sixteenth of Tammuz Satan came and threw the world into confusion, giving it the appearance of darkness, gloom and disorder that people should say: “Surely Moses is dead, and that is why confusion has come into the world!” He said to them, “Yes, Moses is dead, for six hours (noon) has already come (בשש = ‎בא שש) and he has not returned etc.” — as is related in Treatise Shabbat 89a (cf. Rashi and Tosafot there and Tosafot on Bava Kamma 82a ד"ה כדי). One cannot, however, say that they erred only on account of it being a cloudy day, their mistake consisting in not being able to distinguish between forenoon and afternoon, and that thus they were correct in their supposition that he was to return on the sixteenth of Tammuz; for this assumes that he really returned on the day when they made the calf, but that they were under the impression that noon was past — for, as a matter of fact, Moses did not come down until the following day (the day after they had made the calf), for it is said (v. 6) “And they rose up early in the morrow, and brought up burnt offerings”— and only after wards the Lord said to Moses (v. 7) “Go, go down; for thy people … have corrupted themselves”.

והקריב AND HE WILL BRING them אליו UNTO HIM. The Targum proves that this is so (i.e. that Scripture alludes to two different matters), for it renders the first phrase by “He will bring near to Him”, and the second by “He will bring near to His service”. — A Midrashic explanation of the word בקר (instead of the more usual מחר) is the following: Moses said to him (Korah): “The Holy One, blessed be He, has assigned bounds in His world; can you, perhaps, change the morning into evening? Just as little, will you be able to make this (Aaron’s appointment as High Priest) of none effect, — as indeed it states, (Genesis 1:5) “and it was evening and it was morning… (Genesis 1:4) “and God separated (ויבדל) [light from darkness]”; and in the same sense (that the separation should be of a permanent character) it states, (I Chronicles 23:13) “and Aaron was separated (ויבדל) that he should be sanctified [as most holy … to minister unto him]” (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 5).

As the sun, the moon, and the stars. Meaning, “like the day.” Although the moon and stars do not reign during the day, it is not called a “day” without including the night with it, as it is written (Bereishis 1:5), “And it was evening, and it was morning, [it was] day one.” If so, it is fine that the verse says [according to Rashi’s explanation] “like the day” [and then mentions the stars]. (In the name of Maharitz). The phrase לרוב (as numerous) means: In the future, you will also be as numerous as the stars. Now, however, you are eternal like them (the sun, moon and the stars), but you are not as numerous as them (Re”m).

Who distinguishes between the sacred and the ordinary: “Between light and darkness,” should appear before, “Between sacred and ordinary,” in the Havdalah blessing. For in the six days of creation is the basis of Havdalah, the distinction “Between light and darkness,” comes first. Thus, it is written on the first day, “God distinguished between the light and the darkness.” (Gen:1:5) The distinction between the sacred and the ordinary did not occur until Sunday, after Sabbath. Further, it doesn't make sense to say, “Between Israel and the nations,” first and then, “Between the seventh day and the other six days of creation” since God distinguishes between the six days of creation before God separated Israel from the nations. What is more, it has already been said, God distinguishes “Between holy and ordinary!” Now we will answer these questions based on the simple meaning of the text (peshat). (There were four levels of interpretation of scripture and the Jewish tradition often referred to as Pardes: Peshat, Remez, Drash and Sod. Peshat is one of four classical methods of Jewish biblical exegesis used by rabbis and Jewish bible scholars in reading the Hebrew Bible... It is the first of the four exegetical methods known together as PaRDeS. While Peshat is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text, numerous scholars and rabbis have debated this for centuries, giving Peshat many uses and definitions. (Wikipedia, Peshat)) The sages in Midrash Shachar Tov, (Another name for Midrash Tehillim) Psalm 92, state that the first Sabbath after creation was as bright as the day until it became dark at the end of the Sabbath. Now, “between light and darkness,” is not addressing the six days of creation before the first human being was created but rather it is addressing the time from the creation of the first human being on earth. There was no darkness on the sixth day until the end of Shabbat (Motzi Shabbat). Therefore, human beings could not recite a blessing distinguishing between darkness and light until the conclusion of the first Sabbath. On the Saturday night, there were two havdalot (distinctions); one was between the holy and the ordinary, and one was between light and darkness. The sages placed, “Between holy and ordinary,” first, since it is for this reason that we recite the Havdalah blessing. Also in this way we would know that in the first Sabbath after creation there was only light and at sundown Saturday night (darkness and ordinary nature of the new week) occurred at once. Between Israel and the nations, refers to the generation of Babel since all the righteous souls came from the same storehouse until them but once God separated the seventh day from the other days of creation, God did so for the sake of the “additional soul” (Neshama Yetera) which would be given to Israel on the Sabbath. For our forefathers who observed the Torah and the Sabbath, a pure soul would come to them each week. That is why, “Between Israel and the nations' comes first. Between the seventh day (and the six days of creation) afterwards which has to do with the additional soul which came to each Jew on the Sabbath. From the time Abraham, our father, was circumcised they (Abraham Isaac and Jacob…..) had the status of an Israelite, as Rambam and others wrote. Before this the generation of the separation is alluded to by the expression “Between Israel and the nations,” as has been said.

Explanation: The Lord called the light “day,” i. e., the light of cleaving and holiness that we attain from God. This is the “governance of the day.” He called the darkness “night,” i. e., the forces of separation that separate us from His light. This is “the governance of the night” [see Genesis 1:5, 16]. Therefore, we sleep at night, which is one-sixtieth of death [see Berakhot 57b], which is [under] the governance of the Sitra Aḥara. Due to these two [categories of] governance, we are unable cleave to Him constantly, because we stop cleaving to Him due to the force of the governance of the night, which always returns over us and bars us from His service.

Chap. 2 ends on a note that looks forward and backward simultaneously. The fourfold “God” plus verb (vv.24–25) echo the same structure at Creation’s first day (Gen. 1:3–5), and suggest that he puts his concern for the people of Israel on a par with his concern for creation of light (connoting “good” in folklore). In addition, the four verbs used here play a prominent role in the entire Deliverance Narrative, as Isbell has shown.

We conclude that, “The days of your life,” means to mention it during the day... By adding “All,” the verse includes the obligation to mention it at night as well. The Sages did not agree with this interpretation since they thought of the night as a continuation of the day, as in the verse, “There was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Gen. 1:5) If so, then ‘night’ is included in the word ‘day,’ and all twenty four hours are called “day.” Therefore, we learn something different from the verse that states that we are obligated to recite the passage dealing with fringes. The Sages interpret this verse as follows: “The days of your life” means in this world, the world of exile, and the word “All” comes to include Messianic times, for even in that time mentioning the Exodus will not be removed from our lips.

The Constitution of the World, and the Disposition of the Elements. 1. IN THE beginning God created the heaven and the earth; but when the earth did not come into sight, but was covered with thick darkness, and a wind moved upon its surface, God commanded that there should be light; and when that was made, he considered the whole mass, and separated the light and the darkness; and the name he gave to one was Night, and the other he called Day; and he named the beginning of light and the time of rest, The Evening and The Morning; and this was indeed the first day: but Moses said it was one day,—the cause of which I am able to give even now; but because I have promised to give such reasons for all things in a treatise by itself, I shall put off its exposition till that time. After this, on the second day, he placed the heaven over the whole world, and separated it from the other parts; and he determined it should stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] round it, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture and rain and for affording the advantage of dews. On the third day he appointed dry land to appear, with the sea itself round about it; and on this very same day he made the plants and the seeds to spring out of the earth. On the fourth day he adorned the heaven with the sun, the moon, and the other stars, and appointed them their motions and courses, that the vicissitudes of the seasons might be clearly signified. And on the fifth day he produced the living creatures, both those that swim and those that fly, the former in the sea, the latter in the air: he also sorted them as to society and mixture, for procreation, and that their kinds might increase and multiply. On the sixth day he created the four-footed beasts, and made them male and female: on the same day he also formed man. Accordingly Moses says, That in just six days the world and all that is therein was made; and that the seventh day was a rest, and a release from the labour of such operations;—whence it is that we celebrate a rest from our labours on that day, and call it the Sabbath, which word denotes rest in the Hebrew tongue.

According to Philo, it is not explicitly stated "the way of God," but rather "his way," since this refers to the degradation of humanity, the name of God is not mentioned in the text. This is his method in several places, where the Lord does not mention His name regarding evil, and He does not share His name on punishments and curses, as stated in "On the Confusion of Tongues" and "On Migration and Encounter". Even though Philo has a few instances where God punishes directly and not through an agent, as seen in "On the Life of Moses" I, 97 and Exodus 12:23, and in the response to Exodus I, 23, and as mentioned earlier in Genesis 3:22, and the commentary on Genesis I, 55, this method is really like the method of Rabbi Yochanan: "Rabbi Eliezer ben Pedat said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, the name of God is not mentioned regarding evil, only regarding good. Know that this is so, when God created light and darkness and called them names, He mentioned His name regarding light and did not mention His name regarding darkness, as it is said (Genesis 1:5), "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." Similarly, when He created Adam and Eve, He mentioned His name on them." As it is said (Genesis 48:16), "And may God bless them," and when he cursed them, he did not mention His name upon them, etc. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not wish to perform the evil Himself, but rather through an angel (Talmud Bavli, Tazria 12). See also Genesis 19:12-13; Exodus 12:23 and in the commentary of Rabbi Hayyim ben Attar. "From this we learn that the Torah's ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring punishment without mentioning His name. Similarly, when it says 'and He destroyed all living things,' it does not say 'and God destroyed all living things'" (Rabbi Hayyim ben Attar, Genesis 7:11). Further examples can be found in his commentary.

[165] Then he mentions cold and heat, summer and spring, the seasons of the year, as being separated by the same divider, equality (Gen. 8:22). Again the three days before the sun’s creation are equal in number to the three which followed it (Gen. 1:5 ff.), the whole six being divided by equality to express time and eternity. For God dedicated the three before the sun to eternity, and the three after it to time, which is a copy of eternity.

On the topic of one who forgot to pray and seeks to compensate for the prayer that he missed, a dilemma was raised before them in the study hall: One who erred and did not recite the afternoon prayer, what is the ruling? May he recite in the evening prayer two Amida prayers? The Gemara articulates the sides of the dilemma: If you say that one who erred and did not pray the evening prayer prays in the morning prayer two Amida prayers, perhaps that is because the evening and the morning are both part of one day, as it is written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5); the evening and the following morning constitute a single unit. But here, in the case under discussion, perhaps prayer is in place of sacrifice. Since in the case of sacrifice we say, since its day passed, its sacrifice is invalid and there is no way to compensate for the missed opportunity, the same should be true for prayer. Or, perhaps, since prayer is supplication, any time that one wishes, he may continue to pray?

However, there is another possible explanation for why the mishna opens with the evening Shema rather than with the morning Shema. If you wish, you could say instead that the tanna derives the precedence of the evening Shema from the order of the creation of the world. As it is written in the story of creation: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). According to this verse, day begins with the evening and not the morning. For both of these reasons it was appropriate to open the discussion of the laws of the recitation of Shema with the evening Shema.

All of these are derived from the Torah: Heaven and earth, as it is written: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Tohu and vohu, as it is written: “And the earth was unformed and void [tohu vavohu]” (Genesis 1:2). Light and darkness; darkness, as it is written: “And darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2); light, as it is written: “And God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Wind and water, as it is written: “And the wind of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The length of day and the length of night, as it is written: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).

MISHNA: With regard to the phrase “one day” that is stated with regard to the prohibition against slaughtering an animal itself and its offspring, the day follows the night. Therefore, one may slaughter an animal during the day and slaughter its offspring that night, but one may not slaughter an animal at night and slaughter its offspring the following day. Rabbi Shimon ben Zoma derived this by means of a verbal analogy. It is stated in the act of Creation: “One day” (Genesis 1:5), and it is stated with regard to the slaughter of an animal itself and its offspring: “One day” (Leviticus 22:28). Just as concerning the phrase “one day” that is stated in the act of Creation, the day follows the night, so too concerning the phrase “one day” that is stated with regard to the slaughter of an animal itself and its offspring, the day follows the night.

“Also, one does not recite the benediction over a lamp unless one has profited from its light. (Quote from the Mishnah.) ” Rebbi Zeïra, the son of Rebbi Abbahu, preached: (Gen. 1:4) “God saw the light that it was good” and after that, “God separated between the light and the darkness. (In imitatio Dei, one should not make Havdalah until he saw the light and that it is useful. The same paragraph is found in Bereshit rabba3(7) in slightly more explicit language.) ”. Rebbi Berekhiah said: The following was preached by the two greats of the world, Rebbi Yoḥanan and Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: “God separated,” a true separation. Rebbi Yehudah, the son of Rebbi Simon, said: He separated it for Himself (That this is the light of the Shekhinah.) . But the rabbis say, He separated it for the just in the future world. They gave a parable, to what can this situation be compared? To a king who had two generals (Greek (sing.) στρατηγός.) ; both of them said: “I want to command during the day.” He called the first one and told him: day shall be your domain. He called the second one and told him: night shall be your domain. That is what is written: (Gen. 1:5) “God called the light ‘day’, etc.” To the light he said: day shall be your domain; but to the darkness he said: night shall be your domain. Rebbi Yoḥanan said, that it is which the Holy One, praise to Him, said to Job: (Job 38:12) “Did you ever command the morning, did you inform the morning of its place?” Do you know the place where the light of the Six Days of Creation was hidden? Rebbi Tanḥuma said: I shall give its reason. (Is. 45:7) “He Who fashioned the light and created darkness, He makes peace.” When it left (In Bereshit rabba: “From the moment that they were created, He is making peace.”) , it made peace between them.

(Parallel sources are Gen. rabba 6(1), Pesiqta dRav Cahana Haḥodesh, Pesiqta rabbati 15 (Haḥodesh).) Rebbi Shila from Kefar Tamarta in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: He made the moon for festive times, the sun knows its destination (Ps. 104.19.) . Because the sun knows its destination, He made the moon for festive times (Since the motion of the sun through the seasons is almost not perceptible, holidays are defined by phases of the moon.) . Rebbi Berekhiah said, it is written (Num. 33:3. The argument is about the statement in the verse, on the 15th day of the month.) : They travelled from Rameses in the first month,etc. When {the sun} sets on the nights of the holiday there were fourteen settings preceding it (This implies that the time of sunset on the first of Nisan must already be part of the new month.) . This means that one counts for the moon from the setting of the sun. Rebbi Simon said, they shall be (Gen. 1:14. At the creation it is stated that sun and moon together determine the holidays.) , by both of them. Rebbi Joḥanan said, it was evening, it was morning, one day (Gen. 1:5. Without the preceding evening the day is not complete and is not counted.) . Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, the month (Ex. 12:2. Since “month” is written defective, it may be read “new”.) , until it be totally from the new one. You are finding to say, what Rebbi Joḥanan said requires the statement of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish, and what Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said requires the statement of Rebbi Joḥanan. If Rebbi Joḥanan had stated his but Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had not made his statement, we would have said that he only said that all might be from the new one (The verse in Gen. does not indicate any relationship with the declaration of the new moon; therefore the verse in Ex. is needed.) . Therefore it is necessary that Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish made his statement. Or if Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had stated his but Rebbi Joḥanan had not made his statement, we would have said that he stated day, therefore not night (The verse in Ex. does not indicate how a day is defined. Without the verse in Gen. we could split a day between two months. Babli 20b.) . Therefore what Rebbi Joḥanan said is necessary and what Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said is necessary.

The Gemara cites additional verses where vayhi is not indicative of impending grief: But isn’t it written: “And it came to pass [vayhi] in the four hundred and eightieth year” (I Kings 6:1), which discusses the joyous occasion of the building of the Temple? And furthermore, isn’t it written: “And it came to pass [vayhi] when Jacob saw Rachel” (Genesis 29:10), which was a momentous occasion? And isn’t it written: “And it was [vayhi] evening, and it was [vayhi] morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5)? And isn’t there the second day of Creation, and isn’t there the third day, where the term vayhi is used? And aren’t there many verses in the Bible in which the term vayhi appears and no grief ensues? Apparently, the proposed principle is incorrect.

After citing several verses where vayhi portends grief, the Gemara mentions a number of verses that seem to indicate otherwise. But isn’t it written: “And it came to pass [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1), which was the day of the dedication of the Tabernacle? And it is taught in a baraita with regard to that day: On that day there was joy before the Holy One, Blessed be He, similar to the joy that existed on the day on which the heavens and earth were created. The Gemara cites a verbal analogy in support of this statement. It is written here, with regard to the dedication of the Tabernacle: “And it came to pass [vayhi] on the eighth day,” and it is written there, in the Creation story: “And it was [vayhi] evening, and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). This indicates that there was joy on the eighth day, when the Tabernacle was dedicated, similar to the joy that existed on the day the world was created. Apparently, the term vayhi is not necessarily a portent of grief.

§ The mishna concludes: And with regard to all these things, if one did them after daybreak they are valid. The Gemara asks: From where is this matter derived, that from daybreak it is already considered daytime? Rava said: As the verse states: “And God called the light [or] day” (Genesis 1:5), meaning: To that which was becoming lighter and lighter he called day. The Hebrew word or is not to be understood in its usual sense of light, but as a verbal noun: that which is becoming lighter and lighter. It teaches that as soon as light begins to appear in the sky it is called daytime.

The Gemara raises a difficulty with this interpretation: However, if it is so that Rava’s interpretation of this phrase is correct, the following phrase: “And the darkness [ḥoshekh] He called night” (Genesis 1:5), should be interpreted in a similar fashion: That which was becoming darker and darker He called night, so that immediately after sunset it would be considered nighttime. But don’t we maintain that until the stars come out it is not nighttime? We are forced to say that ḥoshekh literally means darkness, and similarly, or in the first part of the verse literally means light.

Rava said to him: I have not heard a solution for this problem from my teachers. However, with regard to a similar problem I heard a solution from them, as we learned in a mishna (Ta’anit 26a): On Sunday, the non-priestly watches would read two paragraphs from the Torah: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1–5) and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6–8). And it is taught in that regard that the paragraph “In the beginning” was read by two readers and the paragraph “Let there be a firmament” by one reader.

The Gemara asks: Also with regard to days, isn’t it written: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5), which indicates that each day is a separate unit? Consequently, one who vows to be a nazirite: From here until such and such a place, should be considered to have accepted upon himself distinct terms of naziriteship corresponding to the number of days it takes to travel to the designated destination.

The Gemara raises an objection: “And God called the or Day, and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5). Apparently, or is day. The Gemara rejects this proof as well. This is what the verse is saying: God called the advancing light Day. As stated previously, the word or can also be a verb; in this context, God called the beginning of that which eventually brightens, Day. The Gemara challenges this explanation: However, if that is so, the continuation of the verse, “and the darkness He called Night,” should be understood to mean: He called the advancing darkness Night, even before it is actually dark. However, this cannot be the correct interpretation of the verse, as we maintain it is day until the emergence of the stars. Since the stars emerge only after the sky begins to darken, the advancing evening cannot be defined as part of the night.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The day of the ingathering of exiles is as great as the day on which heaven and earth were created. This is derived by means of a verbal analogy between the word day in these two contexts, as it is stated concerning the ingathering of exiles: “And the children of Judea and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel” (Hosea 2:2), and it is written in the narrative of Creation: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5).

Speaking of judgment, the Gemara relates that Rav Ami and Rav Asi would sit and study between the pillars beneath the study hall. And each and every hour they would knock on the bolt of the door and say: If there is someone who has a case that requires judgment, let him enter and come before us. The Gemara also relates that Rav Ḥisda and Rabba bar Rav Huna would sit in judgment all day and their hearts would grow weak from hunger. Therefore, Rav Ḥiyya bar Rav from Difti taught them a baraita with regard to the verse: “And it was the next day and Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood over Moses from the morning until the evening” (Exodus 18:13). Does it enter your mind that Moses would sit and judge all day long? If so, when was his Torah study accomplished? Rather, surely the verse is coming to tell you: Any judge who judges a true judgment truthfully, even if he sits in judgment only one hour, the verse ascribes to him as if he became a partner to the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the act of Creation, as by means of a true judgment he upholds the world (Me’iri). This conclusion is derived by means of a verbal analogy [gezera shava]: It is written here: “And the people stood over Moses from the morning until the evening.” And it is written there, in the act of Creation: “And it was evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). The evening and part of the morning are considered a whole day. With regard to this issue as well, it is sufficient for the judges to sit in judgment for only part of the day and there is no need for them to starve themselves by sitting in judgment all day.

Next day, Moses sat as magistrate among the people, while the people stood about Moses from morning until evening.

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

Elohim called the light day, and the darkness He called night. It became evening and it became morning, one day.

And Allah named the time of the light "Daylight", and the time of darkness, He named "Night"; and then it went from the nighttime to daylight. Day one.

And it was evening, and it was morning, in the order of the work of the creation, (or of the beginning) the First Day.

And the Lord called the light Day; and He made it that the inhabiters of the world might labour by it: and the darkness called He night; and He made it that in it the creatures might have rest. And it was evening, and it was morning, the First Day.

And God called the light day, and to the dark he called night, and it was day and night; the first day of the Genesis order.

He therefore has to be a scholar and a saint. These two qualities are the aspects of “an angel of the God of Hosts.” This that he is a scholar corresponds to the aspect of “angel,” which is Metat. As is written, “God said, ‘Let there be a firmament… to divide between water and water’” (Genesis 1:6) —this is Metat. He corresponds to the Mishnah, which separates between clear waters and sullied waters, between impure and pure, between forbidden and permitted, etc. (Tikkuney Zohar 30, p.83a). And he has to resemble his Maker, being a saint through his good deeds; the aspect of “the God of Hosts.”

4D. This is the concept of the nine vowel points, the nine firmaments. The vowel points correspond to firmaments, which are the aspect of barriers. A barrier is like a firmament, which is a curtain that separates and screens out a person and keeps him from the thing. As it is written (Genesis 1:6), “Let there be a firmament… and let it divide”—the firmament is a barrier that separates and divides between the desirer and the desired objective. This is why the earth, too, is called RaKiA (firmament), as it is written (Psalms 136:6), “l’RoKA (to spread out) the earth upon the waters.” For the earth, too, is an area that divides and separates. The nine vowel points are therefore the aspect of the nine firmaments, because the vowel points are made through desire, and desire comes primarily from the barrier, which is the aspect of a firmament, as explained.

And Korach took (Numbers 16:1) the targum is "and he separated himself". It seems to me that we need to first explain the verse "and there be a partition between the waters etc" (Genesis 1:6). Behold, one needs to understand about the fact that when the Holy Blessed One created the world there would be tzadikim and evil people. Isn't it true that the Holy Blessed name has no desire for evil people? And yet, due to "there is no tzadik in the earth [that does good and does not sin]" (Eccl. 7:20) and so that there will be no accuser for the tzadik, because the tzadik needs to fix the worlds, which is a subtle and spiritual work, then through evil people the righteousness of the tzadik is recognized and seen. This is according to what King Solomon PBUH wrote "as the advantage etc the advantage of the wise against the fool" (not a precise quote, but see Eccl. 2:13). And the explanation of the commentators is that just as through darkness one recognizes light, so too through a fool one recognizes the advantage of the wisdom for the wise. And when the accuser sees the evil of the evil people in contrast with the righteousness of the tzadik, because the tzadik chooses life using the freedom of choice given by the Holy Blessed Name, then the accuser shuts their mouth against accusing even more the tzadik. And this is the explanation for "there be a divider between the waters" - meaning, the tzadik is called raki'a 'divider' because of the subtlety and the spirituality. That word comes from "and they beat out וַֽיְרַקְּעוּ the sheets of gold" (Ex. 39:3) - meaning, that a tzadik should have the strength to fix, through the holy Torah, which is called 'water'. "and it will separate between water and water" meaning, if so, there is a necessity of there being a divider between waters, and this is that a person will be a tzadik, and it is also given into someone's hand the choice of being the opposite, God forbid. And even such a person still has a part in Torah, as they said "the empty ones among you are filled with mitzvot like a pomegranate is full with seeds" (Brachot 57a). And when the accuser sees the difference between the tzadik and the evil person, the accuser is not able to accuse anymore, and so the tzadik is free to do their work, as we explained.

It is written in the Midrash Rabbah (Bereshit, 4): “And God made the firmament in the midst of the waters” (Bereshit 1:7). This is one of the verses where Ben Zoma’s (Ben Zoma was considered to be one of the greatest interpreters of the Torah of his day (2nd century, CE). He was one of the four sages who “entered the Orchard” of mystical experience. The other three being Ben Azzai, Elisha ben Abuya, and R. Akiva. Due to the intense nature of the experience, Ben Zoma went mad, Ben Azzai died, and Elisha ben Abuya became a heretic and was subsquently known as Acher – “Other.” Only R. Akiva entered and departed in peace.) explanation shook the world and perplexed the sages. (The following passage from the tractate Hagiga (15a) describes the incident: Our Rabbis taught: Once Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiya was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma saw him and did not stand up before him. So Rabbi Yehoshua said to him, “What are you contemplating, Ben Zoma?” He replied, “I was gazing between the upper and the lower waters, and there is only three fingerbreadths between them, for it is said (Bereshit 1:6), And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters - like a dove which hovers over her young without touching them.” Thereupon Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students, “Ben Zoma is still outside.” See now, when was it that ‘the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water? It was on the first day of Creation. But the division took place on the second day, for it is written: And let it divide the waters from the waters!’ And what is the size of the division? Rabbi Akha ben Yaakov said, “a hair’s breadth.” According to R. Gershon Hanokh, Ben Zoma was attributing the division between G-d and creation to the very roots of reality – to the first day of creation. However, as Rabbi Yehoshua pointed out, the division between G-d and creation only occurred on the second day, with the creation of the firmament. And even in those terms, Ben Zoma was still wrong, as he perceived a significant division between the upper and lower worlds (three fingerbreadths), whereas the division is no more than a hair; meaning to say, the division between G-d and creation is extremely slight, and exists only from the human perspective, as explained above. For further discussion of this see Living Waters: The Mei HaShiloach, (Tr. Betzalel Edwards), Parshat Emor, on the verse, “and you shall not do so in your land.”) Wasn’t the creation of the firmament already included in the statement (Tehillim, 33:6), “The heavens were created with God’s word, and the spirit of His breath all their hosts”? (Verse six in the first chapter of Genesis says, “And God said, let there be a firmament.” Verse seven says, “And God made the firmament.” Yet the psalm teaches us, “The heavens were created with God’s word,” meaning, God’s word created the universe immediately. Thus, if the firmament was already created in verse six, why in verse seven does it say, “God made the firmament”? To Ben Zoma, this implied a division between G-d and His actions.) Rashi explains to us that Ben Zoma perplexed the sages by saying that he gazed and saw that the distance between the upper and lower waters was three fingerbreadths. The Midrash goes on to say that it was not long after this that he died. Concerning the creation of the firmament and the division of the waters, the Ramban asked why in verse 6 the Torah says, “Let there be a firmament in the waters,” and then again in verse 7 it says, “And God made the firmament.” Wasn’t the firmament already made in verse 6? (According to Ramban, this is the exact problem that bothered Ben Zoma. It was not only on account of the word, “He made” since on the fourth, fifth, and sixth days it also says, “He made.” Rather, Ben Zoma’s problem was that on other days, immediately after God’s utterance (“let there be”), it is written, “and it was so.” This implies that it came into being immediately after the utterance. Yet on the second day, after it says, “and God said, let there be a firmament,” it goes on to say, “and He made.” (before it says, “and it was so.”) The Ramban suggests that Ben Zoma had some secret interpretation of the verse that he did not want to reveal. (See the Ramban for his own reconciliation of this problem.)) Truly, both explanations are true and one. The mistake of Ben Zoma was that he posited too great a distance between the upper and the lower waters. This is the meaning of the statement, “Ben Zoma glimpsed and died.” (According to the Babylonian Talmud, Ben Zoma went mad, but Ben Azzai died. According to Palestinian Tamud, Ben Zoma died, and Ben Azzai went mad. ) The Mei HaShiloach gives a brief explanation of this. The Gemara (Hagiga, 15b) records Ben Zoma saying, “I was gazing between the upper and the lower waters, and there is only three fingerbreadths between them.” Upon hearing this, Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students, “Ben Zoma is still on the outside.” (Simply explained, this means after his mystical experience, Ben Zoma’s perception became damaged, and the sages of his day felt that they could no longer rely upon him. On a deeper level, R. Yehoshua may have been saying that Ben Zoma perception was outside the realm of unity.) What was the actual distance between the upper and lower waters? “Rabbi Aha ben Yaakov said a hairbreadth. And the Rabbis said the space between the boards of a narrow bridge. Mar Zutra (or maybe Rav Assi) said as the space between two garments spread one over the other; and others say, the space between two cups fitted one over the other.” The subject of the space between the upper waters and the lower waters is hinted at in the matter of the firmament, which alludes to the separation between the upper and lower worlds. The creation of the firmament made a division between the upper and lower worlds, as it is written in the Zohar (Bereshit, 17a): “And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters.” (Bereshit, 1:6) This is the secret of the rectification, specifically of the separation between the upper and lower waters, in the secret of the left… A conflict that is arrayed as above, (D. Matt’s translation was partially used in this passage. ) which rises and does descend, (Meaning, a conflict exists in this world, similar to the conflict above – i.e. the division between heaven and earth; that is the Talmudic debate between Shammai and Hillel, which was a “makhloket l’shem shamayim” – a dispute for the sake of Heaven, and ultimately reconciled (Pirkei Avot, 5:17), just as the division between heaven and earth will ultimately be reconciled. The opposite is the conflict of Korah, which was a a “makhloket sh’lo l’shem shamayim” – not for the sake of heaven, and thus will not endure. It is similar to the false division perceived by Ben Zoma. ) and which exists on a straight path, is the dispute of Shammai and Hillel. There God separated between the two and reconciled them. Since this was a conflict for the sake of Heaven, the Heavens mediated the conflict, and because of this it endures. (Matt renders, “and upon this conflict the world was established,” based on another version. ) This is akin to the creation of the world. Korah (in his dispute with Moshe) went against the work of creation. He was in dispute with the heavens. He wanted to contradict the words of Torah. In his dispute he was certainly cleaving to hell, and hell clove to him. This secret is written in the book of Adam. The reason for the separation between the upper and lower realms is in order give man the ability to serve God. The division creates darkness and a concealment of the Divine Presence. Man can then serve God through the power of his own free choice. This is as was mentioned above in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 70) and is mentioned in the Zohar (Tetsave, 184a): Man only serves God from amidst darkness… (G-d’s worship is not complete until it arises out of man’s free will. But in order for many to have free will, he cannot be aware of G-d’s presence. A level of darkness, concealment, or “division” between the upper and lower worlds must exist. ) Therefore God created the “Tree of Doubt” which is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents the consciousness that perceives a separation between heaven and earth. When it is used to bring man closer to G-d, it is called a “controversy (i.e. division) for the sake of heaven.” However, when the dualistic perception is taken to its most negative extreme, it posits an unbridgeable gap, which is the root of all irreconcilable controversies, that are “not for the sake of heaven.” ) In this way man can serve God out of this very uncertainty. This is as it is said (ibid.): Light is only that which comes out of darkness. When this side is subdued, the Holy One, blessed be He, ascends above, and His Glory is magnified. (The only true service of God is that which arises from a situation of doubt and confusion.) Indeed, from the downward evolutions and concatenations of the branches of the Tree of Doubt, there eventually arises the phenomenon of the dispute which is not for the sake of Heaven, like the dispute of Korah. (The Radziner is presenting a tremendously novel concept, namely that the root of all earthly conflicts lie in the contradiction between God’s omnipresence and His concealment. Though He is everywhere, as the Torah states, “there is none else besides Him,” yet our normal human perceptions contradict this. Similarly, though God directs everything in the world, we still have free choice to do as we please. Yet, it is the concealment of the Divine that provides us with the ability to freely serve Him. When the Zohar says, “The Heavens mediated this conflict, and thus it endures,” it means that only through God’s illumination can the human mind grasp the reconciliation of these paradoxes. ) This is because the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil also contains separate evil. This is included in the divine utterance of creation, “Let there be a firmament,” – which is separate – and creates a division between the upper and lower realms.

In like manner, on the second day, the attribute of might, which is composed of the other attributes and His will, and so on, was revealed and He created with it the firmament through the Utterance, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (Genesis 1:6.) This [separation of the waters] is the quality of tzimtzum and restraints, to conceal the upper spiritual waters from the lower waters. Through this separation from the upper waters, the lower waters became material. And the attribute of kindness is included in it [might] as “The world is built with Kindness,” (Psalms 89:3.) for all this [the division of the waters] is in order that dry land appear and man upon it to worship G–d. And similarly, each [of the other attributes of the Holy One, blessed is He, was revealed on each subsequent day of creation].

As, for example, through the words of the utterance “Let there be a firmament…” (Genesis 1:6.) the seven heavens and all their celestial hosts were created. As our Sages, of blessed memory, stated, “Shechakim, in which millstones stand and grind manna for the tzaddikim…, Z’vul, in which [the heavenly] Jerusalem and the Holy Temple and the Altar [are built]…, Machon, in which there are the stores of snow and the stores of hail….” (Chagigah 12b.) The heavens as a whole were created and live and exist through the aggregate words of the utterance “Let there be a firmament…,” and each individual created being in the seven heavens was created and lives and exists from some combination of the letters of these words, or their substitutions and transpositions, according to the quality of the life-force of that particular creature.

It is written: “Forever, O L–rd, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” (Psalms 119:89.) The Baal Shem Tov, (Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), founder of the Chasidic movement.) of blessed memory, has explained that “Your word” which you uttered, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…,” (Genesis 1:6.) these very words and letters (I.e., the Divine creating forces which bring everything into existence ex nihilo. See below, ch. 11, for a full explanation of this concept. See also Likkutei Amarim, Part I, chs. 20-22.) stand firmly forever within the firmament of heaven and are forever clothed within all the heavens to give them life, as it is written, “The word of our G–d shall stand firm forever” (Isaiah 40:8.) and “His words live and stand firm forever….” (Cf. Liturgy, Morning Prayer, Blessing after the Shema.) For if the letters were to depart [even] for an instant, G–d forbid, and return to their source, all the heavens would become naught and absolute nothingness, and it would be as though they had never existed at all, exactly as before the utterance, “Let there be a firmament.”

And as known what the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, said (See Likkutei Amarim, Part II, ch. 1, and cf. Midrash Tehillim 119:36. (See Hayom Yom, 26 Tishrei.)—See also the anthology Sefer Baal Shem Tov al Hatorah, section Bereishit, par. 48-51.) on the verse (Psalms 119:89.) “Forever, O L–rd, Your word stands firm in the heavens”: The combinations of the letters wherewith the heavens were created, i.e., the fiat “Let there be a firmament…,” (Genesis 1:6; cf. Mayim Rabbim 5636, ch. 20.) stand and remain vested in the Heavens forever, to vivify and sustain them.

We similarly find this [matter] in the six days of creation. The first day is the aspect of the Chessed – Kindness of “Let there be light,” (Genesis 1:3) while the second day is the aspect of the Gevurah – Judgment of “Let there be a firmament,” (Genesis 1:6) as it states in the Zohar, (Zohar I 205a, and Zohar III 94b.) “Each day has its function.”

And from the combinations of the second day, (Genesis 1:6) “Let there be a firmament-Yehiy Rakia-יהי רקיע,” come the aspect of judgment of Malchut, which is the source for the second millennium.

The firmament is a half-sphere filled with the lower waters. "And there was a division between the waters, between the upper waters," which is the upper half-sphere. Regarding the waters, it is a half-sphere, from the lower waters, and the separation itself is what our Sages of blessed memory referred to as "like the interlocking parts of a puzzle." This is what it is. The sky is called "fargod" because it includes the sky called "vilon" and it rolls like a curtain. This is what I heard from behind the fargod. Those who dwell in the air under the stars are subject to their authority, and our sages of blessed memory said that the sky, which was created on the second day, was made of fire above and water below. The philosophers do not know which are the upper waters that are above it. The ones who follow them mistakenly attribute the order of the four elements to "ARaG'M" (earth, air, water, and fire), but the sense testifies that it is "ARaMaG" (air, water, earth, and fire), as I explained in my book. The sky is like a half-sphere hollowed out inside upper waters, as it says in the Beraisa of Samuel, and it reaches down to the lower waters, which is the ocean, as the waters flow to one place, which is the ocean. The celestial spheres move in the sky until they reach the ocean, and then they move in the ocean. It was said in Perek Shirah that at night the sun moves in the ocean, and this sky moves only in the upper waters. The waters on which it moves reach down to the lower waters, where they connect together, and this is what it says, "And there was a separation between the waters and the waters." Our sages of blessed memory said that the sky is like two crowns pressed against each other like two halves of a sphere, with only a little air separating them. This is what they meant when they said that the upper heavens depend on the word of God.

יהי רקיע בתוך המים, “let there be a horizon in the midst of the waters.” The heaven of which the Torah spoke as being part of G-d’s creative activity on the first “day,” had been an enclave within the waters which had covered the entire “universe” at that time. This paragraph therefore is closely associated with the previous one, i.e. to what had happened on the first “day.” The proof of this lies in the sentence that G-d had created heaven and earth, which makes it clear that both had been created on the first “day. (Compare Genesis 2,4, where the Torah refers specifically to the horizon having been created on the same day as heaven and earth).

ויהי מבדיל, “so that it can serve as a separating domain, (between water and water.)” The horizon was supposed to raise itself. In other words, the horizon existed since the first day and had not yet begun to fulfill its function of being an atmosphere between heaven and earth. A different exegesis: the answer to the question which “horizon” the Torah is speaking about in this verse, is that it is the one above the chavot. the highest category of angels in heaven. (Compare Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 4 That Rabbi quotes Ezekiel 1,22 as his source)

And it separated: Meaning a screen that separates.

The water from the water: [This] will yet be explained in the next verse.

AND GOD SAID. Saadiah Gaon says things about the firmament that are not so. (Saadiah says that the waters are congealed on the firmament in a manner similar to the albumen of an egg. Saadiah also identifies the firmament with heaven (Krinsky).) The correct interpretation of firmament (raki’a) is something spread out, as in And they did beat (va-yirakke’u) the gold into thin plates (Ex. 39:3); Then did I beat them (erka’em) (II Sam. 22:43); and similarly, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in (Is. 40:22). How precious are the words of he who said that the firmament begins at the point where the sun and the ocean merge. (Reading ketzot ha-shamayim, as in Vat. Ebr. 38, for ketzot ha-shemesh. Cf. Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, Chap. III.) The firmament is the air because when the light shone very strongly upon the earth and a wind dried off from the earth, the flame turned into the firmament. (I.E. apparently alludes here to “the light as the medium whereby the chaotic base elements were progressively transformed into their present form” (Levine). Fire was believed to be one of the primeval elements out of which the world was created. I.E. believed that this element “changed and became the raki’a (firmament)” (Cohen).) Similarly (Ps. 104:2 describes the heaven (firmament) as being “stretched out like a curtain,” which agrees with I.E.’s interpretation that the firmament is “something spread out.” Furthermore, Psalm 104, like Gen. 1:6-10, first describes the creation of the sky and then that of the dry land.) the Psalmist states, Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; Who layest the beams of Thine upper chambers in the waters (Ps. 104:2 and 3). The Psalmist then makes mention of the clouds and the wind and the establishment of the earth. The latter is above the waters. We thus read, For He hath founded it (the earth) upon the seas (Ps. 24:2), and To Him that spread forth the earth above the waters (Ps. 136:6). Similarly whoever goes to the ocean is said to be going down. (For the earth is above the waters. Cf. Ps. 107:23.) The meaning of (He) That calleth for the waters of the sea, And poureth them out upon the face of the earth (Which implies that the waters are above the earth.) (Amos 5:8) is that God commands the waters of the sea to give birth to clouds, and, afterward, And (He) poureth them out upon the face of the earth.

"Let there be a firmament:" In Chagigah 12a, [it is written,] "Rav said, 'At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it expanded like two bundles of woof, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and made it stand in place, as it is written (Job 26:11), "The pillars of the skies tremble, and are astonished by his rebuke."' and this is what was stated by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, 'That which is written (Genesis 35:11), "I am the Power, the Omnipotent [Sha-dai, which can be broken down into two words that mean, that enough]," I am the One that said to my world, "Enough!"' and some say [that he said,] 'At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it expanded and continued, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it, etc.'" And we should reflect upon what the writer of this statement told us, since [ostensibly, we could simply discard it and say] 'what was, was.' And it appears, that he is coming to advise man, [about] that which we see; that is in his nature to always long for his actions to extend without end and without limit and that everything should be permissible in his eyes; 'everything that he wants, he does;' and if a man relies on his nature, then there will be no boundary and end to the chariot of the lusting of his desire; and anarchy [would seem] good for him, such that there should be no limiting and stop to any action; up until God rebuked us through this Torah, which gives us a boundary and measure to all [our] actions; [to inform us] how far they can extend, according to the divine Will, and up until where is it permitted for [man] to send out the rein of his desire.

And it is a wonder about man, how is it that he did not find it in his intellect to set up a limit and measure for all of his actions - as with the rational commandments and what is similar to them - without divine intervention, since the intellect [should] compel [the rational commandments]. About this [the Torah] said, don't wonder about this desire [that gets in the way of his intellect,] since man acquired his nature from those that gave birth to him. Given that all men are formed from the skies, the land and the sea; since the soul is from the sky and the body is from the earth, which is made like clay, with water, as was explained by Rashi on the verse (Genesis 6:2), "And mist went up from the earth." And from the three of them a man is made complete, since the word, man [eesh] is [made up of] the first letters of earth [erets], sea [yam] and air [shamayim]. And usually, one finds the nature of the parents in the offspring; and so too, man received the nature of his 'parents,' sky, land and sea; since all of them were expanding and continuing without end, until God rebuked them - as that which it stated, "it was continually expanding," is also speaking about the earth, since this is the reason it mentions two bundles. And from then on, this has become the perpetual nature of all who are created from them, since 'like them will be their makers' - that [man] will have the will to expand in all of his actions without end.

And nonetheless, the author of this statement comes to reprove man, to tell [him] that if he acquired their nature that he should have a desire to expand, as mentioned, behold, he should, at least, also acquire from them the good; to stop with the rebuke of God, may He be blessed, just like they stopped at the rebuke of God - in the manner of not going past it even a hair's breadth, so [too] man should stop at the rebuke of God, in the measure and amount in which God limited all actions through this Torah. And this is the intention of the statement in the Yalkut, Parshat Ha'azinu (32:942), "Stare at the sky and earth and at the sea, etc... lest they changed their traits, etc." And this reason was stated by the Sages, of blessed memory, concerning the commandment of fringes (Sotah 17a), "Aquamarine is similar to the sea and the sea is similar to to the sky, etc.," since through the aquamarine, he will remember the sea and the sky, and learn from them to stop at the rebuke of God, not to change the measure [of what God forbids him], as will be explained, with God's help, in Parshat Shelach (Bemidbar 15:38). And that which it doesn't state, "Let there be a firmament and there was a firmament," in the [same] way that it states, "And there was light," is because 'a bad statement is not quickly done;' hence the firmament which teaches division was not done immediately; but the light, which was good for all, was done quickly, and so it immediately states, "And there was light."

And God said, "let there be a firmament, etc.": The explanation [of firmament] is the firmament that God created on the first day; as I have explained on the verse [starting with] "In the beginning," that everything was created together with one statement, but that the work of each thing was not [yet] refined according to its character. Now God said that it should acquire its place in the waters and that this thing would serve to separate between the waters and the waters. And see [my commentary] to the verse after this one.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי רקיע, actually this firmament, horizon, already existed, seeing that it was the atmosphere, the air, just as the Torah speaks in verse 20 of ועוף יעופף על הארץ “and the birds are to fly above the earth,” adding: על פני רקיע השמים “on the face of the firmament spanning the heavens.” What then do the words יהי רקיע mean? They mean that this רקיע should now become something substantial. It should now become capable of sustaining the atmosphere, the air. In other words, this רקיע, which up until this point had been above the waters and had therefore been very wet and weak, impeding the light from above it from properly penetrating to the earth below, should now function constructively. This רקיע did not become “strong” until the earth itself had become dry land, i.e. on the third “day.” Only at that point did the light encounter something solid, i.e. a hard place in the globe so that it condensed into becoming as if frozen due to its proximity to this earth. The רקיע was made on the second “day,” and the words ויאמר אלוקים יקוו המים ותראה היבשה, a directive (verse 9) issued on the third “day,” refers to an existing phenomenon. There are a number of such. This is nothing unusual. This is also the view expressed by Ibn Ezra, who writes in his commentary on verse 9 that “this paragraph is inextricably linked to the one preceding it,” refuting the view that the “horizon” was not created until the second day. But as soon as the wind dried out the earth on the first day the earth became hard enough (dry), and the powerful heat was transformed into what we know as the atmosphere, heat retreating upwards to the region of the “upper” waters. Proof that the atmosphere, רקיע, had already existed before the second day is Genesis 2,1 ביום עשות אלוקים שמים וארץ, “on the day G’d had made heaven and earth.” When something is hidden, not concentrated and its particles have not been defined, it does not yet qualify for the expression בריאה, “something which has been created.” This is what Ibn Ezra wrote, and his comments are perfectly correct.

בתוך המים, as far as this expression is concerned, it was necessary, seeing that the atmosphere itself was a component of the waters, [just as the Jewish people had been part of the Egyptian population prior to the Exodus so that G’d in redeeming them has spoken of taking גוי מקרב גוי, “one nation out of the very midst of the same nation” (Deut. 4,34. Ed.]

ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים, the meaning of these words is similar to the words בין המים אשר מתחת לרקיע ובין המים אשר מעל לרקיע, “between the waters which are below the atmosphere and the waters which are above the atmosphere.” (end of verse 7). These “upper” waters are normally something that exist only as a potential, awaiting the rising of vapours from the lower waters (oceans) i.e. moist air, to transform them into actual water, i.e. rain, as has been explained by the scientists. The “separation” was needed in order for the upper “waters” to retain the ability to be converted into actual waters as they had been prior to the separation. Only in this fashion would it become possible to also irrigate the high mountains on the surface of the earth. Personally, I am perplexed by what Maimonides wrote in his Moreh, page 235 of Rabbi Kapach’s edition, He compared the separation described here to the separation that G’d had made between light and darkness. How could this be, seeing that here the division is between what is “up,” on top, and what is “down,” below. The division was not a natural division, separation, such as that between light and darkness. How could Maimonides describe “this” division as טבעי, i.e. in the very nature of things? Still, the fact remains that Maimonides is correct, and he has enlightened us who had been walking in darkness, just as he has enlightened us concerning many other things. It is worthwhile to examine what our sages of old have written on this and how their understanding agrees with the result of the researches of the scientists in our time. (14th century) We read in Bereshit Rabbah 4,2 (a comment attributed by different scholars to two different authors) “at the time G’d said: “let there be an atmosphere within the waters,” the innermost drop of water froze (congealed) becoming what are known as the “lower” regions of heaven, as opposed to שמי השמים, the name by which the “upper” celestial regions are known. Rav says that whereas on the first day the heavens were in a wet, fluid state, they congealed on the second day. The words: יהי רקיע are a directive for this atmosphere to become strong; [to assume firm contours. Ed.] Rabbi Yuda in the name of Rabbi Seymon says that these words mean: יעשה מטלית לרקיע, “let the heaven be equipped with a cover.” The word is used in the same sense as in Exodus 39,3 וירקעו את פחי הזהב, “they beat the gold plates into thin plates.” Rabbi Chaninah said that a fire issued forth from above and lapped up the wet parts of the Rakia, thereby solidifying the remainder. When Rabbi Yochanan encountered the verse ברוחו שמים שפרה in Job 26,13, “By His spirit the heavens were calmed,” he used to say that Rabbi Chaninah had interpreted our verse correctly. Rabbi Yudan, son of Rabbi Shimon, would say that a fire issued forth from the upper regions and dried out the moisture of the Rakia by means of its heat. Rabbi Tanchuma (Bereshit Rabbah 4,3) said if the Torah had written the words ובין המים אשר על הרקיע, I would have said that the reference was to the substance of the rakia. Seeing that the Torah wrote אשר מעל לרקיע, this refers to the “upper waters” which had been suspended there by a Divine directive. Rabbi Acha added that the “fruit,” i.e. derivatives of the upper waters are the rains which earth receives from these regions. The sages said also that that the upper waters did not separate voluntarily from the lower waters but that they cried. We know this from Job 28,11 מבכי נהרות חבש indicating that the rain descends in droplets, similar to tears. All of this basically conforms to what we have written earlier. The sages (Bereshit Rabbah 4,5) said also that the rakia is comparable to a pool which is covered with a ceiling. Due to the evaporation of the waters in the pool rising, the ceiling appears to break out in perspiration, releasing heavy drops of moisture. These drops of moisture are not salty (as the ocean water below), and they do not mix with the ocean water. This mysterious phenomenon is what is referred to in Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 4 where we are told that in answer to the question which rakia was created on the second day? Rabbi Eliezer says that it was the rakia which is above the chayot [a category of certain angels and their habitat Ed.] seeing that we read in Ezekiel 1,22 ודמות על ראשי החיה רקיע, and there was a likeness above the chayoh resembling the rakia.” These “chayot” are not physical, do not possess a body.

LET THERE BE A FIRMAMENT. G-d now said that the substance which had come into being first — that which He created from nought — should be a firmament, stretched as a tent in the midst of the waters, separating between waters and waters. It is possible that this is what the Rabbis intended by their saying, (Bereshith Rabbah 4:1.) “Rav said, ‘The heavens were in a fluid form on the first day, and on the second day they solidified.’ Rav thus said, ‘Let there be a firmament means let the firmament become strong.’ Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon said, ‘Let the firmament become like a plate, just as you say in the verse, And they did beat — [vayerak’u contains the same root as raki’a, firmament] — the gold into thin plates.’” (Exodus 39:3.)

IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS. This means in the center of the waters, between the higher waters and the lower waters. For there is the same distance between the firmament and the waters upon the earth as between the higher waters and the firmament. Thus you may infer that the upper waters are suspended in space by the command of G-d. Thus it is explained in Bereshith Rabbah (4:2.) and in Rashi’s commentary. This is part of the process of creation [which those who know it are obliged to conceal]; so do not expect me to write anything about it, as the subject is one of the mysteries of the Torah, and the verses in their plain meaning do not require such an interpretation since Scripture itself did not go into it at length, and to give the interpretation is forbidden even to those who know it, and so much the more to us.

ויאמר אלוקים יהי רקיע, after the first day had been concluded with its morning, G’d issued a new directive.

רקיע, the word (noun) is a participle describing a creature such as עשיר which means the same as מעושר, “someone who has been equipped with wealth,” or the word חסיד, used to describe a pious individual. This noun is also a derivative from the word חסד, loving kindness, i.e. a חסיד is a creature equipped with this attribute of loving G’d. Now the universe was to be equipped with a horizon. Seeing that from the earth until the highest regions of the heaven there was an unbroken region filled with water, G’d now separated these waters in the “middle,” by making this firmament, expanse of atmosphere we call horizon. This רקיע appears as if stretched from east to west and from north to south effectively separating the “upper” layers of water from the “lower” ones. Seeing that G’d did not assign any specific function to the waters until the third “day” when He told the waters to congregate in a specific region so that the dry land beneath it should become visible, the expression “it was good,” is not mentioned in connection with the second day. This is compensated for on the third “day,” when this statement “it was good” appears twice in the Torah’s report. It appears after the waters complied with G’d’s directive, and after the earth, i.e. the dry land, produced the vegetation including fruit-bearing trees which G’d had commanded it to produce.

בין מים למים, so that half the waters would remain in the “upper” regions and half in the “lower” regions.

יהי רקיע BE THERE AN EXPANSE — Let the expansion become fixed; for although the heavens were created on the first day, they were still in a fluid form, and they became solidified only on the second day at the dread command (literally, rebuke) of the Holy One, blessed be He, when he said “Let the firmament be stable” (Genesis Rabbah 4:2). It is to this that allusion is made in what is written in (Job 26:11): “The pillars of heaven were trembling” (i. e. they were unstable) — this was during the whole of the first day — and on the second (Job 26:11): “they were astonished at His rebuke”, like a man who stands immovable, amazed at the rebuke of one who terrifies him.

בתוך המים IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS — In the exact centre of the waters; because there is the same distance between the upper waters and the firmament as there is between the firmament and the waters that are upon the earth. Thus you may infer that they (the upper waters) are suspended in space by the command of the King (Genesis Rabbah 4:3).

Es ist schwer, mit einiger Zuversicht zu bestimmen, was in diesem Verse unter den מים אשר מעל לרקיע zu verstehen wäre. Wohl kennen wir aus dem -תהלים Liede 148.4 die שמי השמים והמים אשר מעל השמים, die dort — wenn wir den Vers recht verstehen — bis an die Grenze einer kaum vom Gedanken zu erreichenden Unermesslich- keit reichen. Es lässt uns dieser Vers zuerst השמים denken, den ganzen die Erde allseitig umgebenden, unermeßlichen Himmelsraum, mit seinen zahllosen uns sichtbaren Sternwelten, und dann diese ganze Unermesslichkeit zu einem Punkte gegen einen andern שמים zusammenschwinden, der also zu ihr sich wie unser Himmel sich zu unserer Erde verhält, und über diesem Himmel der Himmel dann: מים. Allein das Schöpfungswort der göttlichen Lehre kündigt sich uns, wie wir das bereits angedeutet, nicht als eine Offenbarung Dessen an, das geheimnisvoll jenseits unseres irdischen Gesichtskreises liegt, sondern schreitet rasch von dem einen großen Satze, daß das Weltall, שמים וארץ, von Gott erschaffen worden, in das Gebiet unserer Erdwelt ein, um auch dort uns weniger zu sagen: wie dort alles entstanden, sondern: daß alles, die ganze Erden-Mannigfaltigkeit mit ihren Gegensätzen und der sie alle beherrschenden Ordnung, von Gott, ihrem Schöpfer, gebildet, geschieden, gesetzt und geordnet sei. Unsere gegenwärtige Erdwelt, in der wir leben und unsere hieniedige Aufgabe zu lösen haben, uns aus Gott denken und begreifen zu lehren, das ist sichtlich der Zweck der ganzen Schöpfungsgeschichte. Und so dürften wir die מים אשר מעל לרקיע ebenfalls in dem Gesichtskreis unserer Erdwelt zu suchen haben. Himmel und Erde, Licht und Finsternis, Tag und Nacht, das waren die Gegensätze, die uns der erste Tag als von Gott geschaffen und geordnet wies. Wir werden auf einen neuen Gegensatz hingewiesen: auf Wasser unten und Wasser oben. Wasser unten: die in ihrer jetzigen, den Kontinent umspülenden und durchbrechenden Geschieden- heit nicht nur die physische Entwicklung, sondern als Flüsse und Ströme und Meere Völker trennend und bindend, vorzugsweise die geschichtliche Entwickelung der MenschenVölker auf Erden begründen und beherrschen — und Wasser von oben: die ausschließlich der physischen Förderung aller Wesen angehören. Bevor Gott, so lehrt uns sein Wort, Kontinent und Wasser schied und so der Erde das zu jeder irdischen Entwickelung unentbehrliche auflösende Element, מים (rad. מיי verwandt mit מקק, מכך, מגג) entzog, hob er Wasser empor, wölbte allseitig über der Erde das uns sichtbare Himmelsgewölbe רקיע, zu dem auf fortan die Erde ihre Dünste sendet, die als Wolken das Wasser trinken und es aus der Höhe der durstenden Erde und ihren durstenden Geschöpfen spenden. Wie das Licht zuerst allverbreitet die Erde durchdrang und dann erst an Lichtträger gebunden von dem Himmelsgewölbe herab der Erde zustrahlt, so wird auch das Wasser der Erde genommen, um nach Bedürfnis fortan aus der Höhe wieder empfangen zu werden. Nehmende und gebende Gegensätze, das ist das Bild der Entwickelung, in welcher uns das ganze Erdendasein sich darstellt. Schon unsere Weisen, die uns in den ersten Blättern von תענית, insbesondere Fol. 4 und 9, beobachtungsreiche meteorologische Bemerkungen über den Regen und die Wolkenerscheinung hinterlassen, haben uns eben daselbst 9 b. eine Verschiedenheit der Ansicht bewahrt, ob, nach R. Elieser, die ganze Regenbildung durch vom Ozean aufsteigende Wasserverdunstung bewirkt wird: כל העולם כלו ממימי אוקיינום הוא שותה oder nach R. Josug, die durch die aufsteigenden Dünste gebildeten Wolken nur das Mittel sind, um Wasser aus der Höhe für die Erde zu empfangen: כל העולם כולו ממים העליונים הוא שותה אלא מה אני מקים ואד יעלה מן הארץ מלמד שהעננים מתגברים ועולים לרקיע ופותחין פיהן כנוד ומקבלין מי מטר. — Nicht minder zweifelhaft dürfte die eigentliche Bedeutung des רקיע erscheinen. Wäre die Grundbedeutung von רקע allgemein Dehnen, Ausdehnen, und könnte man in רקיע somit die Charakterisierung der Luft, als des luftartig Ausgedehnten im Gegensatz zu dem Dichteren des Wassers und der Erde erblicken, so läge es sehr nahe, רקיע als die Atmosphäre zu begreifen, die den Raum zwischen den Wassern unten und den Wassern oben ausfüllt, an deren unterm Saum das Wasser flutet und bis zu deren oberer Schicht die Dünste, Wolken bildend und Regen vermittelnd, aufsteigen. Die Atmosphäre ruht auf Wasser und trägt Wasser. Allein die Bedeutung "ausdehnen" scheint der Wurzel רקע nur sekundär innezuwohnen. רקע kommt sonst nur vom Plattschlagen, Niederstampfen, Niedertreten einer festen Masse vor. Es heißt also mehr dünnschlagen, wodurch allerdings bei Metallen ein Ausdehnen bewirkt wird. Scheint doch selbst קרקע, wie כרבכ von רכב, den fest- oder plattgetretenen Fußboden, von רקע, zu bedeuten. Demgemäß dürfte רקיע gleichsam die untere Fläche des Himmels bedeuten, die uns als eine Wölbung über der Erde und um die Erde erscheint.

יהי רקיע בתוך המים, let there be טבע, i.e. guidelines, rules governing the function of what is below and what is above the primordial waters. Just as there are such parameters surrounding our world, i.e. the globe we call “earth,” so there should be similar guidelines governing what is below the atmosphere and earth itself. The region in which air exists should become clearly defined. [the gaseous nature of air should not be allowed to escape into all directions of the universe beyond our globe so that creatures on earth would die from the lack of air. In other words, the atmosphere should be “enclosed” whether by gravitational or other forces is immaterial. Ed.] At the same time, air should be given enough space within which “to breathe,” so to speak.

"Let there be a firmament:" The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to inform Israel that neither the sun nor anything else controls the rain, to bring it down or not to bring it down. Therefore, He told about the existence of the higher waters before the existence of the luminaries. "Firmament (rakiya):" [It is] a body that stretches out like a plate, [as in] the expression, "To the One that stretches out (rokea) the earth over the waters" (Psalms 136:6); "And they flattened (yiraka'au) the gold [into thin plates]" (Exodus 39:3); and [also] "And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the terrible ice" (Ezekiel 1:22). And here it portrayed the air between the earth and the clouds as a body that extends and separates between the waters on earth and the waters in the clouds, and carries the waters upon it; and by the will of God, the water descends from there to the earth. And it is like it states (Deuteronomy 28:12), "And God will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its time;" and in the Curse, when it states (Leviticus 26:19), "And I will give your skies to be like iron," to prevent the descent of water upon them; and so [too] below (Genesis 7:11), "and the windows of the heavens opened." But afterwards, in the time of Yishiyahu, it appears that they knew that there are no storehouses of water above, and that rain waters return above; since behold, he says (Isaiah 55:10), "For just as the rain and the snow come down from the skies, and do not return there except when the earth is satiated;" [which] implies that after it is satiated, it does return to there, see my commentary there. And so [too], Yirmiyahu said in the way of a question, "do the heavens give raindrops?" (Jeremiah 14:22); [which] implies that [the heavens] do not give them by themselves, since they do not have storehouses of water in them. And so [too], they called the vapors that rise up from upon the earth [and become clouds] the name, nissi'im (raised up ones), as [in], "He raises nissi'im from the end of the earth" (Psalms 135:7); "He raised the nissi'im from the end of the earth" (Jeremiah 10:13; 51:16); and so [too], "Nissi'im and wind, but no rain" (Proverbs 25:14). And we do not know from what time this word (nissi'im) became common; as Psalm 135 is not attributed to David and it is not clear that the Book of Proverbs from Chapter 25 is by Shlomo. And in Job, he says (Job 38:22), "Did you come to the storehouses of snow, did you see the storehouses of hail?" - and this is a proof of the antiquity of that book. And since the word, rakiya, is based on the belief in higher waters - "the waters that are above the heavens" (Psalms 148:4) - that the rakiya supports, and that belief became antiquated and forgotten; the word, rakiya, also became antiquated. And [rakiya] is only used to indicate the skies in three [other] places. Two are in Psalms - "and the acts of your hands, does the rakiya proclaim" (Psalms 19:2); "praise Him in the rakiya of His strength" (Psalms 150:1) - since the word remained in poetic use; as it is the custom in all languages for the poets to use antiquated words. And the third place is in Daniel 12:3, "And the enlightened ones will shine like the splendor of the rakiya;" and there also, it is a poetic expression. And so [likewise], in Malachi 3:10, "I will open for you the windows of the heavens," is by way of poetic expression. And we have also found a variant of rakiya referring to the heavens in Job 37:18, "Tarkiya (Did you spread out) the skies with Him;" and this too is a sign of the antiquity of this book. And he finishes [this verse], "they are as strong as a molten mirror," as they carry the weight of many waters. And so [too] did Shlomo say (Proverbs 8:28), "And in His strengthening of the skies above." And behold, the Torah spoke as in the language of people, and stated, "let there be a firmament," according to their thought (that it actually existed). And nonetheless, what was intended does not deviate from being true and solid, and that is that God implanted in the nature of water to rise upwards and to descend afterwards down to the earth. And in the Greek translation attributed to the seventy elders (the Septuagint), rakiya is translated as strauma, [which] is a matter of strength, and so [too] did they translate it afterwords into Latin [as] firmāmenta and this came to them from the use of the root, raka, in Syriac, which denotes strength; and so [too], rakiya in Syriac is strong and hard. And Johannes Clericus says that they translated it thus, because it was the opinion of some of the ancient philosophers that the heavens and air that surround the earth on all sides, prevent it and everything on it from getting detached and crumbling apart; and behold, they cause the earth to stay hard and its parts to remain fastened together. And he explains the expression to be one of hitting and trampling, as in "hit with your hand and stamp (reka) with your foot" (Ezekiel 6:11); "because you hit with your hand and you stamped (rakacha) with your foot" (Ezekiel 25:6); because the heavens are stamping on the earth and stopping its parts from detaching. And all of this is far from the simple meaning of the verses. And nonetheless, [his] words, that the origin of the root, raka, is from stomping and hitting, are plausible. And because something that is hit [becomes] flat and stretched out, the root, raka, is borrowed to indicate stretching out and flatness.

Be solidified. Rashi is answering the question: [“Let there be a רקיע” implies that it was created now.] But was the שמים [which is the רקיע, see v. 8,] not already created earlier? [For it says (1:1), “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Thus Rashi answers, “Be solidified.”] Although the simple interpretation of verse 1:1 is explained there by Rashi as, “At the beginning of the creating of heaven and earth,” implying that Hashem did not yet create the heavens, this does not mean that the heavens were not created on the first day. Rather, the Torah was starting to recount how heaven and earth were created on the first day.

“Quivered.” ירופפו means they were weak and loose.

Astonished. יתמהו means they were startled and strengthened.

Because the separation... Rashi’s proof is not because it is written, “בתוך the waters” and that בתוך means “in the middle.” For it is written (Shemos 15:19), “Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land בתוך the sea,” and it was not in the middle [of the sea]. Rather, the proof is from what is written: “And let it divide between waters and waters.” Since the canopy is in the midst of the waters, obviously it divides between waters and waters! It must therefore mean that the upper waters are separated from the canopy in the same manner as the lower waters are separated from the canopy. Thus, the canopy is in the middle.

God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water. This was not a geographical division, but a metaphysical one. And let it divide between water and water. The breaking up of the all-encompassing primordial waters was vital to the continuation of Creation. These waters would be confined and transformed into two separate entities, with the firmament separating them from one another.

יהי רקיע, “let there be a horizon” The raw material we referred to earlier as the one called שמים, heaven, would now be stretched over the expanse of the water.

ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, the term עשייה always denotes the completion of a process, making something fit to perform its purpose without further ado.

“Among the water” [1:6]. The heaven made a separation between the waters above the heaven and the water that is on the earth. There are waters above the heaven like there are on the earth. The waters above the heaven are as high above the heaven as the distance between heaven and earth. The waters above the sky hang in the air by the command of God. (Genesis Rabbah, 4.3.) The waters argued with the waters above heaven and said, why should we remain below on the earth? We also want to be above heaven. The Holy One promised the waters on the earth that no sacrifice will be brought on the altar, unless one has salt with it and the salt comes from the water. (Rashi, Leviticus, 2:13. Bahya and Ramban also cite this concept in the name of Rashi. The midrashic source is not clear according to C.D. Chavel in his edition of Rashi’s commentary.) Concerning each day, the Holy One wrote, “it was good,” but for the second day “it was good” is not written. This is because the creation of the second day was not completed. Therefore it is not written, “it was good” since the waters were not properly created on the second day, but the creation of the water was completed on the third day. (Genesis Rabbah, 4.6.) That is why God said, “it was good” two times, once when the creation of the waters was completed. The second time because the earth was repaired on the third day. Some sages say, “it was good” is not mentioned on the second day because Gehenna was created on the second day. (Genesis Rabbah, 4.6.) Some sages say that discord began on the second day because the waters were in conflict on that day. (Genesis Rabbah, 4.6.) That is why “it was good” is not mentioned on the second day. Nothing good comes from discord. As a result of discord being created on the second day, Gehenna was also created on the second day, because one who engages in discord falls into Gehenna, as happened to Korah. (Numbers, 16:32.) The Talmud writes in [tractate] Baba Bathra chapter, five. Rabbah Bar Bar Hana said: he was once walking in the desert. A merchant came and said to him. I will show you where Korah was swallowed up by the earth. He saw a split in the earth and smoke emerging from it. He took a spear and put some wool on it and placed the spear over the split, and the fire in the split singed it. He heard from the same split someone screaming, Moses is true and his Torah is true and we are false liars. Every thirty days the fires of Gehenna are changed for them so they should endure various troubles and they scream, Moses is true and his Torah is true. (B. Baba Bathra, 74a.) Therefore, every person should be warned about not awakening discord. Some sages also say that one should not begin any new work on Monday because “it was good” was not written concerning Monday. (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 5: 39, believes this to be a medieval tradition.) There was discord every day after Monday. We find discord on the third day when the Holy One ordered that the earth should bring forth a tree that will taste like an apple. The earth did not do this. Instead, the tree was wood and the apple had a different taste. (Genesis Rabbah, 5.9.) On the fourth day the discord was that the moon said, why should the sun shine, since it wanted to shine alone? The Holy One made it and its light smaller. (Genesis Rabbah, 6.3.) The fifth day there was also discord. The wife of Leviathan was killed and pickled in brine for the righteous in the days of the Messiah. (B. Baba Bathra, 74b.) On the sixth day, Adam sinned and was expelled from the Garden of Eden. (Genesis, 3.) Thus, we can see that discord was present from the second day on.

The kind of tolerance G-d displays depends on who He needs to relate to. In the first instance there are the spiritual, completely disembodied beings inhabiting the "upper" world, who are closest to Him. Since these beings by their very nature are close to perfection, tolerating them does not require a major effort on G-d’s part. Also the bodies in outer space whose regular and constant orbit represent service of G-d on a non-stop basis, do not require a great deal of tolerance on the part of G-d. These heavenly bodies, which provide the four basic raw materials for our physical universe, in a sense support this earth. At the time of the garden of Eden being at man's disposal, G-d had a home in the material universe because His spirit was present within man. This was the connection between the worlds above the rakiyah, firmament, and the world "below." Both harbored the Divine spirit. The commandment, "Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil," meant "do not become engrossed in the material world except to the extent of doing good. Engrossing yourself in evil will make you part of this finite world, make you mortal." Since we have defined mavet, death, as being equal to ra, evil, and chayim, life, as being equal to tov, good, it is quite clear that contact with ra is contact with death (Deut. 30,15, compare our Chapter 7). Breaking this commandment, then, had to result in the Shechinah, G-d’s Presence withdrawing. Shechinah cannot associate with death; since there did not remain any immortal human beings on earth, there was no alternative but to withdraw to a level further removed from earth. At this point, the author describes successive withdrawals of G-d from different planets in outer space as being connected with the individual functions of these planets in our world. Abraham made up for the commandment that Adam had transgressed, by taking upon himself to command his offspring to observe the commandments of the Lord. G-d acknowledged this when He said, "As a result of Abraham having listened to My voice etc." (Genesis 26,5). Isaac repaired the damage done by Cain who had committed murder, when he voluntarily submitted to the command of His Creator, in contrast to Cain who had acted as if there were no judge or judgment in the world. His deed was acknowledged when the angel instructed Abraham, "Do not lay a hand on the lad, do not touch him" (Genesis 22,12). Jacob, who had been able to prevail on all his children to remain loyal to G-d and to proclaim His Unity when they said, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d is One," enabled G-d to return His Presence still closer to earth. Jacob had thus repaired the damage done by Enosh who had been the first to introduce the concept of G-d not being One. When Levi appeared, risking his life to avenge the shame of the rape of his sister Dinah, he repaired the damage done by the generation of the deluge, who had practiced immorality, incest etc. Kehot was the leader of the Jewish people when the latter were forced to commence performing slave labor for the Egyptians. The Jews who had been singled out for this cruel treatment, because they had failed to assimilate to the Egyptians, maintained a profile of being different by keeping their Hebrew names, language, and religion in spite of persecution suffered. This fact enabled G-d to move still closer to earth, as the damage done by the collective insubordination of the generation that built the tower of Babel had now been repaired. Amram in turn repaired the damage done by the people of Sodom, who through lack of concern for their fellow man, had driven the Shechinah still further away. Amram demonstrated his concern for the future of his nation when he responded to the admonition of his daughter not to stop having children, even at the risk of a baby boy being drowned by the Egyptians. When Moses finally made his appearance, and instead of persecuting the just, stood up against terror, injustice, and "might is right," he repaired what Nimrad/Amrafel had destroyed when he made war against the weak who had not provoked him. G-d was thus able to feel at home again on earth since the counterweight to everything the serpent had helped ruin had appeared on earth, and had made its impact. The Talmud Yevamot 112 says that when Israel stood at Mount Sinai, their "filth" departed from them. What is meant is that they reverted to the state of innocence that existed when Adam had just been created. The book of Exodus deserves to be called the book of redemption, since it tells of the redemption of the Jewish people from a cruel and barbaric fate at the hands of a cruel and barbaric nation. Apart from the physical redemption from slavery, the promise of being given the land of Israel with all its abundant natural wealth, would enable the Jewish people to live a life of ease and to be tested if they would indeed prove obedient to G-d, so that He could allow His Presence to dwell amongst them. Moses’ss accomplishment in restoring G-d’s Presence to earth, made him the intermediary between G-d and His people. To be a good intermediary requires that the intermediary himself feels in harmony with the objectives and methods of the one who has made him intermediary. Such rapport can exist either naturally, or in spite of one's natural inclinations. When Moses was shown a kind of wood that sweetens the waters at Marah (Ex. 15,25), our sages are in two minds about the nature of this wood. Some say that it was sweet wood, and that the resultant sweetening of the waters was a natural process. Others maintain that the wood itself was bitter, in which case the transformation of the waters was miraculous (Mechilta Beshalach). We find that G-d employs both kinds of agents as leaders of the Jewish people at different times. Gideon, who abandoned his preoccupation with salvaging his harvest, and who challenged the angel about G-ds apparent abandonment of His people, demonstrated selflessness and lack of concern with his private business to such an extent that the angel could say to him "go forth with this strength of yours and save the Jewish people." (Judges 6,14) He succeeded because he possessed the major ingredient needed for leadership. The reverse may be the case when the emissary of G-d is motivated by a feeling of obedience to G-d, but lacks the characteristics that put him in harmony with the purpose of his Sender. When attacking Amalek, Saul allowed considerations of economic gain to persuade him not to kill the best of the herds; he also displayed pity just when G-d had forbidden pity. This led to tragic results for his dynasty (Samuel I Chapter 15). His downfall can be traced not to lack of basic obedience, but to internal conflict between his own aims and methods, and G-ds aims and methods. Therefore, G-d looked for another man, David, who would be in tune with His objectives heart and soul, and who is held up as a model human being whose inner strivings coincide with G-d’s. When Jerobam is chastised by Achyah (Kings I 14,8-9), the point emphasized is that he failed to be with G-d "like My servant David, who observed My commandments, who followed Me with his whole heart to do only what is right in My eyes." This same David describes his own world outlook in Psalms 139,20 in the following words, "Those who hate You O G-d, I hate, and those who rebel against You, I quarrel with." When the Messiah is described, three characteristics are described as essential (Psalms 72,12-14). "For he will deliver the defenseless man who cries, and the poor who has no helper; he will care for those who have been brought low." "He will redeem their souls from malice and violence, and their blood will be precious to him." Our Parshah tells us that Moses possessed the qualities enumerated in Psalms and that therefore he was the ideal intermediary and saviour for Israel. When Moses, on his first outing to his brethren, saw an Egyptian torture a Jew, he could not stand this and he slew the Egytian. This corresponds to the line, "He will deliver the defenseless man who cries out." On the second day, when he observed injustice being perpetrated among his Jewish brethren, he stood up for the victim, the defenseless, as he did when he helped the daughters of Yitro at the well. In each case he risked his life or safety. Despite his disappointing experiences, he continued to involve himself in other peoples' problems. It is clear then that with the advent of Moses, G-d had found the person who was likely to lead the Jewish people successfully.

Our opening Midrash reflects the same theme. Although all of Israel had contributed in providing the various sections of the tabernacle and its furnishings, when it came to assembling it, the people could not manage, whereas Moses unassisted did manage. The people's contribution then consisted only in preparing the material, providing the basis for the tabernacle's ultimate form, to be erected when it would be ready for use. We find a parallel at the time of the creation of the universe. During six days of creative activity, G-d created all the individual parts and sections of the universe. On the seventh day though, the Torah says "heaven and earth had been completed," this referred only to its constituent parts, not to the whole. Subsequently, "G-d completed on that day," something which follows the statement of "and the heavens and the earth had been completed." Similarly, we find in connection with the completion of the work of the tabernacle "all the work on the tabernacle had been completed," whereas afterwards we read "Moses erected it." Most of this has been explained in chapter four. Midrash Tanchuma points out many parallel expressions employed by the Torah both during creation and during construction of the tabernacle. The common denominator is that the former is a macrocosm whereas the latter is a microcosm designed to mirror the universe. If Moses had been unaware that his face emitted rays, and the fact that he alone could erect the tabernacle is remarkable, it reflects the idea that or with the letter ayin and with the letter aleph can be used interchangeably. The Divine, inner light illuminating the soul of Moses, was visible in the form of his skin giving off a glow, sending out rays.

והיו למאורת ברקיע השמים Let them serve as luminaries in the expanse of the heaven to radiate light – The repetition of the word והיו refers to another change that would come to pass as a result of the diminishing of the moon, creating a new entity, {the light,} (This and other additions in squiggle brackets were made on the basis of the text of Chiddushei HaLevanah printed as an addendum to Machon Chochmas Shlomoh edition of Rambam’s Hilchos Kiddush HaChodesh.) that would exist “in the rakia, the expanse of the heaven.” The rakia constitutes the lower heaven which was created to separate between the higher waters and the lower waters. This refers to the open space that is between the spheres, as I explained in another exposition, which explains the entire process of creation as it transpired in all the first Six Days of Creation, which I called The Formation of the Elements. (Tosfos Yom Tov wrote several expositions, derushim, which are transcripts of sermons that he delivered. Of these, Chiddushei HaLevanah is one of the few for which the text is extant.) In essence, the sun and the moon do not possess the potential to radiate light, for the heavens and all their hosts do not possess any defined potential. All the changes that result from them in this lowly world stem from the recipients. Therefore, the sun darkens a person’s complexion, but whitens clothes, for everything depends on the recipients. Hence, were the moon not to have been diminished, the difference between the day and the night would have been of an entirely different nature. The light that radiated forth on the first day of Creation, before the creation of the luminaries, and the darkness mentioned in those verses, would have continued, and the distinction between this primeval light and primeval darkness would have come as a result of the luminaries. This constituted the difference between the first three days of Creation and all subsequent time. During the first three days of Creation, the distinction between light and darkness was made without the luminaries. From the fourth day onward, God desired that the difference between light and darkness come as a result of these luminaries. Initially, {however, God did not desire} to conceal the original light that radiated forth throughout the first three days. Nevertheless, {after the complaint of the moon,} God desired that one of the luminaries be diminished, and that the light of the first three days of Creation be concealed. The luminaries would come into existence and they would generate light in “the expanse of the heaven,” i.e., in the area that separates between the higher waters and the lower waters. The light that the luminaries would generate would be dependent on the manner in which its influence is accepted by the recipients, as stated above.

Hail corresponded to "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, and let it be a separation between water and water." With this statement, an additional action occurred in the sky and hail came from it in an unnatural way. This was a change in the statement "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water," for from the skies came hail.

Another correction for the sign of the Brit is also by dealing with Torah, as we explained above where we quoted the Tikkunei Zohar (67th Correction) that whoever damages the soul can correct himself with studying Torah and the six orders of the Mishnah: One who enters his seed in a Niddah, maidservant, Cutite or a prostitute, it is like he mixed what the Creator separated, as it says ““And let it divide water from water” (Genesis 1:6), which are the waters of Niddah and waters of purity. One is forbidden and one is permitted; one is proper and one is disqualified; one is defiled and one is pure. These are the six orders of the Mishnah to separate between good and bad, which Adam and the generations that followed mixed together. Also look in the Tikkunei Zohar in the 46th Correction.

As you already know, this great matter is that an oath-Shevuah-שבועה is the matter of HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Living God-El Chai-א"ל חי, which is the matter of, “That it is Good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, about all the creations in the act of creation-Ma’aseh Bereshit-מעשה בראשית, Torah states, (Genesis 1:12) “and God saw that it is good-VaYar Eloh”im Kee Tov.” The sign for this is the verse, (Proverbs 8:30) “I was with Him as a babe-V’Eheyeh Etzlo Amon-ואהי"ה אצלו אמון.” The matter of V’Eheyeh-ואהי"ה is that the letter Vav-ו-6, which is connected to Eheyeh-אהי"ה, (The letter Vav-ו in Cheshbon Kidmee is inclusive of the letters that precede it (א-1 ב-2 ג-3 ד-4 ה-5 ו-6) the total of which is אהי״ה-21. See Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of Intrinsic Being (Shaar HaHavayah), section on the Name Eheye”h-אהי״ה.) is the matter of the six Sefirot, the last of which is the matter of, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, each creative act that God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם – that is, HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י – did in the act of creation (Ma’aseh Bereshit), was confirmed by His quality “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב. What is written on the first day? (Genesis 1:4) “And God saw the light, that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” On the second day, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” was not said, being that the second day is the matter of separation and differentiation, as it states, (Genesis 1:6) “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate water from water.” That is, good-Tov-טוב is not found wherever there is separation and differentiation. This is because goodness-Tov-טוב only comes to unify all things and bring about peace-Shalom-שלום.

7. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם said ‘Let there be a firmament.’” (Genesis 1:6)

Thus, the secret of these two names is that E”l-א״ל and Elohi”m-אלהי״ם [Kindness-Chessed and Might-Gevurah] are called “the heavens-Shamayim-שמים” and His Name HaShem-יהו״ה is in the center between them. Thus, through these three names; E”l-א״ל, Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, HaShem-יהו״ה, He is called, (Psalms 123:1) “You Who dwells in the heavens-Shamayim-שמים.” Similarly, another verse states, (Deuteronomy 33:26) “He rides upon the heavens-Shamayim-שמים to come to your aide,” and, (Psalms 115:16) “As for the heavens-Shamayim-שמים, the heavens-Shamayim-שמים are HaShem’s-יהו״ה.” About this the verse states, (Kings I 8:43) “May You hear from the heavens-Shamayim-שמים, the foundation of Your abode.” It likewise states, (Genesis 25:27) “Yaakov was a pure man who dwelt in tents,” [between the tent of Avraham and the tent of Yitzchak] and similarly, (Genesis 1:6) “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between water and water.”

And below, this point is ‘female waters’, and above, ‘male waters’. (Bereishyt Rabbah 13:13) A firmament in the middle like this: א (Aleph) . Upon it is stated: (Gen. 1:6) ... and let it separate, between waters and waters.

It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:10) And ELQYM called the dry land earth’, to make vegetation and fruits, which are the Holy Land of Israel below. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:11) And ELQYM said: let the earth sprout vegetation...

For My heart (libiy) (42) is the Name of forty-two. With the Name A-V-G-Y-T-Tz – He took Israel out of exile, with the Name Q-R-’A S-T-N – which is the second Name, of the second day – with it He split the sea, and of this Name it is stated: (Gen. 1:6) ... ‘Let there be a firmament, in the midst of the waters... ’ N-G-D-Y-Kh-Sh – (Ex. 34:10) ... ‘in front of’ (neged) all your people, I shall do wonders...’ With each Name, He took revenge upon Egypt.

And the mystery of the matter: (Gen. 1:6) ... and He separated between the waters and the waters. about which it is stated: (Ex. 12:15) ... but on the first day, you shall remove leaven from your houses... ‘... but (akh) ... – serves to divide.’ (BT Pesaḥim 5a)

and the waters that are above the skies. (Bereishis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.)

and the waters that are above the skies. (Bereishis 1:6—7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.)

[3] Another interpretation: And she vowed a vow, and said, "If you will see me, then you will see that I am barren, and Zion is barren, as it is said, "Sing, O barren one" (Isaiah 54:1). If you see me, then you will also see Zion, and remember me, for me, and do not forget your truth, for Zion. There are seven barren ones corresponding to the seven days of creation. The first is Sarah, as it is written, "And Sarai was barren" (Genesis 11:30), corresponding to the first day. And what was created on the first day? Heaven and Earth, which belong to this purchase by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "Blessed is Avram to G-d on High, Possessor of heaven and earth" [Rashi: having acquired them by creating them] (Genesis 14:19). The second is Rebecca, as it is said, "And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren" (Genesis 25:21), corresponding to the second day. And what was created on the second day? The firmament, as it is said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between water and water" (Genesis 1:6). Rebecca also gave birth to two sons, Jacob and Esau, as it is said, "And I will separate you from the peoples" (Leviticus 20:26). The third is Leah, as it is said, "And the Lord saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb" (Genesis 29:31), corresponding to the third day. And what was created on the third day? Vegetation, as it is said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation" (Genesis 1:11). And Reuben, the son of Leah, built, as it is said, "And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest" (Genesis 30:14). The fourth is Rachel, corresponding to the fourth day. And what was created on the fourth day? The sun, moon, stars, and constellations, as it is said, "And God said, 'Let there be lights'" (Genesis 1:14). And Joseph, the son of Rachel, stood as her offspring, and they bowed down to him, as it is said, "And behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me" (Genesis 37:9). The fifth corresponds to Thursday, and what was created on Thursday? Birds that fly in the air (Genesis 1:20). And so was Samuel, the son of Hannah, like a bird flying from place to place and from country to country, and eventually returning to his nest. And so was Samuel involved in the affairs of Israel, going to all places, as it is said, "And he used to go yearly on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places" And his return was to Ramah, for there was his home. (1 Samuel 7:16-17) The sixth corresponds to the Hazzelelponith, the mother of Samson, as it is written: "And their sister (Hazzelelponith) [Hazzelelponi]"(1 Chronicles 4:3) . What was created on the sixth day? Man, and what happened to man? He died by the hand of his wife, as it is written: "And to Adam He said... for from the tree... you shall surely die" (Genesis 3:17), and Samson, too, died at the hands of his wife, as it is written: "And he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah" (Judges 16:4). The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes (Judges 16:21). The seventh corresponds to Zion, as it is written: "And on the seventh day He rested" (Exodus 20:11). And Zion is my resting place forever (Psalm 132:14). Therefore, Isaiah said: "Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear" (Isaiah 54:1).

Another matter: “Et hamishkan” – as it is equal to the rest of the world, which is called a tent, just as the Tabernacle is called a tent. How so? It is written: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). And it is written: “He spreads the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “You shall make sheets of goats’ hair as a tent over the Tabernacle…” (Exodus 26:7). On the second, it is written: “Let there be a firmament…and let it divide…” (Genesis 1:6). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “The curtain shall divide for you” (Exodus 26:33). On the third: “Let the water under the heavens [be gathered to one place]” (Genesis 1:9). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a basin of bronze and its base of bronze for washing…” (Exodus 30:18). On the fourth, “let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a candelabrum of pure gold…” (Exodus 25:31). On the fifth, “let birds fly over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20). In the Tabernacle, “the cherubs shall be spreaders of wings” (Exodus 25:20). On the sixth, man was created. In the Tabernacle, “you, draw Aaron your brother near to you” (Exodus 28:1). On the seventh, “the heavens…were completed” (Genesis 2:1). In the Tabernacle, “all the work of the Tabernacle…was completed” (Exodus 39:32). In the creation of the world it is written: “God blessed” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “he (Moses) blessed them” (Exodus 39:43). On the seventh, “God completed [vaykhal]” (Genesis 2:2). In the Tabernacle, “it was on the day that Moses concluded [kalot].” On the seventh, “and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “and sanctified it” (Numbers 7:1). That is, “et hamishkan.”

Everything that you see is an outgrowth of either the heavens or the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the earth sprout grass” (Genesis 1:11). On the fourth day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth day, He came to create man. He said: ‘If I create him from the heavenly realm, the heavenly will outnumber the earthly by one creation and there will not be peace [equilibrium] in the world. If I create him from the earthly realm, the earthly will outnumber the heavenly by one creation and there will not be peace in the world. Rather, I will create him from both the heavenly and the earthly realms for the sake of peace.’ That is what is written: “And the Lord God created man…” (Genesis 2:7) – “Out of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7), from the earthly, “and He blew into his nostrils a living spirit” (Genesis 2:7), from the heavenly. This is as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “Dominion and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2). “Dominion” – this is Gabriel; “and fear” – this is Mikhael. (The angels Mikhael and Gabriel represent opposite spiritual forces, and God creates a balance (“peace”) between them, as he did with all of creation.)

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

“God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it divide between water and water” (Genesis 1:6). “God said: Let there be a firmament” – it is written: “He roofs His upper chambers with water” (Psalms 104:3). The way of the world is that a flesh-and-blood king builds a palace and roofs it with stones, wood, and earth. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so, He roofed His world only with water, as it is stated: “He roofs His upper chambers with water.”

Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: Equivalent to the space between the earth and the firmament, so is the distance between the firmament and the upper waters. “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water” – at the midpoint between them. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source. Had it been stated: “God made the firmament and he divided between the waters that were on the firmament,” I would have said that the upper waters rest directly upon the firmament. But since it says: “And the waters that were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:7) – [it indicates that] the upper waters are suspended [above the firmament] by the word of God. Rabbi Aḥa said: It is like the flame in a lamp. (The wick does not stand on the bottom of the lamp, but is suspended above it, as it were, by the oil. ) And its fruits are rainwater. (The upper waters produce rain, but, as when a tree produces fruit, they are not depleted by the rainfall.)

A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir, saying to him: ‘Is it possible that the upper waters are suspended by the word of God?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Bring me a tube with water.’ He brought him a tube with water. He placed a gold plate on top if it, and the water did not stay in place; (It spilled out of the bottom of the tube.) [he placed] a silver plate, and the water did not stay in place. When he put his finger on top of it, the water stayed in place. He said to him: ‘You are placing your finger there.’ He said to him: ‘If I am flesh and blood and my finger can suspend the water, the finger of the Holy One blessed be He, all the more so.’ Thus, the upper waters are suspended by the word of God. He [the Samaritan] said to him: ‘Is it possible that the One in whose regard it is written: “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth” (Jeremiah 23:24), would speak to Moses from between the two staves of the Ark [in the Tabernacle]?’ He said to him: ‘Bring me large mirrors.’ He said to him: ‘Look at your reflection in them.’ He saw that it [his reflection] was large. He said to him: ‘Bring me small mirrors.’ He brought him small mirrors. He said to him: ‘Look at your reflection in them.’ He saw that it was small. He said to him: ‘If you, who are flesh and blood, are able to change yourself into anything you wish, the One who spoke and made the world come into being, blessed be He, all the more so.’ Thus, when He wishes, “do I not fill the heavens and the earth,” and when he wishes He speaks to Moses from between the two staves of the Ark. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Isi said: At times, the world and its contents cannot contain the glory of his Godliness; at other times He speaks with a person from between the hairs of his head. (Sometimes God’s presence is concentrated into such a small area that it is comparable to the space between hairs.) That is what is written: “The Lord answered Job from the tempest [hase’ara]” (Job 38:1) – from between the hairs [saarot] of his head. He further asked him, saying to him: ‘“The stream of God (The source of rainwater.) is full of water” (Psalms 65:10) – [it has rained] since the six days of Creation and yet nothing is missing? (The stream is still called “full.”) This is bewildering.’ He said to him: ‘Go take a bath, and weigh yourself before you go in [to the bathhouse] and after you have gone in.’ (After you have bathed.) He went. When he came out and weighed himself he was missing nothing. He said to him: ‘All the perspiration that you excreted, did it not come out of you?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘If you, who are flesh and blood, nothing was missing from your fount, from the fount of the Holy One blessed be He, all the more so.’ Thus, “the stream of God is full of water” – [it has rained] since the six days of Creation and nothing is missing. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Holy One blessed be He took all of the primordial waters and situated them half in the firmament and half in the ocean. That is, “the stream [peleg] of God is full of water” – half [palga].

The firmament is similar to a pool of water and above the pool is a dome. Because of the pool there is condensation of thick drops, and they descend into the salt water but do not intermingle. Rabbi Yona said: Do not wonder; the Jordan passes through the Sea of Tiberias but does not intermingle [with its water]. There is miraculous process involved in this matter. (The matter of rainfall.) When a person sifts wheat or stubble in a sieve, before they fall two or three fingerbreadths they are already intermingled, but these [raindrops] travel a distance of several years and do not intermingle with one another. Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon says: He rains them down by measure, as it is stated: “For He deducts [yigara] drops of water” (Job 36:27), just as it says: “It will be deducted [venigra] from your valuation” (Leviticus 27:18). (All deduction is by measure.) The thickness of the earth is equivalent to the thickness of the firmament, as it is stated: “It is He who sits over the circuit [ḥug] of the earth…” (Isaiah 40:22), “in the circuit [ḥug] of the heavens He makes His way” (Job 22:14) – the words ḥug ḥug provide a verbal analogy. (Establishing a comparison between the earth and the heavens. ) Rav Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: It is like a sheet of metal. (The firmament is not as thick as the earth; rather it is extremely thin.) Rabbi Yehoshua bar Rabbi Neḥemya said: It is approximately two or three fingerbreadths [thick]. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said: The upper waters contain approximately thirty kesustas (A certain measure of volume.) more than the lower – “and let it divide between water and water [lamayim]” – lamed equals thirty. (The numerical value of lamayim is thirty more than the numerical value of mayim.) The Rabbis say: It is half and half.

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. Let our master instruct us: When someone sees shooting stars and lightnings, what blessing does he say over them? Thus have our masters taught (in Ber. 9:2): OVER SHOOTING STARS, EARTHQUAKES, LIGHTNINGS, AND THUNDERS ONE SAYS: BLESSED BE THE ONE WHOSE POWER FILLS THE WORLD. Note that this is from the Mishnah. Where is it shown from Scripture? Where it is stated (in Ps. 104:32): WHO (i.e., the LORD) LOOKS ON THE EARTH AND IT TREMBLES. And what is written in connection with it (in vs. 31)? MAY THE GLORY OF THE LORD BE FOREVER. Elijah, of blessed memory, asked Rav Mari: (See yBer. 9:3 (12c); M. Pss. 18:12; 104:25.) Why do earthquakes come upon the world? He said to him: When the Holy One sees Israel not separating their tithes as they should, earthquakes come upon the world. Elijah, of blessed memory, said to him: Upon your life, that is the < apparent > reason for the phenomenon, but the root of the phenomenon is this: When the Holy One looks at his world and sees temples of star worship sitting upon their tells in safety, security, and serenity, while his Holy Temple is destroyed, at that time he wants to overthrow the world and shakes < it >. The Holy One said: All this quaking is for the sanctification of my name, as stated (in Is. 43:7): EVERY ONE THAT IS CALLED BY MY NAME [AND WHOM I HAVE CREATED FOR MY GLORY, I HAVE FORMED HIM, EVEN MADE HIM]. (Isaiah goes on to list the blind and the deaf as examples. Thus God is sanctified by all creation, even earthquakes.) Also, through that for which I deserve to be praised, the nations provoke me to anger. One says: The LORD does such and so. Another says to worship the constellations. Another says: I serve the sun and its rays. Therefore, I bring earthquake into the world. Although the heavenly bodies did not sin, because people provoke me to anger through them, they (the heavenly bodies) are also stricken along with them. So it is stated (in Joel 3:4 [2:31]): THE SUN WILL BE CHANGED TO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON, TO BLOOD. And what concern do they have? To make known that no other god created my world along with me. You yourself know that it is so. (See above, 1:1, and the notes there.) R. Johanan said: The angels were created on the second day, as stated (in Gen. 1:6): LET THE FIRMAMENT BE IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS. Another text (Ps. 104:3) says: WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS. And what is written next (in vs. 4)? WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS (ruah). Ergo, it says: The angels were created on the second day. R. Hanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Gen. 1:20): AND LET THE FOWL FLY (ye'ofef) ABOVE THE EARTH. These are angels, as stated (in Is. 6:2): AND WITH TWO HE WOULD FLY (ye'ofef). Ergo, it says: They were created on the fifth day. Either according to the words of R. Johanan or according to the words of R. Hanina, you have learned this, that the angels were created only after the Holy One had created his world. Why so? It is simply that the Holy One said: If I create them at the beginning, people will say: They assisted me with my world. The Holy One said: I created my world by myself, as stated (in Is. 66:2): [AND] ALL THESE THINGS MY HAND HAS MADE. Where is it shown about the created beings of heaven and earth? {Where it is stated} [From what they have read on the matter] (in Gen. 2:4): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH….

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF HEAVEN AND EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED. R. Berekhyah and R. Helbo said in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman: (Sanh. 38b; Gen. R. 12:6; Exod. R. 30:3; Numb. R. 13:12; PR 46:2; Tanh., Gen. 1:6; Hasarot wlterot, fol. 37.) Every toledot which is in the Torah lacks < a vowel letter > apart from two which are spelled in full. < The two are > (Ruth 4:18): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS (toledot) OF PEREZ < and > (Gen. 1:4): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF HEAVEN. Both of them are spelled in full. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said: Those < which lack a vowel letter number > six. R. Pinhas said in the name of R. Reuben: They correspond to the six things which < the Holy One > took away from the first Adam, and these are the following: (1) His facial luster, (2) his stature, (3) his life (i.e., his immortality), (4) the fruits of the earth, (5) the Garden of Eden, and (6) sun and moon. Where is it shown about his facial luster? Where it is stated (in Job 14:20): YOU CHANGE HIS FACE AND SEND HIM AWAY. Where is it shown about his stature? (Hag. 12a; cf. Gen. R. 19:8; Cant. R. 3:7:5; PRK 1:1; 5:3; PR 15:3.) Where it is stated (in Ps. 139:5): YOU HAVE < RE > FORMED ME BEHIND AND BEFORE. Where is it shown about his life? Where death was decreed over him (in Gen. 2:17); [for, if he had been worthy], he would have remained alive forever. Where is it shown about the fruits of the earth? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:17): CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Gen. 3:24): AND HE DROVE OUT THE MAN. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 13:10): THE SUN SHALL BE DARK AT ITS RISING AND THE MOON SHALL NOT CAUSE ITS LIGHT TO SHINE. In the world to come, however, the Holy One will restore {to him} [them]. [Where is it shown] about facial luster? Where it is stated (in Is. 61:9): ALL WHO SEE THEM SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, < THAT THEY ARE THE SEED WHICH THE LORD HAS BLESSED >. And where is it shown about his stature? Where it is stated (in Lev. 26:13): (Sifra, ad loc.; Sanh. 100a.) AND I MADE YOU WALK WITH STATURE. R. Judah says: What is the meaning of STATURE? The time will come when each and every {upright} one [from Israel] will be a hundred cubits tall. R. Simeon ben Johay says: two hundred cubits, as stated (here): STATURE (qomemiyyut): Qom < ahmeans one stature of > a hundred; miyyut (read as me'ot, i.e., "hundreds") < implies another > hundred. (Cf. Gen. R. 8:1).) Ergo: two hundred. {And they would live forever?} [And where is it shown about his life?] Where it is stated (in Is. 65:22): AS LONG AS THE DAYS OF A TREE SHALL BE THE DAYS OF MY PEOPLE…. And where is it shown about the fruits of the earth? (See ySheq. 6:2 (50a); yTaan. 1:2 (64a).) Where it is stated (in Ezek. 47:12): AND BY THE RIVER UPON ITS BANK ON BOTH SIDES [SHALL GROW EVERY TREE FOR FOOD. THEIR LEAF SHALL NOT WITHER, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FRUIT FAIL. THEY SHALL BRING FORTH NEW FRUIT EVERY MONTH]. Where is it shown about the Garden of Eden? Where it is stated (in Hos. 14:8 [7]): THOSE WHO DWELL IN HIS SHADOW SHALL BE TRANSFORMED. THEY SHALL GROW GRAIN AND BLOSSOM LIKE A VINE. Where is it shown about sun and moon? Where it is stated (in Is. 30:26): MOREOVER, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON SHALL BE AS THE LIGHT OF THE SUN, AND THE LIGHT OF THE SUN SHALL BE SEVENFOLD, AS THE LIGHT OF THE SEVEN DAYS. R. Aha said in the name of R. Hanina: The wound from the blow to the world will heal.

(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. It is written (in Ps. 104:3): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT…. R. Johanan said: (Gen. R. 1:3; PRE 4; M. Pss. 104:7. See below, sec. 1:12; M. Pss. 24:4.) Heaven and earth were created on the first day, and on the second the Holy One (In this translation “the Holy One” (apart from biblical quotations) represents the Hebrew acronym, HQBH, which stands for “The Holy One Blessed be He.” A somewhat abbreviated form is called for because this acronym has become the common midrashic name of the Deity and is treated as a single word. The full title would be awkward and only appears in the translation where the full title occurs in the Buber text.) created the firmament and the angels. Where is it shown that they were created on the second day? Where it is stated (ibid.): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, (The midrash interprets this roof as the firmament of Gen. 1:6-8. Thus Ps. 104:3f. is seen as a reference to the second day of creation.) WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT, WHO WALKS ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND (ruah). And what is written next (in vs. 4)? WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS (ruah). (Cf. Hebrews 1:7.) R. Hanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. Thus it is written concerning the fifth (in Gen. 1:20): AND LET FOWL FLY (ye'ofef) ABOVE THE EARTH. Now the word ye'ofef only refers to the flying of angels, as it is used (in Is. 6:2): AND WITH TWO HE DID FLY (ye'ofef). And why were the angels not created on the first day? So that the heretics (minim) would not say: Michael was standing in the north with Gabriel in the south, and together they spread out the heavens and the earth. So who did create them? The Holy One by himself, as stated (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED < THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH >. R. Judah and R. Nehemiah disagree. R. Judah says: The world was being created for six days. Thus it is written concerning the work of each and every day (in Gen. 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30): AND IT WAS SO. That is R. Judah's opinion, but R. Nehemiah says: The whole world was created on the first day. R. Judah said to him: What is the meaning of what is written concerning the work of each and every day: [AND IT WAS SO]? R. Berekhyah said concerning R. Nehemiah's opinion: (According to Gen. 1:24) GOD SAID: LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH. The expression LET BRING FORTH is only used of something that was prepared from IN THE BEGINNING, as stated concerning the first day (in vs. 1): IN THE BEGINNING.

(Lev. 5:1:) AND IF A SOUL SINS IN THAT IT HEARS A VOICE SWEARING…, . This text is related (to Eccl. 5:1 [2]): DO NOT BE RASH WITH YOUR MOUTH, AND LET NOT YOUR HEART HASTEN TO BRING FORTH A WORD BEFORE GOD. These < words refer to> the children of Adam who vilify the name of the Holy One. (Tanh., Lev. 1:7.) Come and see. When the celestial beings were created, those below were created with half of the name, as stated (in Is. 26:4): FOR THROUGH YH, (YH is the first half of the divine name, which the Hebrew spells out where the translation reads THE LORD.) THE LORD FORMED THE WORLDS. (The midrash interprets tsur ‘olamim as FORMED THE WORLDS (i.e., this world and the world to come) rather than as the more usual EVERLASTING ROCK. For similar interpretations, see yHag. 2:1 (77c); Men. 29b; Gen. R. 12:10; M. Pss. 62:1; 114:3; cf. also M. Pss. 118:14.) But why were they not created with all of it? So that none of them would repeat the full name of the Holy One. Woe to those creatures who vilify the name of the Holy One in vain. See what is written about offerings (in Lev. 1:2): WHEN ONE OF YOU PRESENTS AN OFFERING TO THE LORD. It does not say "To the Lord, an offering," but AN OFFERING TO THE LORD; (Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:6; Ned. 10ab; Sifra to Lev. 1:2, Wayyiqra, Parashah 2; Sifre, Deut.32:3 (306); Gen. R. 1:13.) so the Children of Adam vilify the name of the Lord in vain. It is therefore stated (in Eccl. 5:1 [2]): DO NOT BE RASH WITH YOUR MOUTH…. [FOR GOD IS IN HEAVEN AND YOU ARE ON EARTH.] For who would say that God is not in Heaven and that the children of Adam are not on earth? However, Solomon has said: Every time that the weakest of the weak is from above, he defeats the warrior from below. Go and learn from Abimelech (in Jud. 9:53): BUT A CERTAIN WOMAN DROPPED AN UPPER MILLSTONE [ON ABIMELECH'S HEAD AND CRACKED HIS SKULL]. (Since the woman was above the warrior Abimelech in the tower of Thebez, her killing him is an example of a relatively weak person defeating a warrior from above.) And how much the more so in the case of a warrior among warriors from above! See what is written about him (in Dan. 4:32 [35]): ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH ARE OF NO ACCOUNT, [AND HE DOES AS HE WISHES WITH THE HOST OF HEAVEN AND WITH THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH]. It is also written (in Ps. 47:3 [2]): FOR THE LORD MOST HIGH IS AWESOME, A GREAT KING OVER ALL THE EARTH. But the children of Adam are below. (Eccl. 5:1 [2]:) THEREFORE LET YOUR WORDS BE FEW. So what is there for you to do? To put your hand upon your mouth and upon your ear in order to neither speak nor hear. Ergo (in Lev. 5:1): IF A SOUL SINS. (These words also appear in Lev. 5:21 [6:2].)

R. Jacob the son of Issi asked: Why does it say; I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth? Because the Tabernacle is equal to the creation of the world itself. How is that so? Concerning the first day, it is written: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and it is written elsewhere: Who stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2), and concerning the Tabernacle it is written: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7). About the second day of creation it states: Let there be a firmament and divide between them, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6). About the Tabernacle it is written: And the veil shall divide between you (Exod. 26:33). With regard to the third day it states: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered (Gen. 1:9). With reference to the Tabernacle it is written: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass … and thou shalt put water therein (Exod. 30:18). On the fourth day he created light, as is stated: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven (Gen. 1:14), and concerning the Tabernacle it is said: And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold (Exod. 25:31). On the fifth day He created birds, as it is said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the fowl fly above the earth (Gen. 1:20), and with reference to the Tabernacle. He directed them to offer sacrifices of lambs and birds, and it says as well: And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high (Exod. 25:20). On the sixth day he created man, as it is said: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27), and about the Tabernacle it is written: A man who is a high priest who has been anointed to serve and to minister before God. (You write that this is not a direct quote from the Bible.) On the seventh day The heaven and the earth were finished (Gen. 2:1), and with regard to the Tabernacle it is written: Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle (Exod. 39:32). Concerning the creation of the world it is written: And God blessed (Gen. 2:3), and of the Tabernacle it is said: And Moses blessed them (Exod. 39:43); with regard to the creation it is said: And God finished (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle it is written: On that day Moses made an end (Num. 7:1); of creation it says: And hallowed it (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle: And had anointed it and sanctified it (Num. 7:1). Why is the Tabernacle equal to heaven and earth? Because even as heaven and earth bear witness concerning Israel, as it is written: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day (Deut. 30:19), so the Tabernacle bears witness in behalf of Israel, as is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). Hence it is said: Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8).

(Lev. 5:1:) “And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing […, if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity].” This text is related (to Eccl. 5:1), “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart hasten to bring forth a word before God.” These [words refer to] people who vilify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. Come and see, when the celestial beings were created, those below were created with half of the [divine] name, as stated (in Is. 26:4), “for through Yh, (YH is the first half of the divine name, which the Hebrew spells out where the translation reads THE LORD.) the Lord formed the worlds.” (The midrash interprets tsur ‘olamim as FORMED THE WORLDS (i.e., this world and the world to come) rather than as the more usual EVERLASTING ROCK. For similar interpretations, see yHag. 2:1 (77c); Men. 29b; Gen. R. 12:10; M. Pss. 62:1; 114:3; cf. also M. Pss. 118:14.) But why were they not created with all of it? So as not to mention the full name [of the Holy One, blessed be He] with him. Woe to those creatures who vilify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in vain. See what is written about offerings (in Lev. 1:2), “When one of you presents an offering to the Lord.” It does not say "to the Lord, an offering," but “an offering to the Lord” (so that who changes his mind about an offering in mid-sentence not mention God’s name for no reason). (Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:6; Ned. 10ab; Sifra to Lev. 1:2, Wayyiqra, Parashah 2; Sifre, Deut.32:3 (306); Gen. R. 1:13.) And [yet] people vilify the name of the Lord in vain. It is therefore stated (in Eccl. 5:1), “Do not be rash with your mouth…. for God is in heaven and you are on earth.” For who would say that God is not in heaven and that people are not on earth? [Accordingly], Solomon has said, “Every time that the weakest of the weak is above, he defeats the warrior below.” Go and learn from Abimelech (in Jud. 9:53), “But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and cracked his skull.” (Since the woman was above the warrior Abimelech in the tower of Thebez, her killing him is an example of a relatively weak person defeating a warrior from above.) And if he was a warrior among warriors and there was none like him, and [yet] a woman [was able to] kill him from above, how much the more so in the case of the Holy One, blessed be He! See what is written about Him (in Dan. 4:32), “All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account, and He does as He wishes [with the host of heaven and with the inhabitants of the earth].” It is also written (in Ps. 47:3), “For the Lord most high is awesome, a great King over all the earth,” and people are below. (Eccl. 5:1:) “Therefore let your words be few.” So what is there for you to do? To put your hand upon your mouth and upon your ear in order to neither speak nor hear. Ergo (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins.” (These words also appear in Lev. 5:21 [6:2].) (Lev. 5:1:) [“And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing,] when he is a witness to what he has either seen or come to know, [if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity].” This text is related (to Prov. 29:24), “The one who shares with a thief hates his own soul; he hears swearing and does not speak out.” What has caused anyone to say of him, “If a soul sins?” [It is] simply because he did not come and tell a sage, “So-and-so blasphemed the name of the Holy One, blessed be He.” He therefore shares his iniquities with him, as stated (in Lev. 5:1), “if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity.” Therefore Solomon has said (in Prov. 29:24), “The one who shares with a thief hates his own soul.” Just as when the thief is caught, his partner is convicted along with him; (Cf. Lev. R. 6:2.) so whoever hears blasphemy of the Holy One, blessed be He, and does not speak out is convicted along with him. And let no one say, “What denunciation (lashon hara’ah) do I say?” The Holy One, blessed be He, has said (in Lev. 5:1ff.), “’On every matter,’ there is a denunciation in it. [But] with cursing the name, there is no denunciation.” Why? Because [it is] just like a case of a person cursing his companion. When he hears him, it is of no concern to him. But if he has cursed his father in his presence, he puts his life on the line and says, “You have cursed my father.” Moses said (in Deut. 32:6), “Is He not your Father who created you?” (Lev. 5:1:) [“And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing,] when he is a witness to what he has seen.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If you want to bear witness, bear witness; but if not, I will bear witness.” Thus it is stated (ibid.), “when he (He) is a witness.” And where is it shown that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called a witness? Where it is stated (in Jer. 29:23), “I am the One who knows and bears witness, says the Lord.” Come and see. All the parashioth written in this book have “mistake” written in them, except for this parashah, in which “mistake” is not mentioned. (In fact, MISTAKE (shegagah), i.e., UNINTENTIONAL SIN, does appear in this parashah (in 5:15, 18). Elsewhere in Lev. the word only appears in 4:2, 22, 27; 22:4.)) About him Solomon has said (in Eccl. 5:5), “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the angel that it was a mistake,” (in Eccl. 5:1), “for God is in the heavens.” It is comparable to two people who threw stones at an image of a king. (Gk.: eikonion, a diminutive form of eikon.) One was drunk, and one was in possession of his senses. Both of them were caught and went to trial. [The judge] rendered a [guilty] verdict (Gk.: apophasis.) against the one with his senses and acquitted the one who was drunk. So it is in the case of whoever sins. It is concerning him that “mistake” is written (in Lev. 4:2) – “When a soul sins by mistake (rt.: shgg) [against any of the Lord's commandments]….”; (and likewise in Lev. 4:13) “And if the whole congregation of Israel should err (rt.: shgg).” And [about] all of them; because they sinned by mistake, they bring an offering and it shall be forgiven them. It is so stated (in Numb. 15:26), “The whole congregation of the Children of Israel and the stranger who resides in their midst shall be forgiven because [it happened] to all the people by mistake.” But the one who blasphemes receives a [guilty] verdict, as stated (in Lev. 24:16) “And the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.” It is also written (in Jer. 4:2), “And you shall swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall nations bless themselves in Him, and Him shall they glory.” Scripture also says (in Deut. 10:20), “The Lord your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, to Him you shall hold fast”; then after that, “and by Him you shall swear.” (See Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 9:1; Numb. R. 9:1.) (Ibid.:) “The Lord your God you shall fear,” so that you will be like those three of whom it is written, “he feared God (yr' 'lhym)”: Abraham, Joseph and Job. About Abraham it is written (in Gen. 22:12), “for now I know that you fear God (yr' 'lhym).” About Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18), “I fear (yr') God ('lhym).” About Job it is written (in Job 1:2), “he feared God (yr' 'lhym) and shunned evil.” (Deut. 10:20, cont.:) “Him you shall serve,” in that you will be busy with the Torah and with [fulfilling] the commandments. (Ibid. cont.:) “To him you shall hold fast,” in that you will honor the Torah scholars and benefit them with your property. Moses said to Israel, “Do not think that I have allowed you to swear by His name, even in truth. It is only, if all these conditions (mentioned earlier in the verse) abide with you, that you are entitled to swear; and if not, you are not entitled to swear [by His name], even in truth.” You shall not be like those of whom it is written (in Jer. 7:9), “[Will you …] swear falsely and sacrifice to Baal?” Rather, fulfill all these conditions and after that you are Mine, as stated (in Jer. 4:1), “If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, if you return unto Me [….]” Then after that [it says] (in vs. 2), “And you shall swear, ‘as the Lord lives’….” Our masters have said, “Even in truth one cannot swear.” Why? Thus have our masters taught (in Dem. 2:3): Let not someone from Israel be unrestrained in vows (See also Ned. 20a.) or in jesting, (or to lead one's companion astray with an oath by saying it is not an oath). There is a story about the royal mountain where there were two thousand towns, and all of them were destroyed because of a truthful oath that was unnecessary. (Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 9:1; Numb. R. 9:1; cf. also Git. 57a.) Now if one who swears in truth has this happen, how much the more so in the case of one who swears to a lie? How did they act? One would utter an oath to his companion that he was going to such and such a place to eat and drink. Then they would go and act to fulfill their oath. It is therefore stated (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing.” Now when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to judge all people in the world to come, He will judge them along with sorcerers and adulterers. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Mal. 3:5), “Then I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear to a lie (in My name).” And I am finding them guilty and bringing them down to Gehinnom. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “With the mouth that I gave you to be praising and glorifying My name, you are reproaching, blaspheming, and swearing to a lie in My name? Since I created all people to praise Me, as stated (in Prov. 16:4), “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.” So is it not enough for you that you do not praise Me, but [that] you blaspheme [Me as well]! The Scripture has said (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, [for it cannot rest (rt.: shqt)].” [They are] just like this [kind of] sea which has waves in its midst exalting themselves upward. When each and every one of them reaches the sand, it is broken and returns (hozer). (The word also means “repents.”) And its companion also looks at it breaking, and [yet] exalts itself upward without repenting (hozer). So are the wicked, who look at one another and exalt themselves. Therefore, they are likened to the sea, as stated (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea….” So did all the generations, the generation of Enosh, the generation of the flood, and the generation of the dispersion (i.e., of the Tower of Babel), not learn from each other. Instead they were exalting themselves. Therefore they are compared to the sea (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea.” (Is. 57:20, cont.:) “For it cannot rest (rt.: shqt).” The wicked have no rest in the world, but the righteous have serenity (shqt), as stated (in Jer. 30:10), “and Jacob shall again have peace (shqt) and quiet with none to make him afraid.” Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea.” Just as the sea has its dirt and mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20), “and its waters toss up slime and mud.” It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins and hears a voice swearing….” (Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned.) You find [that there are] three things under human control and three things not under human control …. (Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12.) And not only [now] but even in the world to come. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23), “He exalts (msgy') nations and destroys them.” The written text (ketiv) is “mshg'” (which means, misleads). (In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text.) Then He destroys them [and] brings them down to Abaddon, (Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.”) while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24), “Then they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people who have rebelled against Me; their worms shall not die nor shall their fire be quenched”.

"The word of God stands firm in the heavens forever. Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:8), 'The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.' Similarly, David said (Psalm 89:3), 'Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.' And why is it standing firm without change, not based on one witness or two, but every supreme court appoints it? And so it says (Psalm 89:8), 'O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, with your faithfulness all around you?' And so Daniel says (Daniel 4:14), 'According to the decree of the watchers, the sentence is announced, and the decision of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' And it says (Daniel 2:28), 'But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.' And why does it say 'and a great army'? They said that a great army is appointed over it. Therefore it says (Daniel 4:31), 'The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' Job said (Job 23:13), 'But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.' They said to Micah, 'What have you seen?' He said (1 Kings 22:19-20), 'I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him.' " And the Lord said, "Who will entice [him]...?" (2 Samuel 24:1). And one [commentator] says this [means] one thing, and another [commentator] says [it means] another thing. But they all agree upon it. Therefore it is said: "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). What is the meaning of "Your word stands firm in heaven"? What is this thing that stands firm in heaven? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Upon what do the heavens stand? Upon that which I said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,' and it was so" (Genesis 1:6-7). And it is written, "For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it stood" (Psalms 33:9). That very thing which He said, He made. Therefore it is said (Psalms 148:5), "He commanded, and they were created." In the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and in that very thing with which He created them, they stand forever. Therefore it is said, "Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in heaven" (Psalms 119:89). "Your faithfulness endures to all generations" (ibid. v. 90). The heavens and the earth stand [firm] based on faith, as it is said (ibid. 89:3), "The world stands firm with Your kindness." And likewise it says (Proverbs 20:9), "Who can say, 'I have purified my heart, I have cleansed myself from my sins'?" And (Job 15:15), "Behold, He does not trust in His holy ones; even the heavens are not pure in His eyes." And who can escape, as everything stands in judgment. Therefore it is said (Micah 1:3), "For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place, and He will descend and tread on the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep slope" (Micah 1:3-4).

Hallelujah, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights. Who are in the heavens? They are the angels who serve Him. Praise Him, all His angels. Just as there are many armies on earth, so too are there in heaven. (Genesis 2:4) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all His hosts." (Psalm 103:21)And who are His hosts who do His will? As it is said, "Bless the Lord, all His hosts." Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all His hosts." Praise Him, sun and moon. And who are the sun and moon? They are the fathers and mothers who rule with the sun and moon. As it is said, "And behold the sun and the moon." (Bereshit 37:9) Praise Him, all the stars of light. And who are the stars of light? They are the righteous, as it is said, "And those who lead the many to righteousness [shall be] like the stars forever and ever." Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all the stars of light." From here you learn that each one of them has a star in the heavens, and according to their deeds, so does their star shine. Therefore, it is said, "Praise them, whose stars shine." (Daniel 12:3) Praise the heavens of heavens. From here you learn that they are only rain (in the name of Radel - the 3rd heaven). As it says (1 Kings 8:27), "Behold, the heavens and the highest heaven." Therefore it is said, "Praise Him," etc. These are the waters that God created in the beginning, as it says (Genesis 1:8), "And God called the firmament Heaven." Ask for water. "Let them praise the name of the Lord," etc. They did not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, when He created them, as it says (Genesis 2:4), "On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." And it is written (Exodus 20:11), "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth." They did not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, but He commanded and they were created by themselves. Therefore it is said, "Let them praise the name of the Lord," because they were created to praise Him. And He established them forever with an ordinance that will not pass away. And what is this ordinance that He gave? He said to them (Genesis 1:6), "Let there be a firmament," etc. From that day on they did not move. God created them to take pleasure in them, but because of Adam's sin, the earth was cursed, as it says (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed be the ground," etc. Cain killed Abel, and God said to him (Genesis 4:9), "Where is Abel your brother?" (Genesis 4:10), "The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to Me from the ground." (Genesis 4:12), "You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." And God did not allow Himself to take pleasure in His creations.

There (in the north) is the abode of the destroying spirits, earthquakes, winds, demons, lightnings and thunders; thence evil issues forth into the world, as it is said, "Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jer. 1:14). Some say by ten Sayings was the world created || and in three (Divine attributes) are these (ten Sayings) comprised, as it is said, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens, by his knowledge the depths were broken up" (Prov. 3:19, 20). By these three (attributes) was the Tabernacle made, as it is said, "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge" (Ex. 31:3). Likewise with these three (attributes) was the Temple made, as it is said, "He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and knowledge" (1 Kings 7:14). By these three attributes it will be rebuilt in the future, as it is said, "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge are the chambers filled" (Prov. 24:3, 4).

THE CREATION ON THE SECOND DAY ON the second day the Holy One, blessed be He, created the firmament, the angels, fire for flesh and blood, and the fire of Gehinnom. Were not heaven and earth created on the first day, as it is said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1)? Which firmament was created on the second day? Rabbi Eliezer said: || It was the firmament which is above the heads of the four Chajjôth (living creatures), (as it is said), "And over the head of the Chajjôth there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible crystal" (Ezek. 1:22). What is the meaning of (the expression), "like the colour of the terrible crystal"? It means like precious stones and pearls; it illuminates all the heavens like a lamp which is illuminating the whole house and like the sun which is shining with maximum intensity at noonday, as it is said, "The light dwelleth with him" (Dan. 2:22); and like this in the future will the righteous shed light, as it is said, "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" (Dan. 12:3). Were it not for that firmament the world would be engulfed by the waters above it and below it; but (the firmament) divides the waters (above) from the waters (below), as it is said, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, (and let it divide the waters from the waters)" (Gen. 1:6), it illuminates between the waters above and the waters below.

Another matter: “They shall take Me a gift” – Rabbi Berekhya began: “Yours, Lord, is the greatness, and the might…for everything that is in the heavens and on the earth” (I Chronicles 29:11). You find that everything the Holy One blessed be He created above, He created below. Above, an abode and thick cloud, as it is stated: “See from the abode of Your holiness” (Isaiah 63:15). Thick cloud, [as it is stated]: “Moses approached the thick cloud [where God was]” (Exodus 20:18), and it is written: “Can He judge through the thick cloud?” (Job 22:13). Below, “then Solomon said: The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick cloud” (I Kings 8:12), and it is written: “I have built a house as an abode for You” (I Kings 8:13). Above, “seraphim were standing above Him” (Isaiah 6:2); below, “standing acacia wood” (Exodus 26:15). Above, cherubs, as it is stated: “who abides upon the cherubs” (Isaiah 37:16); below, “the cherubs shall be” (Exodus 25:20). Above, “the wheels were borne parallel to them” (Ezekiel 1:20); below, “The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of the chariot’s wheel” (I Kings 7:33), and likewise, “and behold, there was one wheel on the ground” (Ezekiel 1:15). Above, “the Lord is in His Holy Sanctuary” (Psalms 11:4); below, “the Sanctuary of the Lord” (I Samuel 1:9). Above, “The kings of hosts flee again and again” (Psalms 68:13); below, “the hosts of the Lord departed” (Exodus 12:41). Above, “let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, [and let it divide between water and water]” (Genesis 1:6); below, “the curtain shall divide for you [between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies]” (Exodus 26:33). Above, “the throne of the Lord” (I Chronicles 29:23); below, “Throne of glory, exalted from the first, is the place of our Temple” (Jeremiah 17:12). Above, “Is there a number to His companies” (Job 25:3); below, “two men, captains of his companies” (II Samuel 4:2). Above, “And count the stars” (Genesis 15:5); below, “and, behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens in abundance” (Deuteronomy 1:10). Above, “Behold the man garbed in linen” (Ezekiel 9:11); below, “He shall don a sacred linen tunic” (Leviticus 16:4). Above, “The angel [malakh] of the Lord encamps” (Psalms 34:8); below, “as he is a messenger [malakh] of the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 2:7). Above, “he took it from upon the altar with tongs” (Isaiah 6:6); below, “You shall make for Me an altar of earth” (Exodus 20:21). Above, “and stretches them like a tent for dwelling” (Isaiah 40:22); below, “how goodly are your tents, Jacob” (Numbers 24:5). Above, “He spreads out the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2); below, “ten sheets” (Exodus 26:1). Above, “light rests with Him” (Daniel 2:22); below, “pure olive oil pressed for illumination” (Exodus 27:20). Moreover, everything that is below is more beloved that what is above. Know that He forsook what was above and descended to what was below, as it is stated: “They shall craft a Sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). That is, “for everything that is in the heavens and on the earth” (I Chronicles 29:11), and it says: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, the utterance of the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).

Rabbi Aḥa said: This is analogous to a ruler who entered a province and many groups of bandits were with him. (The bandits had been apprehended and were in chains.) One [citizen] said to another: ‘How fearsome is this ruler!’ That one said to him: ‘Your loyalty is good, so you have nothing to fear from him.’ So too, when Israel heard the portion of the offerings, they were afraid. (There were offerings for many sins, particularly for those violated unwittingly.) Moses said to them: ‘Fear not. Engage in Torah study and you need not fear any of these.’ That is what is written: “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, [and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering]” (Leviticus 7:37). Why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types. Rabbi Simon said: This dish of mixed fruits and nuts is served last. Why? It is because it has many types. So too, why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types: Blood and fats to the altar, the breast and the thigh to the priest, the hide and the flesh to the owners. Rabbi Shimon says: One who is complete [shalem] brings a peace offering [shelamim], but one in acute mourning (This is one whose relative died that day but has not yet been buried.) does not bring a peace offering.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Great is peace, as all blessings are included in it. “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace” (Psalms 29:11). Ḥizkiya said two [statements]. Ḥizkiya said: Peace is great, as in the regard of all the mitzvot, it is written: “If you see…if you encounter” (Exodus 23:4–5); “if…will happen” (Deuteronomy 22:6). If a mitzva happens to present itself to you, you are obligated to perform it, and if not, you are not obligated to perform it. However, here, “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), seek it in your place and pursue it elsewhere. Ḥizkiya said another: Peace is great, as regarding all the journeys it is written: “They traveled…they encamped” (Numbers 33:5); (Both verbs are written in the plural: Vayisu, vayaḥanu.) they traveled in dispute and they encamped in dispute. When they all came before Mount Sinai, they all became a single encampment. That is what is written: “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there” (Exodus 19:2). It is not written here “Israel encamped [vayaḥanu] there,” but rather “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there.” (The verb is singular rather than plural. ) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘This is the moment that I am giving the Torah to My children.’ Bar Kappara said three. Bar Kappara said: Great is peace, as the verses presented matters of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Abraham and Sarah. That is what is written: “After my withering, will I have youth, and my lord is old?” (Genesis 18:12). But to Abraham He did not say so, but rather: “And I have grown old” (Genesis 18:13). (When God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, He did not tell him that she had said that he was old, but rather that she had said she was old. ) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace, as the verse employed expressions of falsehood in the prophets in order to institute peace between a man and his wife, as it is stated: “Behold now, you are barren and have not given birth; but you will conceive, and you will give birth to a son” (Judges 13:3). But to Mano’aḥ, he did not say so, but rather, “The angel of the Lord said to Mano'ah: From everything that I said to the woman let her beware” (Judges 13:13). In any case, she requires medicine. (He did not refer to her as barren, which might have resulted in her husband looking down on her, but merely said that she required treatment in order to conceive, and therefore she should follow his instructions.) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace. If the supernal beings who do not have jealousy, hatred, rivalry, strife, quarrels, dispute, or the evil eye require peace – that is what is written: “He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2); the earthly beings, who have all these traits, all the more so. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Great is peace, as the verses employed expressions of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Joseph and his brothers. That is what is written: “So say to Joseph: Please, forgive [the transgression of your brothers and their sin as they did evil to you]” (Genesis 50:17), (Joseph’s brothers sent a message to him in the name of their father Jacob asking that he forgive them, although the verses never state that Jacob actually said this. ) and we do not find that Jacob commanded anything. Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said: Great is peace as, even in times of war, one opens only with peace. That is what is written: “When you approach a city to wage war against it, [you shall call to it for peace]” (Deuteronomy 20:10). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Yosei said: Great is peace, as the name of the Holy One blessed be He is called peace. That is what is written: “He called it: The Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24). Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yudan said: From here [it may be derived] that it is prohibited for a person to ask after the welfare of another (While employing the term “peace”, which has been established to be a name of God. ) in a filthy place. Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife. (The reference is to the ritual of the sota (see Numbers 5:11–31), which involves erasing the name of God. The purpose of the ritual is to restore trust and peace between man and wife. ) Rabbi Meir would sit and lecture on Shabbat at night. There was a certain woman who would stand there and listen to him teaching the lecture, and she would wait until he concluded the lecture. [Once,] she went home and found the lamps extinguished. Her husband said to her: ‘Where were you?’ She said to him: ‘I was sitting and listening to the voice of the lecturer.’ He said to her: ‘Such and such shall befall me; you will not enter here until you go and spit in the face of that lecturer.’ She remained outside the first, second, and third weeks. Her neighbors said to her: ‘Are you still angry with one another? We will come with you to the lecturer.’ When Rabbi Meir saw them, he saw through the Divine Spirit. He said to them: ‘Is there a woman among you who is proficient in chanting to heal the eye?’ (It was common for people to utter incantations to treat certain medical conditions. The individual employing the incantation would also spit. ) Her neighbors said to her: ‘Go now and spit in his face and release your husband of his vow.’ When she sat before him, she feared him. She said to him: ‘Rabbi, I am not proficient in chanting to heal the eye.’ He said to her: ‘Even so, spit in my face seven times, and I will be relieved.’ She did so. He said to her: ‘Go say to your husband: You said one time, but I spat seven times.’ His students said to him: ‘Rabbi, should the Torah be demeaned in this way? Should you not have said to one of us to chant for you?’ He said to them: ‘Is it not sufficient for Meir to be like his Maker, as Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: Great is peace, as when the Holy One blessed be He created His world He made peace between the supernal and the earthly. On the first day, He created part of the supernal and part of the earthly [realms]. That is what is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second, He created from the supernal [realm]. That is what is written: “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third, He created from the earthly [realm]. That is what is written: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). On the fourth, from the supernal [realm]: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth, He created from the earthly [realm]: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth, He came to create man. He said: If I create him from the supernal, the supernal will be more numerous than the earthly by one creation. If I create him from the earthly, the earthly will be more numerous than the supernal by one creation. What did He do? He created him from the supernal and from the earthly. That is what is written: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7); from the earthly, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7); from the supernal. Rabbi Mani of She’av and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Great is peace, as all the blessings, goodness, and consolations that the Holy One blessed be He brings upon Israel conclude with peace. In the recitation of Shema: Who spreads a canopy of peace; in prayer: He who makes peace; in the Priestly Benediction: “And grant you peace” (Numbers 6:26). (In the blessings surrounding the recitation of Shema, in the Amida prayer, and in the Priestly Benediction, the theme of the final blessing is peace. ) I have [provided sources] only in blessings; from where is it derived regarding offerings? “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:37). I have only regarding the general; where is it derived in specific? (The previous source cited regarding offerings is a verse that mentions all of the offerings. Where is this expressed within the particular discussions of each offering? ) “This is the law of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “This is the law of the meal offering” (Leviticus 6:7); “This is the law of the sin offering” (Leviticus 6:18); “This is the law of the guilt offering” (Leviticus 7:1); “This is the law of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11). (The particular laws of peace offerings are discussed after those of the other types of offerings. ) I have [provided a source] only regarding individual offerings; from where is it derived regarding communal offerings? The verse states: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times” (Numbers 29:39), and it concludes with peace offerings. (The full text of the verse is: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times, aside from your vows and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your meal offerings and for your libations and for your peace offerings.” ) And I have [provided a source] only in this world; from where is it derived regarding the World to Come? “I will extend peace to it like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). The Rabbis say: Great is peace, as when the messianic king comes, he will open only with peace, as it is stated: “How pleasant are the feet of the herald on the mountains, announcing peace” (Isaiah 52:7).

And the members of the non-priestly watch, who represented the entire community that week, would fast four days a week, from Monday until Thursday. And they would not fast on Shabbat eve, in deference to Shabbat, as they did not wish to start Shabbat while fasting. And they did not fast on Sunday, so as not to go from rest and delight immediately to exertion and fasting, and run the risk that they might die as a result of the abrupt change. Which portions of the Torah would the members of the non-priestly watch read on each day? On Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:1–8). On Monday they would read: “Let there be a firmament” and “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9–13). On Tuesday they would read: “Let the waters be gathered” and “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14–19). On Wednesday: “Let there be lights” and “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20–23). On Thursday: “Let the waters swarm” and “Let the earth bring forth” (Genesis 1:24–31). On Friday: “Let the earth bring forth” and “And the heaven and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1–3). A long passage, consisting of six verses or more, is read by two people, and a short passage is read by one, as one cannot read fewer than three verses from the Torah together. They read from the Torah in the morning prayer and in the additional prayer. In the afternoon prayer the members of the non-priestly watch enter the synagogue and read the daily portion by heart, just as one recites Shema every day. On Shabbat eve at the afternoon prayer, they would not enter the synagogue for the communal Torah readings, in deference to Shabbat.

All our sages agree that the Tabernacle was a microcosm of the macrocosm, that it reflected to the extent possible, structures and concepts and their development prevalent in the Celestial Regions, though those "structures" and concepts are, of course, abstract. Midrash Rabbah Terumah 33,4 commenting on Chronicles I 29,11: "Yours, O Lord are greatness, might, splendour, triumph, and majesty-- yes all that is in Heaven and earth," quotes Rabbi Berechyah; he sees this as proof that G–d transferred His residence to the Tabernacle. There is also a Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Pekudey which quotes Psalms 26,8: "O Lord, I love Your temple abode, the dwelling-place of Your glory," as proof that the residence of G–d on earth corresponds to the one He has in the Celestial Regions. Its construction was also a repetition of the process of creation. This is derived from the text of the Bible in Genesis 1,1: "At the beginning G–d created the heaven and the earth," whereas we read in Psalms 104,2: "You spread the heavens like a tent cloth." The Tabernacle was also covered by tent cloth as per Exodus 26,1: "You shall make the Tabernacle from ten strips of tent cloth." When describing what happened on the second day of creation, the Torah speaks about a firmament which is to separate the "upper" waters from the "lower" waters (Genesis 1,6), whereas when giving the instructions for building the Tabernacle the Torah directs that the "curtain shall divide between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies" (Exodus 26,33). The Torah, relating the work G–d performed on the third day of creation, mentions that the waters are to be gathered into one area (Genesis 1,9), whereas during the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah commands the construction of a copper basin into which all the water is to be poured (Exodus 30,18). On the fourth day of creation the Torah reports the construction of the great luminaries (Genesis 1,14), whereas the Torah commands the construction of a lampstand as part of the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25,31). On the fifth day of creation G–d created the birds, etc. (Genesis 1,20), whereas in the Tabernacle the Torah commands that the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark be equipped with wings, bird-like (Exodus 25,20). Sacrifices of birds are also prescribed to be offered up in the Tabernacle. On the sixth day of creation G–d created man in His own image to reflect the glory of his Creator (Genesis 1,27), whereas in the Tabernacle a human being, the High Priest, was to be anointed and consecrated to parallel in this microcosm the function of man in the macrocosm in this microcosm. On the seventh day of creation, the universe is described as having been completed (Genesis 2,1); we find a similar expression when the Torah describes the construction of the Tabernacle as having been completed (Exodus 39,32). When the universe was completed G–d blessed it (Genesis 1,28-2,3), whereas when the Tabernacle was completed Moses blessed it (Exodus 39,43). When the universe was completed the Torah uses the term ויכל to describe the completion (Genesis 2,2); when the Tabernacle was completed the Torah uses the same expression (Exodus 40,33 and Numbers 7,1). When the universe was completed G–d sanctified it (Genesis 2,3); when the construction of the Tabernacle was completed the Torah also relates that Moses anointed and sanctified it (Numbers 7,1).

We must try and understand why Rabbenu Bachyah was so selective in his comparison of the creation with the construction of the Tabernacle. He could have cited additional parallels. A look at a lengthy Midrash in Shemot Rabbah 33,4 quotes Rabbi Berechyah as presenting a long list of parallels between the Tabernacle and מעשה בראשית. The list includes many items found in the heavens such as ערפל, זבול, עצי שטים, כרובים, אופנים and many others. In each case Rabbi Berechyah demonstrates that the Tabernacle contained something parallel.

Between the upper waters and the lower waters: There are differing opinions about this: Some of them say that the firmament that divides between the lower and the higher waters are the planets, and that is the opinion of the Ramban. And he was prodigious in bringing many passages about the truth of this idea. And it is [also] the opinion of Rashi, may his memory be blessed, in his commentary on the Pentateuch. For he wrote (Rashi on Genesis 1:6:2), "'In the midst of the waters' - in the middle of the waters; because there is distance, etc." But the Rabbi of the Guide (Rambam in the Guide for the Perplexed) explained that the firmament is the place where the cloud exists. And at first glance, this statement of Ben Zoma only fits the explanation of the Rabbi of the Guide. And likewise did Re'em (R. Eliyahu Mizrachi) write about the verse, "in the midst of the water," and [Rashi's comment,] "in the middle of the waters, etc." And he wrote at length there: However that which is in Chagigah about Ben Zoma - that he said, "I was looking at the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters, etc. a mere three fingers"; and Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students, "Ben Zoma is still outside, etc." - he held that the firmament is speaking about the firmament of air (cloud). And the explanation [of the verse (Genesis 1:6)], "Let there be a firmament," is [hence,] there should be a firmament, like it sounds. And therefore they said that between the upper waters of the firmament and the lower waters, there is only three fingers according to the one, and like a hair's breadth according to the other. And from this, it is a wonder about [Rashi], may his memory be blessed, how he disregarded the Gemara and took hold of the words of Aggadah from Bereishit Rabbah. To here are the words of the Re'em. But in my opinion, this verse can fit with both explanations. For 'one thing God has spoken; two things have we heard.' For one verse can be expressed with several explanations. And from this, what Ralbag understood in the opinion of the Guide is incorrect and [these are his words]: And the Rabbi of the Guide already explained [that] the firmament is the place in which the cloud is found, since it was strange to him that water would be found above the frame of the heavens. To here [are his words]. For the [Rambam] also conceded this. And [the reason] he mentioned, air, and did not mention, the waters above the frame of the heavens, is because, waters, is only stated there as a metaphor. And a metaphor is from that which is different then the matter itself. And this is the explanation that Rabbi Akiva gave, "When you reach pure marble stones, do not say, 'Water,' as it is stated, 'He who speaks falsehood. etc.'" - like the Ralbag himself fully wrote. And both [opinions] are in the same [passage of] Scripture, "Praise the Lord from the Heavens, etc." (Psalms 148:1) - these are the heavens of the air. And afterwards, it is written (Psalms 148:4), "Praise Him, heavens of the heavens" - and these are the planets. And afterwards, it is written, "and the waters that are above the heavens." And so does the Re'em explain. And with this, it is explained [how] Rashi, may his memory be blessed, brought (Rashi on Genesis 1:8) in the explanation of [the word], heavens (shamayim), "Carry water (Sa mayim)" - and these are the words of Bereishit Rabbah; but afterwards, he wrote, "water is there (sham mayim)" - and these are the words of the Talmud, Chapter 2 in Chagigah (12a:19): "Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said, 'Shamayim is sham mayim. It was taught in a baraita, 'Shamayim is esh oumayim (fire and water), since the Holy One, Blessed be He, brought them both, mixed them together and made the firmament with them.'" For these statements and their explanations do not contradict one another. Rather it is that the [statement in] Bereishit Rabbah mentioned there the matter of the waters above the planets and so it perforce explained that those heavens are sa mayim; since the waters are carried above by them. But our Talmud was speaking about the heavens of the air, like the statement of Ben Zoma. Perforce the explanation of those waters is sham mayim, because the agitation of the water is there. And so did the Re'em explain. And that which it said, esh oumayim, is because the heavens of the air are the place that the cloud comes to exist. And some of them are clouds of fire and some of them are clouds of water. As we have found, "and fire flashing in the midst of the hail" (Exodus 9:25), such that the hail and the fire were mixed together. Hence it is understood that these heavens were fire and water that the Holy One, blessed be He, mixed with one another. And the author of the Makor Chaim wrote like this idea regarding water and fire, that He mixed one with the other. And with this, there is no room for wondering why Rashi seized the words of the Aggadah and left over the words of the Gemara in Chagigah. As Rashi is not contradicting them. For if that was not so, he should not have brought the statement of Chagigah, "sham mayim," and "esh oumayim," since it is an explanation of the heavens of the air - as I have written. Rather he is explaining the verses with ideas that are close to its simple understanding. And this is the way of Rashi, may his memory be blessed, in several places - as the Re'em, may his memory be blessed, wrote in several places. However in the aggadot in the Yerushalmi in Berakhot (1:1:24), we say: It has been taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua, "The thickness of the sky is two fingers." The words of Rabbi Chanina disagree, as Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Chanina "'Spread the skies with Him; they are strong like a cast mirror' (Job 37:18) - 'spread,' teaches that they are made like sheet metal. I could think that they are not sturdy, that is why the verse says, 'strong, etc.'" To here are [its words]. And it is implied that it is speaking about the heavens that are the planets, and not the heavens of the air, for it is arguing there with one who holds that the width of the heavens is the distance of 500 [years]. And if so, according to this, it appears that it can be said that the statement of Ben Zoma, according to its simple meaning, is speaking about the waters above the planets. And the opinion of Ben Zoma - such that he said that the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters is a mere (two) fingers - is like the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua there, that the width of the planets is two fingers. And that is what separates between the higher and the lower waters. And the one [here] who holds that it is like the width of a hair holds like Rabbi Chanina, that the width of the firmament that separates between them is only like sheet metal. And then there is no other way [to understand] the verse and Ben Zoma's statement besides the explanation of Rashi; and not that it is the firmament of the air, which is an approach that is far from the simple meaning of the verse. And the author of Yafeh Mareh wondered about the Re'em, and these are his [words]: And in my eyes, my studies should be separated from the like - how could he believe that our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, explained, firmament, [to be] the air; and the upper and the lower waters in this way, etc.? See there, and this needs [further] study.

וכסף פקודי העדה, “and the excess silver shekalim (1750) etc.” these were not shekalim from the census or donations for construction of the Tabernacle as described in verse 29 as נחושת התנופה,”copper from the elevation offering;” the Torah wishes to tell us that the people as a whole did not have more than this amount of silver left in their possession after parting with their donations of silver shekalim. ובכסף ונחושת, “and with the silver and the copper, etc;” The Torah now proceeds to tell us for what all this silver and copper had been used when constructing the Tabernacle. This had not been spelled when the Torah told us what the gold was used for, as no complete item other than the menorah, candlestick, was made of gold. Gold was used as an overlay both for the altar, the Holy Ark, the Table and the boards of the walls. It is worthwhile to reflect on how important the Tabernacle was relative to the creation of the physical universe, and how this was reflected in many of the details surrounding it, On the first day G–d was reported as having created heaven and earth before giving the order to light to come into existence. [Heaven and earth you will recall were wrapped completely in darkness. Ed.] G–d’s activity on that day is described in Psalms 104,2 as נוטה שים כיריעה, “spreading the heavens like a carpet.” The corresponding activity when constructing the Tabernacle was covering its walls with goat-skins. (Exodus 26,7) On the second day G–d had created the horizon and divided the lower waters from the upper waters. (Genesis 1,6) The corresponding activity involving the construction of the Tabernacle was the installation of the dividing curtain, פרוכת, between the Holy of Holies, and the Sanctuary proper. (Exodus 26,33) On the third day G–d had commanded the earth beneath the oceans to form a coherent surface and to become visible above the waters of the ocean. (Genesis 1,9) The corresponding activity during the construction of the Tabernacle was the making of the water-basin, כיור used by the priests to purify their hands and feet. (Exodus 30,18) On the fourth day G–d had positioned the Luminaries in the sky, (Genesis 1,14). The corresponding activity had been the making and placing of the menorah in the Tabernacle and kindling it. (Exodus 25,31) On the fifth day G–d had created the fish and the birds (Genesis 1,20), and the corresponding activity during the construction of the Tabernacle had been the winged cherubs which had been constructed and placed on the cover of the Holy Ark. (Exodus 25,6) On the sixth day G–d had created the first human being, (Genesis 1,27); the corresponding activity during construction of the Tabernacle was the order to Moses to consecrate his brother Aaron as High Priest. (Exodus 28,1.) On the seventh day, G–d had “rested,” (Genesis 2,1) the corresponding report concerning the Tabernacle is found in Exodus 39,43, with the words: ותכל כל עבודת המשכן, “all the work of constructing the Tabernacle had been completed” After G–d had completed to create the universe He blessed it and all its inhabitant and he sanctified the Sabbath (Genesis 2,1) Moses did likewise in Numbers 7,1. The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle reminds us of the heavens, source of our spiritual inspiration, whereas the table is symbolic of earth and its products is reminding us of how the Creator has provided for all His creatures. The showbreads are the visible symbol on that Table. The six rows on which they were placed are reminiscent of the six seasons of the year: sowing, harvesting, cold season, hot season, summer and winter.

Thus Scripture states, His banner of love was over me, alluding to the camp of the shekhinah located in the midst of the four tribal ensigns, as it is written: “Then, midway between the divisions, the Tent of Meeting, the division of the Levites, shall move” [Num. 2:17]. And we have similarly found that the figures of the Tabernacle constitute a symbol of the Holy One, blessed be He, and of the world. So our sages have said: “R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: ‘When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses “Make Me a sanctuary that I might dwell among you,” he was to erect four poles and stretch out the tabernacle upon them. This teaches that the Holy One showed him red fire, green fire, black fire, and white fire. He said to him: “follow the patterns … that are being shown to you on the mountain” [Exod. 25:40].’ “R. Berechyah said: ‘This can be likened in a parable to a king who had a wonderful garment made of pearls. He said to his retainer: “Make me another like this one.” The retainer said to him: “My lord king, can I really make one like it?” The king said: “I in accord with my glory, you in accord with your own material.” Similarly, our teacher Moses said to God: “Can I construct something like these?” God said: “In accord with their patterns, using blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen.’” “Thus is the entire world included within the construction of the sanctuary. Concerning the world it is written: ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ [Gen. 1:1] and ‘He stretches the heavens out like a curtain’ [Ps. 104:2]. The Tabernacle contained goat skins for its tent. On the second day it is written: ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, separating water from water’ [Gen. 1:6]. Concerning the tabernacle it states: ‘the curtain shall serve as a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies’ [Exod. 26:33]. On the third day of creation, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one area …’ [Gen. 1:9]. Concerning the sanctuary: ‘You shall make a brass basin’ [Exod. 30:18]. On the fourth day: ‘Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the sky’ [Gen. 1:14] while in the tabernacle there was the candelabrum of pure gold. On the fifth day of creation: ‘… and birds that fly above the earth’ [Gen. 1:20] while in the Sanctuary: ‘Let there be cherubim with outstretched wings’ [Exod. 25:20]. Humanity was created on the sixth day. Concerning the sanctuary it states: ‘Bring forward Aaron your brother’ [Exod. 28:1]. On the seventh day: ‘The heaven and the earth were completed’ [Gen. 2:1]. Concerning the tabernacle: ‘Thus was completed all of the work of the Tabernacle …’ [Exod. 39:32]. Concerning the work of Creation, it is written: ‘God blessed them’ [Gen. 1:33] and concerning the construction of the tabernacle: ‘Moses blessed them …’ [Exod. 39:43]. On the seventh day it states: ‘On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing’ [Gen. 2:2], concerning the tabernacle: ‘On the day which Moses completed …’ [Num. 7:1]. On the seventh day: ‘God sanctified it’ [Gen. 2:3]; concerning the tabernacle: ‘Moses consecrated it …’ [Num. 7:1].” (Midrash Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1.) All of the above alludes to the fact that this world draws its life and is connected and adheres to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. So too the ark and its utensils are symbolic allusions. Above “seraphim stand” [Isa. 6:2]; below “acacia wood stands” [Exod. 26:16]. Above “He sits upon the cherubim” [Ps. 80:2]; below “cherubim of outstretched wing” [Exod. 37:9]. Above are the holy wheels (of Ezekiel’s vision); below “the structure of the wheels was like the structure of the wheel of the heavenly chariot-throne” [I Kings 7:33].

Among the phenomena emanated on the first day were ten entities commingled one with the other: heaven and earth; primordial chaos; ( Primordial chaos is twofold: tohu va-vohu.) light and darkness; wind and water; and the quality of day and the quality of night. ( v. Hagigah 12a. The kabbalists associate this list with the ten sefirot.) This is the intent of “He dams up the sources of the streams” [Job 28:11]. Since these ten entities were considered as one, the cosmos being in the inchoate state of water intermixed with water, God dammed those watery channels, separating the waters with the command: “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water …” [Gen 1:6]. Thus the verse continues, “from its hiddenness He brought forth light.” The hiddenness of transcendent Wisdom brought forth light.

AND FROM THE ONE END OF HEAVEN. Heaven, as I have explained, refers to the air, (The firmament.) which has ends. (At the point where the firmament appears to merge with the sea. See I.E. on Gen. 1:6 and the notes thereto (Vol. 1, p. 34). From this it appears that the correct reading in I.E. on Gen. 1:6, is, as was stated, ketzot ha-shamayim rather than ketzot ha-shemesh.)

AND GOD MADE. Dividing one thing from another is expressed by placing the preposition ben (between) before the first object and a lamed before the second, as in And let it divide (The verse literally reads: and let it divide between.) the waters (ben mayim) from the waters (la-mayim) (Gen. 1:6) and between the holy (ben kodesh) and the common (le-chol) (Ezek. 44:23). It may also be expressed by placing the preposition (ben) before each one of the objects, as in our verse and divided the waters (The verse literally reads: and God divided between the waters.) (ben ha-mayim) which were under the firmament from the waters (u-ven ha-mayim) which were above the firmament. And it is found with the word ben repeated and a lamed before the second object, as in But your iniquities have separated Between you (benekhem) and your God (le-ven elohekhem) (Is. 59:2).

ירקענו Beateth it. (A. V., Spreadeth it over.) Comp. וירקעו and they did beat (Ex. 39:3), רקיע expanse (A. V., A firmament.) (Gen. 1:6).

כדוק As a curtain. (The Hebrew text has the word כטפריר, which, if correct, seems to be obscurer than the expression it is intended to throw light upon; but שפריר (Jer. 43:10.) is probably meant.) Resembling the form of a tent.—The heavens mentioned here are not the Ofanim. (The Ofanim or Spheres (גלגלים), the bearers of the Throne, are invisible; but here the visible heaven, the sky, is meant. Comp. I. E. on Is. 6:1, and Note 5; on Gen. 1:6, and on Ex. 24:10.)

And stretched them out over the earth; comp. רקיע expanse (Gen. 1:6).

The meaning of I am the Lord is that God loves the one who separates himself to serve God and to obey his word. What happened at Mount Sinai is proof. (Before the revelation Israel had to separate themselves from sexual relations and sanctify themselves. See Ex. 19:15.) The first man is proof. (According to I.E., Adam experienced sexual desire only after eating from the tree of knowledge. See I.E. on Gen. 3:6 (Vol. 1, p. 67). He was expelled from the presence of the Lord because of his lust.) This is the secret of man. (Man is to separate himself from the pleasures of this world and serve God. See the introduction to Vol. 4. Also, see Yesod Mora 10; 12.) Since the inclination of the heart of man is like that of beasts, it was not possible to prohibit all women. (Since people have sexual desire, the Torah did not prohibit it. It limited it.) Note, Scripture prohibited all women that are found around a person at all times. (If Scripture had permitted close relatives, then a person would indulge in sexual intercourse at all times.) I will reveal to you a hidden and sealed secret in the Torah portion When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies (Deut. 23:10). (See I.E. on Deut. 23:10. So too Maimonides, Guide 3:64, “The female relatives whom a man may not marry…as a rule…(being) constantly together with him in his house; they would easily listen to him, and do what he desires; they are near at hand, and he would have no difficulty in procuring them” (Friedlander translation, p. 376).) Observe, whoever defiles himself is distanced from God, from receiving God. (God can only be received when a person is in a state of purity. God turns away from those who are defiled. See Deut. 23:15.) Scripture therefore mentions, I am the Lord.

As when He gave weight to the wind. (Elsewhere (glosses on Genesis 1:6), Malbim writes: The ancients did not know that air has weight and used to laugh at statements like 'He gave weight to the wind' until the scientist Galileo came and found a device for measuring air and showed that it has weight.)

You must understand the reason why these allusions commenced only with the list of offerings and libations offered on the second day of the festival. The reason is that on the second day of creation the original waters were divided into the “upper” waters and the waters “below” (Genesis 1,6). It is clear therefore that “water” and its activities are appropriately featured on the “second” day. [In order to understand what follows you must know that in times when rain had not materialized at the expected times, efforts were made to intercede with G’d both in the Temple and in all parts of the country. The people chosen to represent their brethren in such prayers and fasts were known as אנשי מעמד. Ed.]. Our sages (Taanit 27) have explained that the אנשי המעמד, used to fast on Mondays (second day) in supplication for rain to materialize seeing that on that day of the week G’d dealt with the waters. They also fasted on Fridays, the day on which man had been created, seeing man cannot survive without water. The Torah had told us that as long as man was not yet on earth there had not been any rain, only mist rose from the earth (Genesis 2,6). When the Torah reports once more on the creation of man in the verse following (Genesis 2,7), this is an allusion that as of that time rain became necessary and materialized. If the last letter ם appears during the mussaf offerings of the seventh day of the festival Tabernacles this is because the seventh day symbolizes completion of G’d’s universe. In Rosh Hashanah 16 the sages quote G’d as having said: “present libations of water for Me on the Sukkot festival in order that the rains you will receive will prove beneficial.” As a result of such instructions these libations of water were presented on the altar on every single day of the festival. This procedure is known as הלכה של משה מסיני, a decree going back to Sinai when Moses received the Torah. It is not spelled out in the written Torah. The procedure took place during the offering of the daily morning burnt-offering at the same time as the wine-libation was presented. It took place on the south west corner of the altar on the upper half of the altar. The entire amount of water descended to the hole known a “shittin.” The priests would take a bottle made of gold containing three login of water; the bottle was filled from the well known as מי שילוח. When the bearers would arrive at the Temple gate they would blow tekiah teruah tekiah. The priest would ascend the ramp to the altar and turn left after he had arrived at the top and pour the water out of the bottle into a bowl provided for the purpose. There were two such silver bowls. The one on the western side would be filled with the water, the one on the eastern side would be filled with the wine for the libation. Both bowls had two small holes just like the bottom of the nose. The hole in the vessel containing the water was thinner than that in the vessel containing the wine (as water is apt to flow more quickly than wine) so that both libations would arrive at their ultimate destination, the shittin, simultaneously. The priest about to pour the water would be told to raise his hand, seeing it had happened once that a priest poured the water on his feet and the people present pelted him with their citrons believing that he had done so for heretical reasons. [The Sadducees rejected the whole procedure as not written in the Torah. Ed.] Our sages in Sukkah 51 said that anyone who had not witnessed the joy with which this whole procedure of the preparation for the water-libation was celebrated has no idea what true joy is all about. The whole procedure was known as בית השואבה, based on Isaiah 12,3: “you will draw water amidst great joy.” The drawing of the requisite water took place on each of the seven nights (except Sabbath) of the festival for the needs of the daily burnt-offering.

... Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 1,20 explain that the angels were created on the second day of creation and that the heaven described as רקיע was created on the same day. They understand the meaning of the directive יהי רקיע in Genesis 1,6 as a reference to the “heaven” inhabited by the angels known as chayot.

ונסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד, “and a drink-offering of one quarter hin wine for the one sheep.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes that as soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation the deputy High Priest would wave the flag-like cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. A the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the assembled people would bow down and after every section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the burnt-offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid 7,3). The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1 as that psalm dealt with aspects of the creation of the universe, recalling that everything had been void and empty before. The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד to commemorate the directive “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse 4 of that psalm the separation between different levels of holiness is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the Azarah, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah speaks of separation between upper and lower waters (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse 4 of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible (Genesis 1,9). This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they sat in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah (G’d) also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day i.e. psalm 94, which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to the people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81 which amongst other matters deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea-monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21). On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendor. It was the day that man, the most perfect of the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even nature, i.e. was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on the different days of the week. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.

נסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד. As soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation, the deputy High Priest would wave the flag cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. At the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the people assembled would bow down, and after each section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the olah, the burnt offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid, 7,3.) The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1, seeing that this psalm deals with aspects of the creation of the universe. It recalls that everything had been void and empty before that “day.” The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד, to commemorate the directive: “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah, is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse four of that psalm the separation between different levels of sanctity is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the עזרה, vestibule, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah describes the separation between the “upper” and “lower” waters. (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse four of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor, etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible. (Genesis 1,9) This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they would sit in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality, which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day, i.e. psalm 94 which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and the moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81, which, amongst other matters, deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21) ; On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendour. It was the day that man, the most accomplished of all the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even over nature, i.e. he was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on different days of the week.

אלה תולדות השמים והארץ, the word אלה refers to the phenomena mentioned during the 6 “days” of creation. Even though we have been told that G’d created the universe, as is clear from the verbs ויברא and ויעש all referring to G’d Himself doing these things, so where did the derivatives, תולדות come from? The Torah means that indeed G’d had created all these, but He had employed intermediaries, i.e. heaven and earth to whom He had issued directives. In Bereshit Rabbah 12,7 we are told לכל יש תולדות, everything has derivatives. We know that heaven and earth have derivatives. Rain has derivatives as it says in Job 38,28 do you know who is the father of rain, do you know who sired dew? [The concept being described is that none of these phenomena created themselves but were the product of something preceding them. Hence all phenomena that we perceive are derivatives of heaven or earth, which alone had been created by G’d directly, without intermediaries. Ed.] Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that pearls are derivatives of dew; he referred to the bedolach mentioned in verse 12 of our chapter. Basically, the message of our verse is that everything that does produce derivatives, offspring, is itself slated to die and to disintegrate. This fact is proof that it is a creature and not a creator. On the other hand, if a phenomenon in the universe does not produce derivatives, this is proof that the phenomenon is not mortal, not subject to dissolution but that we are faced with a Creator and not a creature. Rabbi Azaryah in the name of Rabbi added that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish’s comment was directed toward heaven, i.e. seeing that G’d is eternal and not subject to disintegration He needs no derivatives, “offspring” in order to perpetuate Himself. Everything which is a visible phenomenon is a derivative of either heaven or earth, seeing that the Torah commenced with the words בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ “First, G’d created heaven and earth.” בהבראם, on the very day G’d created the heaven it already began to produce derivatives . This is the meaning of the words: ביום עשות ה' אלוקים ארץ ושמים. This is a reference to the day on which G’d confirmed that heaven was to be the upper waters, rakia, and earth was to be the dry land, yabashah. Starting with that day, heaven and earth each produced derivatives, i.e. a process of evolution began, one that followed rules set by G’d. The meaning of the word ביום is that this occurred simultaneously, i.e. both heaven and earth began this process on the same day, as we explained on Genesis 1,6. Our sages explained the reason for the minuscule letter ה in the word בהבראם as meaning that G’d had used the letter ה as His agent in creating the physical universe. (Bereshit Rabbah 12,10.) The peculiarity of that letter is that all the other letters in the Hebrew alphabet demand an effort to pronounce them, whereas the letter ה demands no effort. The use of this letter here symbolises that the work involved in creating the physical universe did not cause fatigue, etc., to the Creator. ה' אלוקים, this combination of two names to describe G’d occurs here for the first time, not having occurred during the report of the creation. Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 13,3 explain it as appropriate saying that now that the universe was complete, also G’d’s name had to be spelled out in full. Ibn Ezra writes (in his book יסוד מורא chapter 12 page 42) that seeing that in this world nothing is permanent and enduring except the soul of man, as long as man did not exist there was no point in revealing another facet to G’d’s name. The only aspect of G’d’s essence which was revealed until that point was the attribute of Justice, i.e. the attribute designed to instill awe in the creatures whom He had created. The superior soul of man is called לב, heart; but the heart is both גוף and something over and beyond merely a physical organ pumping blood. It is called by a name describing something physical, seeing it is the original organ combining spiritual and physical features. Seeing that also all of G’d’s activities had been implemented by means of angels, disembodied agents at home in the celestial spheres, these angels bear His name אלוקים. The name Hashem was co-opted on account of man, i.e. on account of the superior essence of man, the soul, which is of an enduring eternal nature. Man, after all, represented the purpose of G’d creating the entire universe. There is a reason why the name Hashem has not simply replaced the attribute אלוקים used by the Torah to describe the Creator until now, until the birth of Kayin (man’s first derivative, תולדה). We will have more to say on this on chapter 4,1.

AND G-D SAW THE LIGHT, THAT IT WAS GOOD. Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] wrote: “Here too (A reference to Rashi’s similar comment on the first word of the Torah — bereshith (see above). The difficulty here in the text is twofold: (a) It is first written, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and then G—d said, Let there be light. Thus there already was a separation between light and darkness. Why then does Scripture continue by stating, and G—d divided the light from the darkness? (b) Concerning all other acts of creation, the expression “And G—d saw that it was good” is found at the completion of the act of creation, while here this phrase is written (in the beginning of Verse 4) before the completion. The Agadah, which Rashi quotes, answers: (a) vayavdel means here that He set apart the light for the righteous in the world to come. (b) ki tov (that it was good) could not have been written after the separation of the light for the righteous from the ordinary light, since the remaining light was no longer perfect. Therefore, ki tov is mentioned before the setting aside of the light.) we must depend on the words of the homiletic Agadah G-d saw that the wicked were unworthy of using the light, and so He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. But according to the plain meaning of the verse, explain it thus: He saw that the light was good, and that it was not seemly for it and the darkness to function in a confused manner. He therefore assigned the one’s sphere of activity to the daytime and the one’s sphere of activity to the nighttime.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “The word vayar (and He saw) has the same meaning here as in Vera’iti ani (And I saw), (Daniel 10:7.) which refers to the thought in the heart. And He divided refers to His giving them different names.” (Ibn Ezra’s opinion is thus that the division was not because it was unseemly that the light and darkness function in a confused manner, but it was for the purpose of assigning each one a separate name.) But the words of both Rashi and Ibn Ezra are incorrect for if they were, it would appear that there was on the part of G-d a change of mind and new counsel, as if to say that after G-d said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light, He saw that it was good, and therefore He divided between it and darkness just as a human being who does not know the nature of something until it comes into existence! Rather, the order followed in the process of creation is that the bringing forth of things into actual existence is called amirah (saying). Thus: And G-d said, ‘Let there be light;’ And G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament;’ (Verse 6.) And G-d said, ‘Let the earth put forth grass.’ (Verse 11.) And the permanence of things called forth into existence is called re’iyah (seeing), as And I saw in Ecclesiastes, (2:13.) and similarly, And the woman saw that the tree was good for food. (Genesis 3:6.) In the language of the Rabbis we also find, “I see the words of Admon.” (Kethuboth 109a.) Likewise, And the king said unto Zadok the priest, ‘Seest thou? return into the city in peace.’ (II Samuel 15:27.) The purport of the word “seeing” is thus to indicate that their continuing existence is at His Will, and if that Will should for a second depart from them, they will turn into nought. Now just as Scripture says in connection with the work of each day, And G-d saw that it was good and on the sixth day when everything was completed it says, And G-d saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good, (Verse 31.) so does it say on the first day when light came into existence, And G-d saw … that it was good, meaning He desired its existence forever. The verse adds “the light” [And G-d saw ‘the light’ that it was good], because had it just said, “And G-d saw that it was good,” it would have referred to the creation of the heaven and the earth, and at that time He had not yet decreed for them permanence, as they did not remain as they were. Instead, from the substance created on the first day, the firmament was made on the second day, and on the third the waters and the dust were separated and the dry land — which He called “earth” — was formed. He then decreed for them permanence, and said concerning them, And G-d saw that it was good. (Verse 10.)

AND G-D CALLED THE FIRMAMENT HEAVEN. On the second day He gave them this name when He clothed them with the form of the firmament for on the first day the heavens were still in the process of creation, but the name was not attached to them until they took on this form. The meaning of this name [shamayim — heavens] is as if it had the sign of a segol under the letter shin [the prefix shin thus voweled means “that” or “for”] just as in Shalamah (For why) should I be as one that veileth herself? (Song of Songs 1:7. The letter shin there stands for asher - asher lamah (for why). Similarly in Ibn Ezra, ibid. Likewise here, the word shamayim is as if it said asher mayim (that waters), as is explained further in the text.) It is thus as if He said that they [the heavens] are waters which have congealed and stretched like a tent in the midst of the upper and lower waters. By this name shamayim He has made known the secret of their creation. In the Gemara Tractate Chagigah, (12a.) the Rabbis have said, “What is the meaning of the word shamayim? It means shem mayim.” (“It is a name for water.” So clearly explained further on by Ramban.) If so, there is one mem missing here in the word shamayim on account of the adjoining of two similar letters, just as in the word yeruba’al [which stands for yareb bo ba’al — let Baal contend against him]. (Judges 6:32.) The word shamayim is thus as if it said shem mayim, meaning that “heaven” is the name given the waters when they took on a new form. This is the plain meaning of the verses in accordance with the way of Rashi’s writing, (“The word shamayim [may be regarded as made up of either of these words]: sa mayim (carries water), etc.” Rashi.) and it conforms with the opinion of Rav (Mentioned above: that the heavens were in a fluid form on the first day, and on the second day they solidified.) which we have mentioned. Thus the names “heaven” and “earth” mentioned in the first verse point to the names by which they would be called in the future, as it would be impossible to make them known in any other manner. It is, however, more correct in accordance with the meaning of the verses that we say that the heavens mentioned in the first verse are the upper heavens, which are not part of the lower spheres but are above the merkavah (the Divine Chariot), just as it is stated, And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the transparent ice, stretched forth over their heads above. (Ezekiel 1:22.) It is on account of these higher heavens that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called He Who rideth upon the heavens. (Deuteronomy 33:26.) Scripture, however, did not relate anything concerning their creation, just as it did not mention the creation of the angels, the chayoth of the merkavah, and all Separate Intelligences which are incorporeal. Concerning the heavens, it mentioned only in a general way that they were created, meaning that they came forth from nought. On the second day He said that there should be a firmament in the midst of the waters, meaning that from the waters, the creation of which had already been mentioned, there should come forth an extended substance separating them [into two distinct waters]. These spherical bodies He also called “heavens” by the name of the first upper heavens. This is why they are called in this chapter “the firmament of the heaven” [rather than “heavens”] — And G-d set them in the firmament of the heaven (Verse 17.) — in order to explain that they are not the heavens mentioned by that name in the first verse but merely the firmaments called “heavens.” This likewise is the opinion of our Rabbis mentioned in Bereshith Rabbah, (4:1.) who state, “All Rabbis say it in the name of Rabbi Chananyah the son of Rabbi Pinchas, and Rabbi Yaakov the son of Rabbi Avin says it in the name of Rabbi Shmuel the son of Rabbi Nachman: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters — the middle drop of water congealed, and the lower heavens and the highest heaven of heavens were formed.” This saying of the Rabbis refers to the spherical bodies in which there are the lower heavens and the upper ones, called “the heavens of heavens,” as it is written: Praise ye Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. (Psalms 148:3-4.) The heavens mentioned here in the first verse, in which is the Throne of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is written, The heaven is My throne, (Isaiah 66:1.) are the ones mentioned in the beginning of that Psalm: Praise ye the Eternal from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. (Psalms 148:1-2.) This interpretation is correct as far as the simple meaning of the verses is concerned. But there is yet a sublime and hidden secret in the name “the heaven” and in the name “the throne” for there is a heaven to the heavens, and a throne to the throne. Based on this, the Sages use the expressions, “In order that a man may first take upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven,” (Berachoth 13a.) and “the fear of Heaven.” (Ibid., 7a.) Scripture likewise says, That the heavens do rule. (Daniel 4:23.) The Sages also have a remarkable Midrash on the verse, And Thou hear in heaven. (I Kings 8:32. The Midrash referred to is in Sefer Habahir, 100, and found in Zohar 2, p. 271. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 19, note 58.) The worthy one will see all this alluded to in the first verse. Thus the verses have explained that the first created things were from nought, and the rest were derived from the first created substance. See no objection to this explanation from the saying of Rabbi Eliezer the Great, (Found in Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer, 3. See also Moreh Nebuchim II, 26, where Rambam discusses this saying of Rabbi Eliezer and concludes that he is not able to explain it sufficiently. Ramban, however, explains it further on in the text in a way which makes it consistent with the theory of creation from absolute nought.) who states, “Whence were the heavens created? From the light of the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He.” [This would apparently indicate that the heavens were not created from nought but from another preceding substance.] This opinion is also found in Bereshith Rabbah. (12:1.) Since the Sages wanted to elevate the first substance to the utmost and make it ethereal, they did not find it feasible that the heavens, which are moving corporeal bodies possessing matter and form, were created from nought. Instead, they said “the light of the garment” was created first, and from it came forth the real substance of the heavens. And to the earth He gave another substance, (This is based on the concluding statement of Rabbi Eliezer the Great: “Whence was the earth created? From the snow under the Throne of Glory.” (See Note 123.)) not as minute as the first [substance from which the heavens were formed], and that is “the snow under the Throne of Glory,” for the Throne of Glory was first created, and from it came forth “the snow” under it, and from it [the “snow”] was formed the substance of the earth, which was third (The Throne of Glory, the snow, the earth. In the case of the heavens, however, creation was completed in the second stage: ‘the light of the garment’ and then the heavens. This accords with the theory explained above (see Note 35) that the substance of the heavens is unlike that of the earth.) in the order of creation.

AND G-D BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY AND HE SANCTIFIED IT. He blessed it through the Manna. [On all other days of the week there fell one portion per person, whereas on the sixth day — the eve of the Sabbath — a double portion fell.] And He sanctified it through the Manna [by not having it fall on the Sabbath]. And the verse is written here with reference to the future. Thus are the words of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] as quoted from Bereshith Rabbah. (11:2.) In the name of the Gaon Rav Saadia (Mentioned in Ibn Ezra here.) they have said that the blessing and sanctification refer to those who observe the Sabbath, meaning that they will be blessed and sanctified. However, from the intimation of the verse it does not appear that it refers to something which will happen in the future. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the blessing signifies additional well-being, that on the seventh day there is a renewal of procreative strength in the body, and in the soul, a greater capacity in the functioning of the reasoning power. And He sanctified it by not working on it as He did on the other days. Now Ibn Ezra’s interpretation is correct to those who believe in it for this additional well-being he speaks of is not perceptible to human senses. The truth is that the blessing on the Sabbath day is the fountain of blessings and constitutes the foundation of the world. And He sanctified it that it draw its sanctity from the Sanctuary on high. If you will understand this comment of mine you will grasp what the Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah (11:9.) concerning the Sabbath: [“Why did He bless the Sabbath? It is] because it has no partner,” (“Because it has no…” (l’phi sh’e) is a direct quote from the Midrash there. (See Theodore’s ed. of Bereshith Rabbah, p. 95, variants.) In the printed edition of the Midrash, the word l’phi (because) is missing.) and that which they have further related [that G-d said to the Sabbath]: “The congregation of Israel will be thy partner.” And then you will comprehend that on the Sabbath there is truly an extra soul.

“And God said, let there be an expanse, etc.” [1:6]. God told the sky to strengthen itself between the waters. The first day the sky was still weak. The Holy One admonished them on the second day and the sky spread out of fear of the Holy One. (Rashi, Genesis, 1:6.)

The Gemara explains: Now, this verse: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters,” when was it stated? On the first day, whereas the division of the waters occurred on the second day, as it is written: “And let it divide the waters from the waters” (Genesis 1:6). How, then, could ben Zoma derive a proof from the former verse? The Gemara asks: And how much, in fact, is the gap between them? Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Like the thickness of a thread; and the Rabbis said: Like the gap between the boards of a bridge. Mar Zutra, and some say it was Rav Asi, said: Like two robes spread one over the other, with a slight gap in between. And some said: Like two cups placed one upon the other.

Is has been stated: The Tree of Life is wide a parcourse of 500 years. Rebbi Yehudah ben Rebbi Ilaï (He is Rebbi Yehudah quoted in both Talmudim without his father’s name.) said: not only its crown but even its stem.All the splitting of primeval waters splits under it since (Ps. 1:3) “He shall be like a tree planted on split waters (Taken as an allusion to paradise. It is clear from the text that the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life are not earthly creations.) .” It has been stated: The Tree of Life is one sixtieth of the Garden. (Gen. 2:10) “And a river originated in Eden to irrigate the Garden.” The remainder of a kur is a triple qab, a sixtieth (From here on there is a parallel in Babli Taänit 10a. Rashi explains there that with what remains in watering vessels used for a kur of grain one can still irrigate three qab. (A kur is 180 qab.)) . The remainder of Africa is Egypt, a sixtieth. We find that it is said that Egypt can be traversed in 40 days (Egypt is defined as the country between the Mediterranean and Aswan (Syene). The distance was determined by the Alexandrian astronomer Eratosthenes to be approximately 5000 stadia. The length of the Greek stadion is no better defined than the Jewish mil. The distance is in the order of magnitude of 1000 km or about 650 miles.) . Black Africa can be traversed in slightly more than seven years (All commentators are at a loss here since it should say “slightly less than seven years” (2400 days) but there is no manuscript evidence for such a reading.) . But the teachers say [the sky is determined] by the days of the patriarchs (Deut. 11:21) “like the days of the sky over the earth.” (The full verse reads: “that your days and the days of your descendants should increase on the Land that the Eternal had sworn to your forefathers to give to them, like the days of the sky over the earth.” The days of the forefathers were 175 years for Abraham, 180 for Isaac, and 147 for Jacob, together 502 years. The time when Abraham recognized God as the Creator is a matter of controversy in midrashic sources; our source here seems to side with the opinion that Abraham recognized the futility of idol worship at age 3; then his years as the Lord’s servant were 173 and the sum is 500.) And just as the sky over the earth is at a distance of a way of 500 years so between one sky and the next is a way of 500 years and its thickness is a way of 500 years. Why did you see fit to say the thickness of the sky is a way of 500 years? (I.e., to take the part of R. Yehudah against the anonymous Sages who had earlier defined the thickness of the sky as the equivalent of 50 years. The question remains unanswered.) Rebbi Abun said (This section is given in greater detail in Bereshit rabba 4(1). There we read: “The rabbis say in the names of R. Ḥanina, R. Pinḥas, R. Jacob bar Abun, in the name of R. Shemuel bar Naḥman: When the Holy One, praise to Him, said: ‘there should be a spread’, the middle drop jelled and separated upper and lower waters.” After that the opinion of Rav is quoted. The opinion of R. Yehudah ben Pazi is given there by R. Yehudah bar Simon (the full name is R. Yehudah ben R. Simon ben Pazi where either “ben Pazi” is a family name or Pazi is one of R. Ḥiyya’s twin daughters, Pazi and Martha). So possibly R. Abun here is the father of R. Jacob bar Abun in the second generation of Amoraïm and not the late R. Abun.) (Gen. 1:6): “There shall exist a spread-sky within the water.” The spread-sky shall be in the middle. Rav said: the sky was wet on the first day and jelled on the second day. Rav said: “There shall exist a spread-sky”: the sky shall strengthen, the sky shall jell, the sky shall solidify, the sky shall be spread. Rebbi Yehudah ben Pazi said: The sky (רקיע) shall be made like a piece of cloth, just as it is said (Ex. 39:3) “They stretched (וירקעו) out the gold sheets.”

HALAKHAH: (This is repeated (mostly by the corrector) from Ta`aniot 4:3, Notes 141–148.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses. Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments [But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed. One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse. But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split. Rebbi Philippos ben Protos objected before Rebbi Jonah, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day.] Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked, was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses. Should there not be 23? Three for ten, three for ten, and one three (He reads the statement of Rav Huna to mean that any time three people read in the Torah they together must read 10 verses. Then on a Sabbath, when 3+3+1 readers are called, they must read a minimum of 23 verses. Corresponding to this the reader from Prophets should have to read 23 verses. The fact that he has to read only 21 shows that we have to read Rav Huna’s remark as referring only to the weekday and Sabbath afternoon readings.) .

HALAKHAH: (This Halakhah is repeated in Megillah 4:2.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses (Each one may not read less than three verses but one has to read at least 4. Babli Megillah21b.) . Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments (Babli Megillah 21b, as one of two explanations.) . But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed (In Babli Megillah 22a, disagreement of Rav and Samuel.) . One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse (He splits it off from v. 5 and reads it as separate sentence. In contrast to the Babli which prescribes only one sentence to be repeated, the Yerushalmi has the three readers reading a total of 10 verses as required by Rav Ḥuna.) . But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split (Since “it was evening, it was morning, the third day” already is a separate verse.) . Rebbi Philippos ben Perita objected before Rebbi Ze`ira, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day (The reading for Purim, for which three readers are called on a weekday, is Ex.17:8–16. The reading is not connected to the text before or after, it cannot be augmented. Since there are 9 verses and the Mishnaic requirement can be satisfied without problems, there is no need to change anything to satisfy the additional Amoraic rule. Tosaphot Megillah 21b s.v. אין.) . Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked before Rebbi Jonah; was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses (Babli Megillah 23a. The question would be that since we require that one reader at least read 4 verses, should there not be at least 22 verses? The question needs no answer since there is no reading from Prophets on weekdays; the number 21 refers to the seven people called to read on a Sabbath; cf. Megillah 4:2 Note 74.) ?

It was stated (Babli 27b.) : The people of the watch (Meaning the bystanders who do not work in this week.) are fasting every day. On Monday they were fasting for travellers at sea; God commanded, there shall be a spread in midst of the water (Gen. 1:6.) . On Tuesday they are fasting for road travellers; God commanded, the waters under the sky shall congregate (Gen. 1:9.) . On Wednesday they are fasting for children that diphteria should not develop in their mouths; God commanded, there shall be lights (Gen. 1:14.) . “Curses” is written (Reading מְאֹרוֹת as מְאֵרוֹת.) . On Thursday they are fasting that pregnant women should not miscarry and that the children of nursing women should not die; God commanded, let the waters teem with living creepers (Gen. 1:20.) . They fasted neither on Friday nor on Sunday in order to honor the Sabbath. It was stated: The Great Synhedrion was fasting with them. Can the Synhedrion fast every day? They split themselves into clans. “One does not fast for two reasons simultaneously (Babli 8b.) , from the following: we rose and asked of our God for this (Ezra 8:23, misquoted. The same misquote is in the Munich ms. of the Babli (Diqduqe Soferim Ta`anit p. 38, Note ס). Therefore the misquote is a Midrash, not a scribal error. Editors of the printed Babli corrected the quote.) .” Rebbi Tanḥuma said, not because of this but because of the following, to ask for mercy from the God of Heaven for this secret (Dan. 2:18.) . For if there were two reasons, such as a drought and locusts, one blows the shofar about them. When Rebbi Ḥaggai went for a fast, he said before them: Our brothers, even though in our hearts are many worries, this is for what we came.

one may not begin a new paragraph and read fewer than three verses from it. And if you say he should read two verses from this paragraph, i.e., the entire second paragraph, and then three verses from that final paragraph, only two verses will remain from the final paragraph. This is problematic because one may not conclude a reading with fewer than three verses left until the end of a paragraph and because the fourth reader will not have a sufficient number of verses to read.

The mishna taught that on Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1–5) and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6–8). It is taught in a baraita: The section: “In the beginning” is read by two people, while “Let there be a firmament” is read by one. The Gemara asks: Granted, the passage “Let there be a firmament” is read by one individual, as it is three verses long, and one who is called to the Torah reads at least three verses. However, what is the reason that the section “In the beginning” is read by two individuals? It is five verses long, and it is taught in a mishna (Megilla 22a): One who reads from the Torah may not read fewer than three verses. How, then, are five verses read by two individuals?

[What was the procedure in the case of] ma‘amadoth? As it was taught: ([Cf. Ta‘an. 27b (Sonc. ed., p. 145).]) The men of the ma‘amadoth used to fast [as follows]: On every Monday for the sake of those who sail on the sea, as it is written, And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters; (Gen. 1, 6. The mention of water is a call to prayer on behalf of those who sail over the sea.) on Tuesdays for the sake of wayfarers, as it is written, And God said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together; (ibid. 9, which is followed by And let the dry land appear.) on Wednesdays for the sake of children that they should not be attacked by croup, as it is written, And God said: Let there be lights, (ibid. 14, children being to the home what the heavenly luminaries are to the world.) the written form being defective; (A waw is missing in the noun מארת (lights).) on Thursdays they fasted for the sake of pregnant women and nursing mothers that they should not lose their children, as it is said, And God said: Let the waters swarm with swarms. (ibid. 20, followed by living creatures (ibid.).) On the Sabbath eve and at the conclusion of the Sabbath (i.e. Sunday, as explicitly mentioned in Ta‘an. 26a (Sonc. ed., pp. 136f).) they did not fast from respect for the Sabbath. Some declare (As a reason why they did not fast on Sundays.) that at the twilight of the Sabbath eve an additional soul is given to every Israelite, and after the Sabbath it is taken from him. (The body is then weakened, and fasting is held to be too great a hardship.) Another reason (Why there was no fasting on Sunday.) is that Christians (So M and H. V has ‘worshippers of stars’, an alteration made because of the censor.) should not say, ‘Because we rejoice on the Sunday they fast on it’. The Sages, however, said: In the period of the ma‘amadoth they were not concerned with the hatred of the Christians, but the reason is that it is written He ceased from work wayyinnafash, (Ex. 31, 17, E.V., and rested.) [which is homiletically interpreted] wai ‘al nefesh, ‘Woe for [the loss of the additional] soul’.

Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to יהוה: You shall choose your offering from the herd or from the flock.

Elohim said, Let there be a canopy in the midst [middle] of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters.

Allah willed that there should be a layer in the midst of the waters, and that there should be a separation between both waters.

And let there be a separation between the waters above and the waters below.

And the Lord said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between the waters above and the waters beneath.

And God said: Let there be a separation in the middle of the waters, and there was a separation between the earth-waters and the heaven-waters.

Genesis ‎22,12. “He (the angel) said to him: ‘do not touch the lad, ‎and do not harm him in any way;’….for now I know …and you ‎have not withheld your only son from Me.” We need to ‎examine why in this verse the word ‎ממני‎ has been added, as well ‎as why this word is omitted when G’d speaks about the oath He ‎has sworn to Himself in verse 16. Before answering these ‎questions, let us look at Shabbat 63 where the Talmud ‎states that ‎כל העושה מצוה כמאמרה אין מבשרין לו דבר רע‎, “when ‎someone performs one of G’d’s commandments in accordance ‎with its halachot, one (heaven) does not sadden him by ‎informing him of bad news. The Talmud bases this on ‎‎Kohelet 8,5 ‎שומר מצוה לא ידע רע‎, “he who will obey the ‎commandments will know no evil.” The word ‎כמאמרה‎ in the ‎Talmud poses a problem. The Talmud means that both study of ‎Torah and performance of the commandments must be based on ‎one’s desire to carry out G’d’s wishes. If one studies Torah to pass ‎an exam, this is not accounted true Torah study. If one blows the ‎‎shofar on New Year’s day in the synagogue, however ‎expertly, but in order to earn the fee one has been promised, the ‎promise that such people will be spared bad news is not ‎applicable.‎ Furthermore, even having performed the mitzvah ‎according to the halachah and exclusively in order to fulfill ‎G’d’s wish, one must not congratulate oneself for having carried ‎out one’s Creator’s wishes and have pleased him. If one thinks ‎along these lines, one’s performance of the commandment will ‎not please the Lord.‎ It is related in Chagigah 15 that it happened once that ‎Rabbi Yoshua ben Chananyah (one of the leading scholars in his ‎time) was standing on one of the steps leading up to the Temple ‎Mount, [the Temple had already been destroyed, but the Mount ‎had not yet been levelled by the Romans, Ed.] when he saw ben ‎Zoma in front of him, and the latter did not rise in ‎acknowledgment of the presence of his teacher. Rabbi Yoshua ‎asked ben Zoma what subject he was so deeply immersed in that ‎he had not noticed the presence of his teacher. The latter replied: ‎‎“I was contemplating the significance of the difference between ‎the “upper waters,” and the “lower waters,” (Genesis 1,7) and he ‎had discovered that the distance between them was only three ‎fingers’ breadth.” He claimed that the proof was founding Genesis ‎‎1,2 where the spirit of the Lord is described as hovering above the ‎surface of the waters.” He considered the word ‎מרחפת‎‎, used by ‎the Torah there as describing the act of “hovering” as a reference ‎to a pigeon hovering above its young without touching them. ‎Upon hearing this, Rabbi Yoshua commented to his other ‎students: “ben Zoma is still on the outside.” He meant that ben ‎Zoma had not yet become privy to hidden aspects of the Torah. ‎‎[The reader will note that ben Zoma, in spite of sayings of his ‎being quoted in the tractate Avot, is never referred to as “Rabbi.” ‎Ed.] We learn from this passage that even if a person performs ‎the commandments in a manner which affords G’d satisfaction as ‎the worshipper had reduced himself to negating earthly concerns, ‎this does not automatically mean that he has attained the level of ‎awe of the Creator that would overcome him when he enters the ‎palace of a King. He may have attained the awe that a visitor to ‎the King’s palace experienced when entering the vestibule of the ‎palace, but not the awe that overcomes people who enter the ‎inner sanctum of the palace. The closer the visitor approaches ‎the presence of the king, the more profoundly will he be ‎impressed with the aura of glory and power surrounding his ‎majesty. Recognition of this obligates him to prostrate himself, ‎this act being an expression of his being aware how totally ‎inadequate anything that he had done to honour his king really ‎was.

It is written in the Midrash Rabbah (Bereshit, 4): “And God made the firmament in the midst of the waters” (Bereshit 1:7). This is one of the verses where Ben Zoma’s (Ben Zoma was considered to be one of the greatest interpreters of the Torah of his day (2nd century, CE). He was one of the four sages who “entered the Orchard” of mystical experience. The other three being Ben Azzai, Elisha ben Abuya, and R. Akiva. Due to the intense nature of the experience, Ben Zoma went mad, Ben Azzai died, and Elisha ben Abuya became a heretic and was subsquently known as Acher – “Other.” Only R. Akiva entered and departed in peace.) explanation shook the world and perplexed the sages. (The following passage from the tractate Hagiga (15a) describes the incident: Our Rabbis taught: Once Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiya was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma saw him and did not stand up before him. So Rabbi Yehoshua said to him, “What are you contemplating, Ben Zoma?” He replied, “I was gazing between the upper and the lower waters, and there is only three fingerbreadths between them, for it is said (Bereshit 1:6), And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters - like a dove which hovers over her young without touching them.” Thereupon Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students, “Ben Zoma is still outside.” See now, when was it that ‘the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water? It was on the first day of Creation. But the division took place on the second day, for it is written: And let it divide the waters from the waters!’ And what is the size of the division? Rabbi Akha ben Yaakov said, “a hair’s breadth.” According to R. Gershon Hanokh, Ben Zoma was attributing the division between G-d and creation to the very roots of reality – to the first day of creation. However, as Rabbi Yehoshua pointed out, the division between G-d and creation only occurred on the second day, with the creation of the firmament. And even in those terms, Ben Zoma was still wrong, as he perceived a significant division between the upper and lower worlds (three fingerbreadths), whereas the division is no more than a hair; meaning to say, the division between G-d and creation is extremely slight, and exists only from the human perspective, as explained above. For further discussion of this see Living Waters: The Mei HaShiloach, (Tr. Betzalel Edwards), Parshat Emor, on the verse, “and you shall not do so in your land.”) Wasn’t the creation of the firmament already included in the statement (Tehillim, 33:6), “The heavens were created with God’s word, and the spirit of His breath all their hosts”? (Verse six in the first chapter of Genesis says, “And God said, let there be a firmament.” Verse seven says, “And God made the firmament.” Yet the psalm teaches us, “The heavens were created with God’s word,” meaning, God’s word created the universe immediately. Thus, if the firmament was already created in verse six, why in verse seven does it say, “God made the firmament”? To Ben Zoma, this implied a division between G-d and His actions.) Rashi explains to us that Ben Zoma perplexed the sages by saying that he gazed and saw that the distance between the upper and lower waters was three fingerbreadths. The Midrash goes on to say that it was not long after this that he died. Concerning the creation of the firmament and the division of the waters, the Ramban asked why in verse 6 the Torah says, “Let there be a firmament in the waters,” and then again in verse 7 it says, “And God made the firmament.” Wasn’t the firmament already made in verse 6? (According to Ramban, this is the exact problem that bothered Ben Zoma. It was not only on account of the word, “He made” since on the fourth, fifth, and sixth days it also says, “He made.” Rather, Ben Zoma’s problem was that on other days, immediately after God’s utterance (“let there be”), it is written, “and it was so.” This implies that it came into being immediately after the utterance. Yet on the second day, after it says, “and God said, let there be a firmament,” it goes on to say, “and He made.” (before it says, “and it was so.”) The Ramban suggests that Ben Zoma had some secret interpretation of the verse that he did not want to reveal. (See the Ramban for his own reconciliation of this problem.)) Truly, both explanations are true and one. The mistake of Ben Zoma was that he posited too great a distance between the upper and the lower waters. This is the meaning of the statement, “Ben Zoma glimpsed and died.” (According to the Babylonian Talmud, Ben Zoma went mad, but Ben Azzai died. According to Palestinian Tamud, Ben Zoma died, and Ben Azzai went mad. ) The Mei HaShiloach gives a brief explanation of this. The Gemara (Hagiga, 15b) records Ben Zoma saying, “I was gazing between the upper and the lower waters, and there is only three fingerbreadths between them.” Upon hearing this, Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students, “Ben Zoma is still on the outside.” (Simply explained, this means after his mystical experience, Ben Zoma’s perception became damaged, and the sages of his day felt that they could no longer rely upon him. On a deeper level, R. Yehoshua may have been saying that Ben Zoma perception was outside the realm of unity.) What was the actual distance between the upper and lower waters? “Rabbi Aha ben Yaakov said a hairbreadth. And the Rabbis said the space between the boards of a narrow bridge. Mar Zutra (or maybe Rav Assi) said as the space between two garments spread one over the other; and others say, the space between two cups fitted one over the other.” The subject of the space between the upper waters and the lower waters is hinted at in the matter of the firmament, which alludes to the separation between the upper and lower worlds. The creation of the firmament made a division between the upper and lower worlds, as it is written in the Zohar (Bereshit, 17a): “And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters.” (Bereshit, 1:6) This is the secret of the rectification, specifically of the separation between the upper and lower waters, in the secret of the left… A conflict that is arrayed as above, (D. Matt’s translation was partially used in this passage. ) which rises and does descend, (Meaning, a conflict exists in this world, similar to the conflict above – i.e. the division between heaven and earth; that is the Talmudic debate between Shammai and Hillel, which was a “makhloket l’shem shamayim” – a dispute for the sake of Heaven, and ultimately reconciled (Pirkei Avot, 5:17), just as the division between heaven and earth will ultimately be reconciled. The opposite is the conflict of Korah, which was a a “makhloket sh’lo l’shem shamayim” – not for the sake of heaven, and thus will not endure. It is similar to the false division perceived by Ben Zoma. ) and which exists on a straight path, is the dispute of Shammai and Hillel. There God separated between the two and reconciled them. Since this was a conflict for the sake of Heaven, the Heavens mediated the conflict, and because of this it endures. (Matt renders, “and upon this conflict the world was established,” based on another version. ) This is akin to the creation of the world. Korah (in his dispute with Moshe) went against the work of creation. He was in dispute with the heavens. He wanted to contradict the words of Torah. In his dispute he was certainly cleaving to hell, and hell clove to him. This secret is written in the book of Adam. The reason for the separation between the upper and lower realms is in order give man the ability to serve God. The division creates darkness and a concealment of the Divine Presence. Man can then serve God through the power of his own free choice. This is as was mentioned above in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 70) and is mentioned in the Zohar (Tetsave, 184a): Man only serves God from amidst darkness… (G-d’s worship is not complete until it arises out of man’s free will. But in order for many to have free will, he cannot be aware of G-d’s presence. A level of darkness, concealment, or “division” between the upper and lower worlds must exist. ) Therefore God created the “Tree of Doubt” which is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents the consciousness that perceives a separation between heaven and earth. When it is used to bring man closer to G-d, it is called a “controversy (i.e. division) for the sake of heaven.” However, when the dualistic perception is taken to its most negative extreme, it posits an unbridgeable gap, which is the root of all irreconcilable controversies, that are “not for the sake of heaven.” ) In this way man can serve God out of this very uncertainty. This is as it is said (ibid.): Light is only that which comes out of darkness. When this side is subdued, the Holy One, blessed be He, ascends above, and His Glory is magnified. (The only true service of God is that which arises from a situation of doubt and confusion.) Indeed, from the downward evolutions and concatenations of the branches of the Tree of Doubt, there eventually arises the phenomenon of the dispute which is not for the sake of Heaven, like the dispute of Korah. (The Radziner is presenting a tremendously novel concept, namely that the root of all earthly conflicts lie in the contradiction between God’s omnipresence and His concealment. Though He is everywhere, as the Torah states, “there is none else besides Him,” yet our normal human perceptions contradict this. Similarly, though God directs everything in the world, we still have free choice to do as we please. Yet, it is the concealment of the Divine that provides us with the ability to freely serve Him. When the Zohar says, “The Heavens mediated this conflict, and thus it endures,” it means that only through God’s illumination can the human mind grasp the reconciliation of these paradoxes. ) This is because the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil also contains separate evil. This is included in the divine utterance of creation, “Let there be a firmament,” – which is separate – and creates a division between the upper and lower realms.

ויהי כן, “and so it came to be.” The meaning of the word: כן, is that what came to be then is still so nowadays. Actually, according the sequence of the subject matter discussed by the Torah this statement could have been expected already immediately after the words: בין מים למים, “between one type of water and the other type of water,” in verse 6. The reason it was not inserted there is that it might have misled us into thinking that the separation by itself constituted the completion of a creative act by G-d involving the water. Nonetheless, seeing that a certain stage of the separation of the waters had been concluded, the Torah saw fit to insert the line: “it was evening, it became morning, a second “day.”Our sages in the Zohar on Parshat Eykev page 273, state that one does not do things “in pairs.” What they mean is that just as in the story of creation something that had been commenced on one day was not completed until the second day, [to avoid creating both types of water on the same day, Ed] there is no need to complete on the same day other matters that one has commenced on a certain day. The quotation we cited from the Zohar continues with: “just as one does not begin to do something in pairs so one should not complete it in “four.” The reason is that on the fourth “day,” the universe as we know it was completed; [except for the living creatures therein. Perhaps the deeper meaning of this is that man must not try to “copy” what G-d did at the time of creation so that he may not be viewed as competing with the Creator, as a form of idolatry. Ed. ] As to the fact that we do not read that “G-d saw that it was good,” at the end of the report of the second “day” of His creative activity, the reason most likely is that on that day gehinom, purgatory, was also created, as stated in Pessachim 54, and the Creator does not derive any satisfaction from having to consign any of His creatures to that region of the universe. We know this from Sanhedrin 39. Moreover it is written in Chronicles II 20,21: ויועץ אל העם ויעמד....בצאת לפני החלוץ ואמרים הודו לה' כי לעולם חסדו, “aftertaking counsel with the people.....as they went forth ahead ofthe vanguard, saying: ‘praise the Lord for His steadfast love is eternal.’” [The subject there is the miraculous salvation of Yehoshaphat and the army of Yehudah from a combined assault against them by three nations. Ed.] Our sages say that the reason that in this prayer of thanksgiving by the army of the King of Yehudah the attribute of G-d’s goodness is omitted, is that He does not enjoy the necessity of having had to kill His creatures, even when in fact they killed one another, as in that instance.(verse 23 there) Rabbi Elazar claims that on the sixth day of creation the Torah added the word: מאד, “very,” after the word טוב, “good, to make up for the missing “good” at the end of the report of what had been created on the second day.” (Compare Genesis 1,31)

And God made the firmament and He separated, etc.: This verse says, 'explain me according to the simple meaning.' Since behold, this verse ends "and it was so," and [so] what is the verse missing? And also, why is it written, "and He separated, etc." - behold the firmament separates automatically? And also the difference [is noteworthy,] that [here] it is written, "between the waters, etc and the waters etc. and not, "the waters, etc. from the water," as in the previous verse. And also here it should have written, "between the waters that are above the firmament and the waters that are below the firmament." But to begin with, we must understand - is the screen between the waters according to its simple understanding not essentially needed for that day [alone]? Since behold, on the morrow, God said, "let the waters gather, etc." and the lower waters were submerged very much; and if so there was no need for a screen that would separate between them and this is a wonder. But even more difficult is that which is found in Chagigah 15, that Ben Zoma peeked and saw that there is only two or three finger breadths between the higher waters and the lower waters, as it states, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the waters." And [this is] surprising, since, behold they are far from each other like the sky is [far] from the earth. But all of this is explained according to the Midrash Kohelet, that [states] that the firmament is not the lower skies, that are upon the earth, but rather it is a second firmament, within which the luminaries were placed later and [which] is called the firmament of the skies and not just skies, and the Sages, of blessed memory, brought an explicit verse [to prove this] (Nehemiah 9:6), "The skies [and] the skies of the skies and all of their hosts." And according to this, the explanation of, "let there be a firmament in the waters and it will separate the waters from the waters" is understood. Meaning [that it is] between the waters that are above the lower ones and the waters that are above the higher skies which [comprise] the [actual] firmament. (And similar to this is found in the Guide for the Perplexed 2:30.) (And this is as is found in Shemot Rabbah 33: Above - "let there be a firmament in the waters;" Below - "and the curtain will separate for you between the holy and the holy of holies" (Exodus 26:33). Behold, the separation between the two waters is compared to the separation between the holy and the holy of holies, and this is as I have written.] From this, [we see that] the understanding of the separation of this verse is not a screen that separates, but rather an unusual entity between these waters. And the matter is clear that both of them are not in the form of waters that are visible to us in the lower world. Rather, the waters are purified and provide good and kindness in a different from, that is referred to here with the name, 'water;' and that is [God's] running [of the world] which emanates great goodness and kindness. And about this [concept of 'water'], it is written (Psalms 42:8), "The depths call to the depths [for the voice of Your water channels]." And it is written (Psalms 65:10), "the stream of God is full of water;" and many [other] verses and midrashim [relate to this], and [this] is called by us, 'the upper waters.' And in truth, everything that is under the second firmament is exactly the running of the world through nature, and the luminaries and the 'constellations' control it and [they] are called 'lower.' And the verse [here] informs us that God separated between running the world through kindness and emanation - which is above the firmament, meaning above the running of the 'constellations;' and the waters that are below the firmament - which is the running [of the world] exactly by the 'constellations.' And for this reason, it is written "from on top of the firmament," the meaning of which is [to convey] not on top of on top; as is found in in the Chapter Mitsvat Chalitza about the wording of the verse (Deuteronomy 25:9), "from on top of his foot." And so [too] is the understanding of "from on top of the firmament," close to the firmament and not far [from it]. And it comes to make us understand that the intention is not that the upper waters are kindness that appears through complete and absolute miracles. For, if so, there would be no need for a separation from the kindness that is in nature, since it is automatically separated. And so [too], there would be no need to say that the waters that are under the firmament, means the physical waters and the ones that we see; for, if so, they are certainly not comparable to the upper waters. But rather, it is necessary to separate between the running [of the world] through providence and 'through hiding it from nature;' and between the running [of the world] through the 'constellations,' exactly according to nature. And this is what Ben Zoma peeked at and said that there is not more than two or three finger breadths between them; and it is hinted to in the earlier verse "and the spirit of God," meaning His providence, may He be blessed, "was hovering upon the face of the waters," which is the network of kindness in nature. And the meaning of "and God made the firmament" is that He refined and set it up on its essential foundations, (as I have written in Parshat Ha'azinu on the verse [Deuteronomy 32:6], "He is your maker," and in several places), which means that the bottom face of the firmament would extend more towards the lower waters - which is exactly natural - and the upper face would extend more to the higher waters, like any thing that separates between two items. And [the reason that] it is written [here] "between" and "between" is as I have written earlier on verse 4. And this firmament is from the wonders of the Perfect Knowledges, may He be blessed, such that His providence, may He be blessed, is mixed together with nature, for each person according to his deeds. And about this, it is written (Psalms, 19:2), "and the work of His hands is spoken by the firmament;" that the Holy One, blessed be He, always does wonder [and] supervises his creatures and, nonetheless, gives nature dominion together [with His providence].

AND GOD MADE. Dividing one thing from another is expressed by placing the preposition ben (between) before the first object and a lamed before the second, as in And let it divide (The verse literally reads: and let it divide between.) the waters (ben mayim) from the waters (la-mayim) (Gen. 1:6) and between the holy (ben kodesh) and the common (le-chol) (Ezek. 44:23). It may also be expressed by placing the preposition (ben) before each one of the objects, as in our verse and divided the waters (The verse literally reads: and God divided between the waters.) (ben ha-mayim) which were under the firmament from the waters (u-ven ha-mayim) which were above the firmament. And it is found with the word ben repeated and a lamed before the second object, as in But your iniquities have separated Between you (benekhem) and your God (le-ven elohekhem) (Is. 59:2).

[AND IT WAS SO.] This phrase is connected to the verse which follows it: When it was so, God called the firmament heaven. (And it was so is out of place following And God made the firmament. If he made it, then obviously it was so. Hence it does not apply to verse 7 but is connected to verse 8; viz., after the firmament came into being God called it heaven (Krinsky).)

From above the firmament: There are two [places this appears] according to the tradition: here and the other is (Ezekiel 1:25), "and there was a voice from above the firmament," in the chariot [apparition] of Ezekiel. And in the same way that we don't teach about 'the story of creation' in public, so [too] do we not teach about 'the story of the chariot' [in public].

And God made the firmament: This verse should not have been stated; since the verse before this already stated, "And God said, etc." and it should have finished by stating, "and it was so." And I also saw that it was not justified to state "and it was so" after it stated, "And God made." Rather, after stating, "And God said," [such a phrase] would tell us that He said and it was.

And it appears that three tasks were done with the firmament: The first was the creation of its substance's existence in reality, and this is what was created on the first day in the first proclamation.

And the second is that that God said to it that it should make a firmament, the explanation [of which] is that it should stretch out and make a partition and God measured the [appropriate] size of its stretching, so that it would suffice to separate between the waters and the waters; and that is what is stated in the verse before this.

And the third is that, since the heavens are spherical and slanted, we cannot say that the firmament would be different than all [the rest of] the heavens, and in the statement that states, "let there be a firmament," He only said said that it should stretch out, but the order of its setup - whether it be stretched out like a straight partition or one slanted on its ends or whether it inclines to one of the four corners of the world - this is not understood from the statement of God, when He said, Let there be a firmament. For this reason, He went back and stated, "And He made;" the explanation [of which] is that he adjusted the order of its arrangement according to the order of the adjustment of the heavens, which are like an upside down bowl facing down and their back is upwards, for reasons that are known to the Creator of the world. And He went back and stated, "and He separated, etc." since the order of its formation to which the Creator set it up is the opposite of the adjacent statement, that "He separated between, etc," since an [object] arranged like this does not block out between these two waters. For this reason, it states that even if He made it in this arrangement, nonetheless, "and He separated between, etc." And about these two (the second and third) items, the verse stated, "And He made," [meaning] that he fixed it according to the order that was correct in His eyes, and that He created in it an invention that would be able [to accomplish His plan] even with this arrangement.

And He was precise in stating, "which were above, etc." to say that even though it was made in this arrangement, it separated [also] between the waters above it, a reality that would [normally] not be able to exist in the world. And after all this, He stated, "and it was so," [which] goes back on verse 1 and 2; since when He told it to spread, so was it, and when He told it to be a separation - even if its setup does not allow for it to separate in this manner, according to nature, as mentioned - "and it was so." Or it is possible that the reason it delayed stating, "and it was so" until the [end of the] verse [of] "And He made," was that He did not want to state, "and it was so," until He completed the act in all the details of [its] creation.

And after I wrote all this, I found that an explicit verse of the Bible testifies to our explanation, since it is written (Isaiah 42:5), "So said etc., Creator of the heavens and who unfolded them;" behold it mentioned two things, the creation by itself and the unfolding by itself. And this is what I explained about the first and second [tasks], since in the first day was the creation and in the second day was the unfolding, and within [that] was the unfolding and its manner, which are the two things that we hinted to.

And I saw the statement of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, in Bereishit Rabbah 4:6, and this is what they said, "'And God made the firmament;' this is one of the verses [about] which Ben Zoma shook the world, [asking] is it not that the heavens were made in one statement by the word of God?" And [yet] according to our approach, 'and the earth was quieted' from its shaking; and perhaps that which Ben Zoma shook the world was before he resolved the verses, but after the resolution of the verses, 'the earth was quieted' [and] calm.

Or one could say in the following way, according to what we have explained on the verse, "And God said, 'let the waters gather, etc.," that there are two [types of] water, one male and one female; and according to this, from the perspective that all the waters were mixed in the way that the light and darkness were mixed, 'a bit here and a bit there,' as they, of blessed memory, said (Bereishit Rabbah 3), "'And God separated between the light, etc.,' so too with the higher (elyonim) waters" - the explanation [of which] is the better (meulim) waters, and these are the male - "mixed with the lower waters" - lower in their status; and so God now said that the firmament should make two separations: the first one that it separate one from the other - according to what the Holy One, blessed be He, implanted in it, that it should separate one form the other; and the second one that these [waters] should always be divided by it, [such] that it would split between the two of them; and according to this, its stating, "let there be a firmament within the waters" here refers to the separation that separates between the two waters. And that is why it states "within the waters," since all of the waters were mixed. And afterwards, God arranged the firmament that it should be able to split the two of them perpetually; and that is the second separation, and about both of them the verse stated, "and it was so."

AND G-D MADE THE FIRMAMENT. The word asi’yah (doing) always means adjusting something to its required proportion.

AND IT WAS SO. On the first day, And there was light is written after And G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ in order to explain that after the command of G-d, it [the light] came forth into actuality and was as He decreed it to be. But here, after the command, Let there be a firmament, it is written, And G-d made the firmament, and divided, etc.; why then has Scripture added here, And it was so? It is to tell us that it was to be ever so, for all times. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the expression and it was so is attached to the verse which follows, meaning when it was so, G-d called the firmament Heaven. That is not correct. In Bereshith Rabbah (4:7.) the Rabbis have said: “And G-d made the firmament. This is one of the verses which Ben Zoma (A colleague of Rabbi Akiba. He was one of the four men of his time who were deeply engaged in the interpretation of the mystical doctrine of creation. See Chagiga 14b.) found difficult: (Literally: “caused the world to shake.”) And G-d made, etc. But was not [the world created] by command, as it is written, By word of the Eternal were the heavens made?” (Psalms 33:6.) Now Ben Zoma’s difficulty was not only on account of the word vaya’as (And He made), since on the fourth, (Verse 16.) fifth, (Verse 21. On the fifth day the word vaya’as is not found; only vayibra (and He created).) and sixth day, (Verse 25.) vaya’as is also written. Rather, his difficulty was, as I have said, that on the other days, immediately after G-d’s command, it is written, And it was so, indicating that it came into being immediately after the command, but here on the second day, after it says, And G-d said — vaya’as (And He made) is written! This was his question. Perhaps Ben Zoma had some secret interpretation which he did not want to reveal. This is the explanation of the cause of his difficulty.

ויעש אלהים את הרקיע AND GOD MADE THE EXPANSE — He put it in proper condition in its place: this is the meaning of “making” it. Similarly (Deuteronomy 21:12) ועשתה את צפרניה “And she shall let grow (literally, make) her nails”.

מעל לרקיע ABOVE THE EXPANSE — It is not said here על הרקיע “upon the firmament״, but מעל “hanging from above”, because they (the waters) were suspended in space (Genesis Rabbah 4:3). Why is it not stated in reference to the work of the second day “that it was good”? Because the work associated with water was not completed until the third day — He only began it on the second — and anything that is not completed is not in a state of perfection and at its best (and so cannot be termed “good”). Therefore on the third day when He completed the work associated with water and another work was commenced and finished, the words כי טוב are repeated, once in reference to the completion of the work of the second day, and again in reference to the completion of the work of that day (Genesis Rabbah 4:10).

ויהי כן und da ward es also, so, wie es Gott gewollt, wahrscheinlicher aber: so wie wir es jetzt erblicken. Der uns jetzt gegenwärtige Zustand war nicht von je, sondern ist erst auf Gottes Geheiss also geworden.

"And G-d made the firmament" - and it was that when some of the elemental water was removed from under that part of the waters which became vaporous in nature, as it was when He said, "let the waters be gathered from beneath the heavens" Genesis 1:9, it was fit that the vaporous part would descend to that same place from which the that [non-vaporous portion of] waters was removed. But He made it such that that "firmament" that separates would have the power to stop and prevent the vaporous portion from descending - that's the "waters which are above the firmament", such that the transformed atmospheric portion would descend, while the vaporous would remain in its original place. Because of this, when the moist vapor reaches it [i.e., the firmament], it condenses and gives rise to rain, snow and hail. As they condense they descend, as it is said, "at the sound of His placing an abundance of water in the heavens" Jeremiah 10:13. - what it wanted by saying "heavens": the firmament which condenses the atmospheric part [of the waters], as it is said "And G-d called the firmament "heavens" Genesis 1:8. Now when the cloudy, excited vapor arrives there [at the firmament], it generates thunder and lightning, and it is said: "He lifts up clouds from the ends of the earth, thunder from the rain He makes" [continuation of verse quoted previously from Jeremiah]. Now, seeing as how some of the heavier watery element is above the lighter air, which from our perspectives is against their nature - this without doubt indicates the action of an volitional actor, intended such an outcome, as it is said, "the work of His hands shall the firmament declare" Psalms 19:2

"and it was so" - it remained thus against its nature.

And it was so: that the firmament sufficed to hold up the higher waters, that they should not get mixed up with the lower ones.

He fixed it... Rashi is answering the question: Were the heavens not already created on the first day?

Similar to, “And she made [fixed]...” I.e., ועשתה also means fixing [i.e., improving]. You might object: There (Devarim 21:12), Rashi explained that ועשתה means that she lets her nails grow in order to make herself repulsive. Thus it means [the opposite], not fixing up! The answer is: letting the nails grow indeed improves them, although it makes the woman appear repulsive. Hence, Rashi’s proof from ועשתה is valid. (Re’m) Another answer: By letting her nails grow, although it makes her repulsive, it will eventually improve her status — for otherwise she is prohibited to marry. (Maharshal) The term עשייה clearly means fixing, according to all views, as the Gemara (Yevamos 48a) proves from מפיבושת, about whom it says, ולא עשה רגליו ולא עשה שפמו (Shmuel II, 19:25). Although in that Gemara, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer disagree whether ועשתה means letting her nails grow or trimming them, the reasons for their views are explained there. (Nachalas Yaakov, see further elaboration there)

Because they are suspended in space. A question arises: Do we not learn from, “Let there be a canopy in the midst of the waters,” that the waters were suspended, as Rashi explained earlier? The answer is: Both phrases are needed. If it said only, “in the midst of the waters,” we would know that there is a separation between the canopy and the upper waters, but we would not know that they were suspended. Only the phrase “from above the canopy” teaches us this point. And if it said only, “from above the canopy,” we would know that the waters were suspended in space, but we would not know that there is such a big separation [between them and the canopy]. Only the phrase “in the midst” teaches us this point. (Nachalas Yaakov)

And why does it not state... You might ask: How is this question relevant to [the waters being suspended, which is the subject] here? The answer is: We would say that the Torah omitted “It was good” when referring to the canopy since it disobeyed Hashem’s command. For Hashem said, “Let there be a canopy in the midst of the waters,” teaching that it should be equally distant from the upper waters and the lower waters. And we might think that the canopy did not do so, and the upper waters were right on it. Similarly, we find that the earth disobeyed Hashem’s command, as Rashi explains later (v. 11) regarding the fruit trees. But now that Rashi explains that the waters are suspended in space, we see that the canopy obeyed Hashem’s command. If so, why does it not state, “It was good”? Another answer: [We would say that] the lower waters are jealous of the upper waters which actually touch the canopy — hence it does not say, “It was good.” But now that Rashi explains that even the upper waters do not touch the canopy, the question arises: why does it not state, “It was good”? [Another answer: We would say that] the Torah omits “It was good” because the creation of the waters is not finished, since the object upon which the upper waters would rest was not yet created. But now that Rashi tells us that they are suspended in the air, the creation of the waters was apparently completed. Thus the question arises: Why does it not state about them, “It was good”? (Nachalas Yaakov)

Because the work involving the water was not completed... You might ask: Why does it not state, “It was good” on day two for the completion of the canopy, as Rashi explained earlier (v. 6) that it was fluid but solidified on the second day? The answer is: The gathering of the waters [on the third day] was a work on its own, as well as the completion of day two’s work. But the canopy’s solidification only completed the earlier work and was not a work on its own. And the phrase, “It was good” is inappropriate just for the completion of an earlier work. (Re’m) Another answer is: The canopy’s solidification was not a [significant] act since it did not change from its original appearance; rather, the fluid merely thickened. Thus, “It was good” is inappropriate. You might object: [If so,] why does it not state, “It was good” three times on day three? Twice as Rashi said, and a third for the completion of the earth’s work — as it is written (v. 9), “And let the dryness be seen,” as Rashi explains there [that this refers to the earth]. For the earth changed from its original appearance! The answer is: This is not called a change, for the earth remained the same — only that before it was not visible [due to the water covering it].

God made the firmament and divided between the water that was under the firmament and the water that was above the firmament; and it was so. This division served to separate between the material and spiritual planes. From this point forward, physical matter and spirit became distinguishable from one another. They would now exist separately, in some ways interconnected but essentially independent from one another.

ויהי כן. “so it came to be.” Nachmanides queries the need of the Torah to write these words. Granted that after the first report in the Torah of G’d giving a directive the Torah had to inform us that G’d’s directive had been carried out; here the Torah had already added after G’d giving the directive that He Himself carried it out to the last detail, עשייה; so why did we need to be told that it indeed came to be? Nachmanides concludes that this is why the Bereshit Rabbah 4,6 on this expression writes that concerning this expression Ben Zoma made a great commotion among the scholars. He questioned the entire series of the expression ויהי כן, seeing we have an explicit statement in Psalms 33,6 that the heavens were made completely, in their last detail, at the word of G’d. It is clear that Ben Zoma did not question the words ויעש אלוקים as being strange, but the words ויהי כן. [by the way the Bereshit Rabbah does not answer the question there but only at the end of chapter 10. Ed.] The answer given is that G’d’s directive was carried out immediately, without delay, and that He, being G’d, did not have to exert Himself in any manner in order to bring about what He intended. Not only that, but the words ויהי כן include the assurance that as long as heaven will exist, it will exist in the format it was created at that time. [not like earth which has been subject to great upheavals from time to time, not the least of which was the deluge. Ed.] Ibn Ezra explains that the words ויהי כן should be read as if they referred to what follows, so that we would realize that when the first verse already spoke about a phenomenon known as שמים, the reference as to what is now being named as שמים by G’d. Nachmanides adds further that the heavens referred to in these verses are not the planetary system as we know it, but describe part of the merkavah, the celestial regions forming the entourage of the Creator, as in Ezekiel 1,22 ודמות על ראשי החיות רקיע כעין הקרח הנורא נטוי על ראשיהם מלמעלה, “and as for the semblance of the expanse above the heads of the chayot, it resembled awesome ice, spread out above their heads.” The Torah did not write a word about the creation of these creatures which formed part of Ezekiel’s vision, just as it had not reported a word about the creation of the angels or any other disembodied phenomena in the universe. The Torah lumps together all these phenomena as having been created on the second day when the creation of the רקיע, later named שמים, is referred to in only general terms. Basically, these phenomena were all created from the waters, and that is the reason for the repeated use of the term רקיע השמים, the word שמים being a composite, i.e. שם מים, “there is water there.” The planetary system which the Torah describes as G’d placing ברקיע השמים, clearly is not part of the concept רקיע השמים, but consists of inhabitants of that “expanse.” Nonetheless, even taking into consideration the words of Nachmanides, we have to add that the word ארץ in the first word of the Torah does indeed refer to the “earth” as we know it, the Torah having used the appellation in anticipation of the globe that became visible on the third day.

A diaphragm is thus inserted there. In other words, the new end point that was formed on account of the ascension of Malkhut to Bina, in the place called the chest, is called “diaphragm” based on the mystical meaning of the firmament that separates between the upper waters, which are Keter and Ḥokhma, which remained within the level of the interior, and Bina, Tiferet, and Malkhut, which were ejected from the level of the ten sefirot of the interior and became the level of the ten sefirot of the end. (The author of the Sulam explains here that the Torah alludes to this separating diaphragm in Genesis 1:7. The repositioning of Malkhut from the navel at the bottom of the interior to the level of Bina at the chest, effectively “partnering” Malkhut with Bina, causes the levels of Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut to be separated from Keter and Ḥokhma. Keter and Ḥokhma are the “waters” that lie above the firmament, and Bina, Tiferet and Malkhut are the “waters” below. ) Because of this diaphragm, the ten sefirot of the interior were divided into two levels: The area from the mouth to the chest is considered the ten sefirot of the interior, Atzilut, and the first three sefirot of the body; from the chest and downward, to the navel is considered the ten sefirot of the end, the level of Beria, and the six extremities without a head, like the ten sefirot of the end. With regard to the ascent of Malkhut to Bina, and the new endpoint that occurs in the middle of every level, see sections 15 and 16 below.

8. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם made the firmament.” (Genesis 1:7)

Praise God. Praise Adonoy from the sky; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, skies of skies, and the waters that are above the skies. (Bereishis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for He commanded it and they were created. He established them for all time, (The heavenly bodies, unlike humans and earthly things, were created from materials that do not deteriorate.—Kuzari) for as long as the world exists; He decreed it and it is unalterable. (None of the heavenly bodies transgresses the Divine decree about its functions in the role for which it was created. The sun never violates its mandate to serve by day or the moon by night. According to Ibn Ezra, the verse might also be translated “He issued a decree which will not pass away,” for Hashem’s decree is permanent and immutable.) Praise Adonoy from the earth, sea-monsters and all [that dwell in] the depths. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormwind, [all] fulfilling His word. The mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. Wild beasts and all animals, creeping things and winged fowl. Earthly kings and all peoples, ministers and all earthly judges. Young men and also maidens, elders together with lads. (Elders and youngsters praise Hashem together while the young men must be separated from the maidens. In the Temple separate facilities were erected for the women. So too must there be separate seating in our synagogues.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the Children of Yisrael, the people near (The fulfillment of the last two verses will take place in the Messianic era.) to Him. Praise God.

Praise God. Praise Adonoy from the sky; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, skies of skies, and the waters that are above the skies. (Bereishis 1:6—7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for He commanded it and they were created. He established them for all time, (The heavenly bodies, unlike humans and earthly things, were created from materials that do not deteriorate.—Kuzari) for as long as the world exists; He decreed it and it is unalterable. (None of the heavenly bodies transgresses the Divine decree about its functions in the role for which it was created. The sun never violates its mandate to serve by day or the moon by night. According to Ibn Ezra, the verse might also be translated “He issued a decree which will not pass away,” for Hashem’s decree is permanent and immutable.) Praise Adonoy from the earth, sea-monsters and all [that dwell in] the depths. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormwind, [all] fulfilling His word. The mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. Wild beasts and all animals, creeping things and winged fowl. Earthly kings and all peoples, ministers and all earthly judges. Young men and also maidens, elders together with lads. (Elders and youngsters praise Hashem together while the young men must be separated from the maidens. In the Temple separate facilities were erected for the women. So too must there be separate seating in our synagogues.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the Children of Yisrael, the people near (The fulfillment of the last two verses will take place in the Messianic era.) to Him. Praise God.

He Who covers with water, (This refers to the “Waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid)

and the waters that are above the skies. (Genesis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.)

My soul, bless Adonoy; Adonoy, my God, You are greatly exalted; with beauty and splendor are You clothed. Enwrapped in light, garment-like, He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He Who covers His upper chambers with water, (This refers to the “waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid) He Who makes clouds His chariot, He Who walks upon wings of wind. He Who makes winds His messengers, flaming fires His servants. He Who established the earth upon its foundations, [so] that it shall never be moved.

Praise God. Praise Adonoy from the sky; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, skies of skies, and the waters that are above the skies. (Genesis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for He commanded it and they were created. He established them for all time, (The heavenly bodies, unlike humans and earthly things, were created from materials that do not deteriorate.—Kuzari) for as long as the world exists; He decreed it and it is unalterable. (None of the heavenly bodies transgresses the Divine decree about its functions in the role for which it was created. The sun never violates its mandate to serve by day or the moon by night. According to Ibn Ezra, the verse might also be translated “He issued a decree which will not pass away,” for God’s decree is permanent and immutable.) Praise Adonoy from the earth, sea-monsters and all [that dwell in] the depths. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormwind, [all] fulfilling His word. The mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. Wild beasts and all animals, creeping things and winged fowl. Earthly kings and all peoples, ministers and all earthly judges. Young men and also maidens, elders together with lads. (Elders and youngsters praise God together while the young men must be separated from the maidens. In the Temple separate facilities were erected for the women. So too must there be separate seating in our synagogues.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the Children of Israel, the people near (The fulfillment of the last two verses will take place in the Messianic era.) to Him. Praise God.

My soul, bless Adonoy; Adonoy, my God, You are greatly exalted; with beauty and splendor are You clothed. Enwrapped in light, garment-like, He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He Who covers His upper chambers with water, (This refers to the “waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid) He Who makes clouds His chariot, He Who walks upon wings of wind. He Who makes winds His messengers, flaming fires His servants. He Who established the earth upon its foundations, [so] that it shall never be moved. The deep, He covered as with a garment; (God covers the depths of the seas in order to prevent them from overflowing and destroying the world.—Metsudas Dovid) the waters remain on mountains. (Even though the nature of water is to flow downward, God nevertheless ordered that there be water on the highest mountains.—Metsudas Dovid) At Your shout they retreated, at Your thunderous voice they hastened away. (This sentence describes God's command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid) They go up mountains, down into valleys, to the specific place You founded for them. You set a boundary (The sand is the boundary; the water may not cross it to flood the earth.—Rashi) [which] they may not cross, lest they return to cover the earth. He Who sends springs into streams to flow between the mountains; to water all the beasts of the fields; the wild ones quench their thirst. Over them dwell the birds of the sky, from among the branches, they give voice. [You] Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers, (See footnote 00.) from the fruit of Your works (“The fruit of Your works” refers to the rain which satisfies the needs of the earth.—Metsudas Dovid) the earth is sated. [You] Who causes grass to sprout for cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, to bring forth bread from the earth; wine to cheer the heart of man, to make [his] face shine from oil, and bread to sustain the heart of man. Adonoy's trees are sated, (The trees are satisfied with the rain.) the cedars of Lebanon that He planted; where birds make their nests, the stork—the firs are her home. The high mountains [are] for the wild goats, the rocks a refuge for the rabbits. He made the moon to fix seasons the sun knows its place to set. You make darkness and night comes, in which move about all the beasts of the forest. —The young lions roar for prey, and seek their food from the Almighty. [When] the sun rises, they gather and come into their dens to lie. Man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. How many are Your works, Adonoy! You made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions! This sea, great and wide— therein are innumerable creeping things, animals small and great. There ships travel; this Leviathan (According to tradition, God created the Leviathan with a mate but slew her in order that they not reproduce. Because of their tremendous size, they would have brought much destruction to the world (See Rashi in Genesis 1:21).—Rashi) You formed to frolic with. They all look to You expectantly, to provide their food in its time. [When] You give it to them, they gather it in; [when] You open Your hand, they are sated with goodness. Whey You hide Your face, (When God withdraws His sustaining power from any creature or being, it perishes.) they are panic-stricken; When You gather in their breath, they perish, and to their dust they return. When You send Your spirit, (This refers to the era when God will restore life to the dead.—Rashi) they will be created [anew]; and You will renew the face of the earth. The glory of Adonoy will endure forever, Adonoy will rejoice in His works— Who gazes upon the earth and it trembles; Who touches the mountains and they erupt. I will sing to Adonoy with my life; I will offer hymns to my God as long as I am alive. May my words be pleasant to Him; I will rejoice in Adonoy. (When God accepts my prayer, I will rejoice in His deliverance.—Metsudas Dovici) Sin will be excised from the earth, and the wicked will be no more; My soul bless Adonoy, Praise God.

Praise God. Praise Adonoy from the sky; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, skies of skies, and the waters that are above the skies. (Genesis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for He commanded it and they were created. He established them for all time, (The heavenly bodies, unlike humans and earthly things, were created from materials that do not deteriorate.—Kuzari) for as long as the world exists; He decreed it and it is unalterable. (None of the heavenly bodies transgresses the Divine decree about its functions in the role for which it was created. The sun never violates its mandate to serve by day or the moon by night. According to Ibn Ezra, the verse might also be translated “He issued a decree which will not pass away,” for God’s decree is permanent and immutable.) Praise Adonoy from the earth, sea-monsters and all [that dwell in] the depths. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormwind, [all] fulfilling His word. The mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. Wild beasts and all animals, creeping things and winged fowl. Earthly kings and all peoples, ministers and all earthly judges. Young men and also maidens, elders together with lads. (Elders and youngsters praise God together while the young men must be separated from the maidens. In the Temple separate facilities were erected for the women. So too must there be separate seating in our synagogues.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the Children of Israel, the people near (The fulfillment of the last two verses will take place in the Messianic era.) to Him. Praise God.

My soul, bless Adonoy; Adonoy, my God, You are greatly exalted; with beauty and splendor are You clothed. Enwrapped in light, garment-like, He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He Who covers His upper chambers with water, (This refers to the “waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid) He Who makes clouds His chariot, He Who walks upon wings of wind. He Who makes winds His messengers, flaming fires His servants. He Who established the earth upon its foundations, [so] that it shall never be moved.

Praise God. Praise Adonoy from the sky; Praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all the stars of light. Praise Him, skies of skies, and the waters that are above the skies. (Genesis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for He commanded it and they were created. He established them for all time, (The heavenly bodies, unlike humans and earthly things, were created from materials that do not deteriorate.—Kuzari) for as long as the world exists; He decreed it and it is unalterable. (None of the heavenly bodies transgresses the Divine decree about its functions in the role for which it was created. The sun never violates its mandate to serve by day or the moon by night. According to Ibn Ezra, the verse might also be translated “He issued a decree which will not pass away,” for God's decree is permanent and immutable.) Praise Adonoy from the earth, sea-monsters and all [that dwell in] the depths. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormwind, [all] fulfilling His word. The mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. Wild beasts and all animals, creeping things and winged fowl. Earthly kings and all peoples, ministers and all earthly judges. Young men and also maidens, elders together with lads. (Elders and youngsters praise God together while the young men must be separated from the maidens. In the Temple separate facilities were erected for the women. So too must there be separate seating in our synagogues.) They will praise the Name of Adonoy, for His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is over the earth and the skies. He will raise the might of His people, [which is] praise for all His pious ones, for the Children of Israel, the people near (The fulfillment of the last two verses will take place in the Messianic era.) to Him. Praise God.

and the waters that are above the skies. (Genesis 1:6-7 indicates that there are waters above the heavens.)

His upper chambers with water, (This refers to the “waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid)

“My beloved is like a gazelle or a fawn [ofer ha’ayalim]…” (Song of Songs 2:9) – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: Master of the universe, in truth you came to us first. “My beloved is like a gazelle” – just as the gazelle leaps, so the Holy One blessed be He leapt and bounded from Egypt to the sea and from the sea to Sinai. In Egypt, “I will pass in the land of Egypt…” (Exodus 12:12). At the sea, “this is my God and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:2). At Sinai, “He said: The Lord came from Sinai” (Deuteronomy 33:2). “Or a fawn” – Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: To the fawn of deer. (Rabbi Yosei teaches that "ofer ha'ayalim" means a fawn, and not a certain type of deer.) “Behold, he is standing behind our wall” (Song of Songs 2:9) – this is the wilderness of Sinai. “Watching from the windows” (Song of Songs 2:9) – “the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai…” (Exodus 19:20). “Peering through the cracks” (Song of Songs 2:9) – “God spoke all these matters…” (Exodus 20:1). “My beloved spoke up and said to me” (Song of Songs 2:10) – “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). Another matter: “My beloved is like a gazelle” (Song of Songs 2:9) – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: Master of the universe, You told us that You will come to us first. “My beloved is like a gazelle” – just as the gazelle appears and is then concealed, so, the initial redeemer appeared and was then concealed. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Like the initial redeemer, so will be the ultimate redeemer. The initial redeemer, this is Moses; he appeared to them and was then concealed from them. How long was he concealed from them? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Three months; that is what is written: “They encountered Moses and Aaron…” (Exodus 5:20). (“Encountered” indicates that there had been an interruption in the contact between them.) The ultimate redeemer, too, will appear to them and will then be concealed from them. How long will he be concealed from them? Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Hoshaya: Forty-five days. That is what is written: “From the time of the abolishing of the daily offering and the setting up of the abomination of desolation there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Daniel 12:11), and it is written: “Happy is one who waits, and reaches one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (Daniel 12:12). How many are these extra days? They are the forty-five days that he will be concealed from them and will then reappear to them. Where will he take them? (Where will they be during those forty-five days?) Some say to the Judean desert, and some say to the wilderness of Siḥon and Og. Anyone who believes him and follows him will eat roots of the broom tree and saltwort leaves; that is what is written: “Who pick saltwort from bushes, and the root of the broom tree is their food” (Job 30:4). Anyone who does not follow him will go and make peace with the nations of the world, and they will ultimately kill him. Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Maryon said: At the conclusion of forty-five days, the Holy One blessed be He will cause manna to fall for them. That is what is written: “I will yet settle you in tents as in the appointed [moed] days” (Hosea 12:10), and it says: “The appointed time [moed] of your exodus from Egypt” (Deuteronomy 16:6). “Or a fawn” (Song of Songs 2:9) – Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: To the fawn of deer. “Behold, he is standing behind our wall” (Song of Songs 2:9) – this is the western wall of the Temple, which is never destroyed. Why? It is because the Divine Presence is in the west. “Watching from the windows” (Song of Songs 2:9) – due to the merit of the patriarchs; “peering through the cracks” (Song of Songs 2:9) – due to the merit of the matriarchs. Just as there is a distinction between a window and a crack, so there is a distinction between the merit of the patriarchs and the merit of the matriarchs. “My beloved spoke up and said to me” (Song of Songs 2:10) – what did He say? “As I live, the utterance of the Lord, that you will don all of them like jewelry, and you will tie them like a bride” (Isaiah 49:18). Another matter: “My beloved is like a gazelle” (Song of Songs 2:9) – just as this gazelle leaps from place to place, from fence to fence, from tree to tree, and from booth to booth, so, the Holy One blessed be He leaps and bounds from this synagogue to that synagogue. Why to that extent? It is order to bless Israel, as it is stated: “In every place I mention My name, [I will come to you and I will bless you]” (Exodus 20:21). By what merit? It is by the merit of Abraham our patriarch, as it is written: “So [ko] you shall bless,” just as it says: “So [ko] shall be your offspring” (Genesis 15:5). “Or a fawn” (Song of Songs 2:9) – Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: To the fawn of deer. “Behold, he is standing behind our wall” (Song of Songs 2:9) – when the Holy One blessed be He came to visit Abraham our patriarch on the third day since his circumcision, just as it says: “The Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he was sitting [yoshev]…” (Genesis 18:1). Yashav is written. (Yoshev is written without a vav, so it looks like yashav.) He sought to stand; the Holy One blessed be He said to him: Sit, Abraham, you are a paradigm for your descendants, as when your descendants enter synagogues and study halls and recite Shema, they sit and My glory stands. What is the source? “God stands [nitzav] in the assembly of the Almighty” (Psalms 82:1) – Rabbi Ḥagai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: It is not written here, “God omed,” (The word “stands” would usually be rendered as omed.) but rather, “God nitzav,” at the ready. This is just as it says: “It will be before they call, I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24). That is why it is stated: “Behold, he is standing behind our wall”; these are the synagogues and study halls. “Watching from the windows” (Song of Songs 2:9) – when the Holy One blessed be He said to Aaron and his sons: “So you shall bless…,” Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, to the priests You said that they should bless us. We need only Your blessings and to be blessed from Your mouth.’ That is what is written: “Look from Your holy abode, from Heaven, and bless Your people Israel” (Deuteronomy 26:15). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘Although I said to the priests that they should bless you, with them I stand and bless you.’ That is why the priests spread their hands, saying: The Holy One blessed be He is standing behind us. That is why it says: “Watching from the windows” – from between the priests’ shoulders; “peering through the cracks” (Song of Songs 2:9) – from between the priests’ fingers. “My beloved spoke up and said to me” – “and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). “So you shall bless” – that is what is written: “I will render you a great nation…” (Genesis 12:2). Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair said: The Holy One blessed be He blessed Abraham with seven blessings, and these are they: “I will render you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2); “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2); “I will make your name great” (Genesis 12:2); “you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). I will bless those who bless you” (Genesis 12:3); “one who curses you, I will curse” (Genesis 12:3), “[all the families of the earth] will be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). These correspond to the seven verses in the act of Creation in which “that it was good” is written. (Seven including Genesis 1:31: “And it was very good.”) Rabbi Levi bar Ḥayata and Rabbi Abba son of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: There are three expressions of greatness and four blessings written here. He apprised him that there would be three patriarchs and four matriarchs. But is it not that there are only two expressions of greatness? “I will render you [ve’e’eskha]” is an expression of greatness (Thus, there are, in fact, three expressions of greatness.) , as it is written: “It is the Lord who appointed [asa] Moses [and Aaron]” (I Samuel 12:6). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “I will render you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) – this is that we recite: God of Abraham. “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2) – this is that we recite: God of Isaac. “I will make your name great” (Genesis 12:2) – this is that we recite: God of Jacob. Do we, perhaps, conclude with all of them? The verse states: “You will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2) – it is with you they conclude: The Shield of Abraham, and we do not conclude with all of them. (This midrash is referring to the first blessing of the Amida prayer.) Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Ze’eira said: “You will be a blessing” – your blessing precedes Mine, as after they recite Shield of Abraham, only then do they recite: Who revives the dead. Another matter: “You will be a blessing [berakha]” (Genesis 12:2) – you will be a pool [berekha]. Just as this pool purifies the impure, you, too, draw the distant under the wings of the Divine Presence. “I will render you [ve’e’eskha] a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: It is not written here, Etenkha, (See Genesis 17:20: “I will make him [untativ] a great nation.” asimekha) , (See Genesis 46:3: “I will make you [asimekha] a great nation there.”) but rather ve’e’eskha. (This connotes creation of a new entity.) After I create you as a new creation, just as it says: “God made [vayaas] the firmament” (Genesis 1:7), then you will be fruitful and multiply. “A great nation” (Genesis 12:2) – Abraham said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, from Noah, did You not produce seventy nations?’ He said to him: ‘That nation in whose regard it is written: “For who is a great nation” (Deuteronomy 4:7), I am producing from you.’ Rabbi Pinḥas HaKohen bar Ḥama said: When did the Holy One blessed be He render Abraham a great nation? It was when they departed from Egypt, came to Sinai, received the Torah, and arrived in the Land of Israel. Moses looked at them and said: They have been rendered just as the Holy One blessed be He promised to the elder, as it is stated: “And who is a great nation” (Deuteronomy 4:8). Alternatively, “a great nation” – as I will give your descendants the Torah, and from it they will be called a great nation, as it is stated: “It is a particularly wise and understanding people, this great nation” (Deuteronomy 4:6). “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: Because travel causes a person three phenomena: It lessens procreation, it lessens his expenditure, (It reduces his disposable income.) and it lessens his reputation; that is why it was stated to him: “I will render you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2) – travel will not lessen your procreation; “I will bless you” – travel will not lessen your expenditure; “I will make your name great” (Genesis 12:2) – it will not lessen your reputation. People say in a parable: From house to house, a cloak; from place to place, a soul. However, you will lose neither a soul nor property. “You will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2) – it is already written: “I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2); why does the verse state: “You will be a blessing”? Rabbi Eliezer said: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘From when I created My world until now, I needed to bless My creations,’ as it is stated: “God blessed them…” (Genesis 1:28), and it says: “God blessed Noah and his sons” (Genesis 9:1). ‘But from here on, the blessings are granted to you; to one whom you see fit to bless, bless.’ Nevertheless, Abraham did not bless his sons. Why is it so? It is analogous to a king who had an orchard and he entrusted it to a sharecropper. In that orchard there was one tree that was an elixir of life and one tree a deadly poison. The sharecropper said: I will cultivate and complete [my work], and the king will do with his orchard what he chooses. So, the king, this is the Holy One blessed be He. The orchard, this is the world. He granted it to Abraham, as He said to him: “You will be a blessing.” What did Abraham do? He had two sons, one righteous and one wicked: Isaac and Ishmael. Abraham said: If I bless Isaac, Ishmael will request to be blessed, and he is wicked. Rather, I am a servant; I am flesh and blood. Tomorrow, I will pass from the world, and what the Holy One blessed be He wishes to do in His world, He will do. When Abraham passed away, the Holy One blessed be He appeared to Isaac and blessed him, as it is stated: “It was after the death of Abraham, [God blessed Isaac his son]” (Genesis 25:11). Isaac blessed Jacob, and Jacob blessed the twelve tribes, as it is stated: “All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve, and this is that which their father spoke to them, and he blessed them” (Genesis 49:28). From here on, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The blessings are granted to you. The priests will bless My children, just as I said to Abraham their patriarch: “You will be a blessing.”’ That is why it is stated: “So you shall bless…”

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “In the beginning, God created” – Rabbi Tanḥuma began: “For You are great and perform wonders” (Psalms 86:10). Rabbi Tanḥum said: A wineskin, if it has a hole as small as the point of a needle, all its air will escape from it. (When one inflates it to determine whether there are any holes.) Yet a human is made with numerous cavities and orifices, but his air does not escape from him. Who can do so? It is “You, alone, are God” (Psalms 86:10). When were the angels created? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers (The heavens.) with water…” (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. That is what is written: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20), and it is written [of the angels]: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrin said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be He straightened it out in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone…by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two], (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in the creation of the world? Another matter, “for You are great and perform wonders” (Psalms 86:10) – the way of the world is that a flesh-and-blood king, when he is receives praise in the province, (For its magnificent buildings or for its proficient administration.) the prominent leaders of the province receive praise along with him, as they bear the burden [of governing] with him. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so; rather, He alone created the world, He alone is lauded in the world, He alone is glorified in the world. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: “For You are great and perform wonders” – why? It is because “You, alone, are God” – You alone created the world.

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

“God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water” – the Rabbis say it in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina, Rabbi Pinḥas, and Rabbi Yaakov bar Avin in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: When the Holy One blessed be He said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water,” the middle drop [of water] congealed and thereby the lower heavens and the upper highest heavens came about. Rav said: Their substance on the first day (When God “created the heavens” (Genesis 1:1).) was damp, and on the second day they congealed. “Let there be a firmament” – let the firmament harden. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: Let there be a lining for the firmament [rakia], as it says: “They flattened [vayraku] the sheets of gold” (Exodus 39:3). Rabbi Ḥanina said: Fire emerged from on High and passed over the surface of the firmament. (Drying it, in accordance with the opinion of Rav.) When Rabbi Yoḥanan would reach this verse: “With His wind, the heavens are enhanced” (Job 26:13), he would say: Rabbi Ḥanina taught me well. Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon said: The fire emerged from on High and burnished the surface of the firmament. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: The act of Creation came to teach something about the giving of the Torah, but ultimately learned something from it. “Like [the day of] a splitting fire” (Isaiah 64:1) (The verse is speaking of the giving of the Torah, and describes that day as being like another day, one of fire splitting something in two. ) – when did fire split between what was above and what was below, was it not at the giving of the Torah? (And the verse compares that day to another day, one of a splitting fire – namely, the day of the creation of the heavens.) That is a rhetorical question. So it was at the creation of the world.

Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: Equivalent to the space between the earth and the firmament, so is the distance between the firmament and the upper waters. “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water” – at the midpoint between them. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: I will say the source. Had it been stated: “God made the firmament and he divided between the waters that were on the firmament,” I would have said that the upper waters rest directly upon the firmament. But since it says: “And the waters that were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:7) – [it indicates that] the upper waters are suspended [above the firmament] by the word of God. Rabbi Aḥa said: It is like the flame in a lamp. (The wick does not stand on the bottom of the lamp, but is suspended above it, as it were, by the oil. ) And its fruits are rainwater. (The upper waters produce rain, but, as when a tree produces fruit, they are not depleted by the rainfall.)

“God made the firmament, and divided between the water that was under the firmament and the water that was above the firmament; and it was so” (Genesis 1:7). “God made the firmament” – this is one of the verses due to which ben Zoma stirred up commotion in the world. “[God] made”? This is bewildering; for were they not [brought about] by God’s mere word? That is, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; by the breath of His mouth, all their hosts” (Psalms 33:6). (The verb “made” is employed in reference to something formed by the word of God.) Why is “that it was good” not written regarding the second day? (As it is regarding all the other days of Creation.) Rabbi Yoḥanan taught it in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥalafta: It is because Gehenna was created on it, as it is stated: “For the inferno is arranged from yesterday” (Isaiah 30:33) – a day that has a yesterday, but does not have a day before yesterday. Rabbi Ḥanina says: It is because division was created, as it is stated: “And let it divide between water and water.” Rabbi Tavyomei said: If on account of division that is for the improvement of the world and its settlement, there is no “that it was good,” division that causes turmoil in the world, all the more so. Rabbi Shmuel [bar Naḥman] said: It is because the work of creating water was not completed. (Only on the third day did the water assume its final form (Genesis 1:9).) That is why “that it was good” is written twice on the third day; once for the work of creating the water, and once for the other work done on that day. A certain noblewoman asked Rabbi Yosei, saying to him: ‘Why is “that it was good” not written regarding the second day?’ He said to her: ‘Nevertheless, it ultimately returned and included everything at the end, as it is stated: “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good”’ (Genesis 1:31). She said to him: ‘This is analogous to six people who come to you and you give each one of them a maneh, but to one of them you do not give a maneh. You then give one maneh for everyone [to be divided among them] – will the result not be that they all have a maneh and a sixth in their hands, but one of them has only one sixth of a maneh in his hand?’ This was a rhetorical question. He then said to her in accordance with what Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: ‘It is because the work of creating water was not completed.’ That is why “that it was good” is written twice on the third day; once for the work of creating water, and once for the other work done on that day. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥanilai: It is written: “He tells the outcome from the outset” (Isaiah 46:10) – from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw that Moses would be called “good” (Exodus 2:2) and that he was destined to receive his [punishment] because of it [water]. (Because of his wrongful actions at the Waters of Meriva (Numbers 20:12–13).) That is why “that it was good” is not written regarding it. Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: This is analogous to a king who had a ruthless legion. The king said: ‘Since this legion is ruthless, let my name not be written in association with it.’ So, too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Since the generation of the Flood, the generation of Enosh, and the generation of the Dispersion were all penalized by it [water], therefore, let “that it was good” not be written in association with it.’

“For who is a great nation that has God near it, as is the Lord our God in all of our calling to Him.” The heretics asked Rabbi Simlai: ‘How many authorities created the world?’ He said to them: ‘Let you and me inquire into the six days of Creation.’ They said to him: ‘Is it written: “In the beginning God [Elo’ah] (Singular) created”? It is written: “In the beginning God [Elohim] (Plural) created”’ (Genesis 1:1). He said to them: ‘Is created [baru]” (Plural) written? “Created [bara]” (Singular) is written. And is it written: “God said [vayomeru] (Plural) let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:7); “[God said:] Let the water…be gathered” (Genesis 1:9); “[God said:] Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14)? “Said [vayomer]” (Singular) is written.’ When they reached the action of the sixth day, they rejoiced. They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26)?’ He said to them: ‘It is not written here, “They created man in their images,” but rather, “God created man in His image”’ (Genesis 1:27). They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “For who is a great nation that has God near [kerovim] (Plural) it”?’ He said to them: ‘But is it written: “As is the Lord our God in all of our calling to them”? It is written, “[As is the Lord our God] in all of our calling to Him.”’

(Gen. 1:1:) IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. It is written (in Ps. 104:3): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT…. R. Johanan said: (Gen. R. 1:3; PRE 4; M. Pss. 104:7. See below, sec. 1:12; M. Pss. 24:4.) Heaven and earth were created on the first day, and on the second the Holy One (In this translation “the Holy One” (apart from biblical quotations) represents the Hebrew acronym, HQBH, which stands for “The Holy One Blessed be He.” A somewhat abbreviated form is called for because this acronym has become the common midrashic name of the Deity and is treated as a single word. The full title would be awkward and only appears in the translation where the full title occurs in the Buber text.) created the firmament and the angels. Where is it shown that they were created on the second day? Where it is stated (ibid.): WHO ROOFS HIS UPPER ROOMS IN THE WATERS, (The midrash interprets this roof as the firmament of Gen. 1:6-8. Thus Ps. 104:3f. is seen as a reference to the second day of creation.) WHO SETS THE CLOUDS AS HIS CHARIOT, WHO WALKS ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND (ruah). And what is written next (in vs. 4)? WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS SPIRITS (ruah). (Cf. Hebrews 1:7.) R. Hanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day. Thus it is written concerning the fifth (in Gen. 1:20): AND LET FOWL FLY (ye'ofef) ABOVE THE EARTH. Now the word ye'ofef only refers to the flying of angels, as it is used (in Is. 6:2): AND WITH TWO HE DID FLY (ye'ofef). And why were the angels not created on the first day? So that the heretics (minim) would not say: Michael was standing in the north with Gabriel in the south, and together they spread out the heavens and the earth. So who did create them? The Holy One by himself, as stated (in Gen. 1:1): IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED < THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH >. R. Judah and R. Nehemiah disagree. R. Judah says: The world was being created for six days. Thus it is written concerning the work of each and every day (in Gen. 1:7, 9, 11, 15, 24, 30): AND IT WAS SO. That is R. Judah's opinion, but R. Nehemiah says: The whole world was created on the first day. R. Judah said to him: What is the meaning of what is written concerning the work of each and every day: [AND IT WAS SO]? R. Berekhyah said concerning R. Nehemiah's opinion: (According to Gen. 1:24) GOD SAID: LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH. The expression LET BRING FORTH is only used of something that was prepared from IN THE BEGINNING, as stated concerning the first day (in vs. 1): IN THE BEGINNING.

[Another interpretation (of Lev. 19:2:) SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,] < AND SAY UNTO THEM: > YOU SHALL BE HOLY, BECAUSE I< , THE LORD YOUR GOD, > AM HOLY. The Holy One said to them: Be holy just as I am holy in every respect. (Tanh., Gen. 1:7; Lev. 7:4; above, Gen. 1:7.) See what is written (in Josh. 24:19): FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural). (The words, HOLY and GOD, are both plural in the Hebrew.) What is the meaning of FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural)? This verse < provides > an opening for the heretics (minim), in that he seems like two powers. (Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism (“Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity,” 25; Leiden: Brill, 1977), p. 121.) The heretics asked R. Simlay: What is the meaning of FOR HE IS HOLY GOD? (See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:7; and the parallels listed there.) Do you not say that he is one power? See, here are < at least > two powers. He said to them: You idiots! [See what is written: FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural). You would say: They are < at least > two powers, [for why are GOD and HOLY plural?] R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Abba: What is the meaning of HE IS A HOLY < GOD > (with HOLY in the plural)? That he is holy in all categories of holiness. How? R. Aha bar Hanina said: His speech is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 60:8 [6]): GOD SPOKE IN HIS HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place, the Temple). His way is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 77:14 [13]): YOUR WAY, O GOD, IS IN HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place). He is seen in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 63:3 [2]): SO I HAVE BEHELD YOU IN HOLINESS, (i.e., in the Holy Place). His praise (Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”).) is in holiness, as stated (in Exod. 15:11): WHO IS LIKE YOU, GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS? The uncovering of his arm is in holiness, as stated (in Is. 52:10): THE LORD HAS UNCOVERED < HIS ARM OF HOLINESS >. Ergo (in Josh. 24:19) HE IS A HOLY GOD (with HOLY in the plural), because he is holy in all categories of holiness.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 32:8): LET ME INSTRUCT YOU AND TEACH YOU. What is the meaning of AND TEACH YOU? < AND TEACH YOU THE WAY TO GO >, (according to Gen. 12:1) UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. He said to Abraham: You are not losing out. FOR (according to vs. 2) I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION. (Gen. R. 39:11; Numb. R. 11:2.) "For I will establish you" is not written here but FOR I WILL MAKE YOU, because I creating you as a new creature. In the same sense it is stated (in Gen. 1:7): AND GOD MADE THE FIRMAMENT. < Similarly > (in vs. 16): AND GOD MADE THE TWO < GREAT > LIGHTS. R. {Minhas} [Pinhas] bar Hama [the Priest] said: When did the Holy One make Abraham a great nation? When Israel had left Egypt, come to Sinai, and received the Torah, Moses looked at them and said: Behold, they have been made just as the Holy One had promised to the patriarch. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:8): AND WHAT GREAT NATION….

(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” (Tanh., Gen. 1:7.) See what is written (in Josh. 24:19), “for He is a holy God (in the plural).” (The words, HOLY and GOD, are both plural in the Hebrew.) What is the meaning of this verse? It provides an opening for the heretics (minim), in that it seems to them like two powers. (See Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism (“Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity,” 25; Leiden: Brill, 1977), p. 121.) The heretics asked R. Simlay, “What is the meaning of ‘for He is a holy God?’ (See Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:7; and the parallels listed there.) Do you not say that He is one power? See from this verse, that there are [at least] two powers.” He said to them, “You idiots! Had it said, ‘[for] they are holy,’ you would have spoken [well. But] it is written, ‘[for] He (in the singular).’” And [regarding] that which it says, “holy God (in the plural),” R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Abba, “What is the meaning of ‘He is a holy [God] (with holy in the plural)?’ That He is holy in all categories of holiness.” How? R. Aha bar Hanina said, “His speech is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 60:8), ‘God spoke in His holiness (i.e., in the holy place, the Temple).’ His way is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 77:14), ‘Your way, O God, is in holiness (i.e., in the holy place).’ He is seen in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 63:3), ‘So I have beheld You in holiness, (i.e., in the holy place).’ His praise (Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”).) is in holiness, as stated (in Exod. 15:11), ‘Who is like You, glorious in holiness?’ The uncovering of His arm is in holiness, as stated (in Is. 52:10), ‘The Lord has uncovered His arm of holiness.’” Ergo (in Josh. 24:19) “He is a holy God (with holy in the plural),” because He is holy in all categories of holiness.

Unto the land that I will show you (Gen. 12:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, did not mention any specific place. This indicates that this was a trial within a trial, as in the case of a man who embarks upon a journey without being aware of his destination. What did Abraham do? He took his possessions and his wife and departed: And Abraham went, as the Lord had spoken to him (ibid., v. 4). And I will make of thee a great nation (ibid., v. 2). It is not written “I will establish you up as a great nation,” but I will make you a great nation; that is, I will create anew, as indicated by the verse And God made the firmament (ibid. 1:7); And God made the two great lights (ibid., v. 16). R. Phinehas the priest, the son of Hama said: When did the Holy One, blessed be He, make Abraham into a great nation? He did so when Israel accepted the Torah. Thus Moses proclaimed concerning them: For what great nation is there (Deut. 4:8).

Another interpretation is that the heavens declare the glory of God, as the verse says in Psalms 19:2, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Rabbi Shmuel bar Abba said, "I am familiar with the heavenly realm just as I am familiar with the streets of Nehardea." Did Shmuel actually ascend to the heavens? No, rather through his study of Torah, he gained knowledge of what is in the heavens. Rabbi Hoshaya said, "Just as there is a space between the lower waters and the sky, there is also a space between the upper waters and the sky." Rabbi Pinchas HaKohen bar Chama said, "The verse in Genesis 1:7 states, 'And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.' This only refers to the waters above the expanse, which are dependent on the air. The upper waters produce rain, as it says in Psalm 104:13, 'He waters the mountains from his chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your work.' Did Rabbi Hoshaya actually ascend to the heavens? No, rather through his study of Torah, he gained knowledge of what is in the sky.

Therefore, the wicked will not stand in judgment. As it is written in Proverbs 15:7, "The lips of the wise disperse knowledge." The wise are the people of Israel, who made a stranger of the Ark, as it is written in Exodus 25:11, "And you shall overlay it with pure gold." But the hearts of fools are not the same. They are the Gentile nations who have become estranged from God. Another interpretation of "The lips of the wise disperse knowledge" is that the people of Israel always exalt God's name and proclaim it morning and evening. But the hearts of fools do not do so. They are the heretics who say that the world is foolishness. Another saying is "But the hearts of fools are not the same." Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Pinchas said that God said to the wicked, "I created the world," as it is written in Genesis 1:7, "And it was so." But you say otherwise. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in judgment. However, it would be good for them if they did not judge others except as they would judge themselves. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that the wicked sin twice. They are the four kingdoms that will not stand on the day of judgment. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said that one affliction destroys them and they are called to account. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in judgment. The word "judgment" is written only in the context of judgment, as it is written in Jeremiah 10:8, "But they are altogether senseless and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!" (Psalms 34:22) "The wicked will perish." (Proverbs 24:16) "For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity, not twice."

… And He said to him ‘go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering’ (Bereshit 22:2) What is the land of Moriah? There is a whole bundle of Sages here, each saying their own answer. R’ Yanai says ‘what is Moriah? The place from which awe and fear (morah and yirah) go out to the world,’ “You are feared, O God, from Your Sanctuary…” (Tehillim 68:36) R’ Chiya the elder says ‘the land from which instruction (hora’ah) goes out to the world,’ as it says “…for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth…” (Yeshayahu 2:3) Another explanation: the land from which, in the future, the Holy One will teach that the wicked should descend to gehinnom, as it says “Like sheep, they are destined to the grave; death will devour them, and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will outlast the grave…” From where? “…his dwelling place (zevul).” (Tehillim 49:15) Another explanation of the land of Moriah. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said ‘the land from which the righteous teach (morim) and make decrees upon the Holy One which He does,’ as it says “…and David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said to God, "Did I not say to count the people?…I beg that Your hand be against me and against my father's house, but not against Your people for a plague." (Divre HaYamim I 21:16-17) Another explanation of the land of Moriah. R’ Yehudah bar Padiiya said ‘Moriah - he said to Gd, where is it? He replied – to the land which I will show (mareh) you.’ Another explanation of Moriah. Avraham said to Gd, Master of the World! But am I fit to offer sacrifices? Am I a kohen? Let Shem the High Priest come and receive him from me. The Holy One replied to him – when you arrive at the place I will sanctify you and make you into a kohen. What is the meaning of Moriah? In exchange (temurah) for Shem. His replacement, as it says “He shall not exchange it or offer a substitute for it…” (Vayikra 27:10) Another explanation. What is Moriah? R’ Pinchas said ‘the land in which the master (maruto) of the world dwells,’ as it says “…and My eyes and My heart shall be there at all times.” (Melachim I 9:3) Another explanation. What is Moriah? R’ Shimon bar Yochai said ‘the land which was adorned opposite the altar above “…or cast down… (yaro yireh)” (Shemot 19:13) Another explanation. The land in which the incense is offered – “I will go to the mountain of myrrh (mor)…” (Shir HaShirim 4:6)

Nowadays prayer takes the place of the sacrifices, therefore a person must pray with a broken heart and have in mind to prepare adornments for the Shechinah with his supplications. Those who have this in mind when they perform good deeds bring satisfaction to the Shechinah. These individuals are known as “men of deeds” because the word “deed” [ma’aseh] has the connotation of “fixing” [tikkun]. Thus the word “And He did” [vaya’as; Bereishis 1:7] means in context, “And He fixed” [vetiken]. Similarly, the woman of Shunem said to her husband, “Let us fix up [na’aseh] a small walled-in attic room and place for him there a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp” (II Melachim:4:10). This woman also had in mind to honor the Shechinah, for the four items she mentions are the things that the children of Israel must prepare for the Shechinah. Thus when a person prays the evening Amidah he should have in mind that this prayer corresponds to the “lamp.” And when he recites the evening Shema he should have in mind that it corresponds to the “bed.” The Verses of Praise and the morning Shema correspond to the “table” and the morning Amidah corresponds to the “chair.” He should have all these intentions in mind for the honor of the Shechinah, as is discussed in the Zohar at length (2:133a).

The expression הבדלו, "become separate!" which Moses used in 16,21, also alludes to the "separation" of waters that took place during the second day of Creation (Genesis 1,7). "Separations" are indications of creational activity. Originally, all of Creation had been for the sake of "Adam". Since Adam however, grew apart from G–d, Aaron was brought "close to G–d" in his place when he became the High Priest. We have explained all this based on the Midrash in our commentary on the portions that comprise תורת כהנים.

ובן הבקר אשר עשה, “and the calf which he had prepared;” this is not the only time when the word עשה, does not, and could not mean: “he had made,” we find it used in the same sense as here also in Genesis 1,7: ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, where it could not mean that “G–d made the sky or firmament,” as He had already decreed for it to come into existence in the verse prior to that. It meant that He made it functional, made it ready to fulfill its purpose. (Based on Rashi)

And it said, “I have created him, have formed him, I have even made him": It mentioned three expressions, creation, formation and making. And it may be asked, “What are these three things?” But when you analyze the creation story, you will find these three expressions are [found] with the creations: You will find an expression of creation with heaven and earth, “God created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1); “And God created the giant sea-creatures” (Genesis 1:21). And likewise with man is it written (Genesis 1:27), “And God created man.” In these three, an expression of creation is mentioned. And an expression of formation is said with the [domesticated] beasts and [wild] animals - “And [...] God formed [... every] animal (of the earth according to its species)“ (Genesis 2:19). And an expression of formation is also said about man, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7). But no more are found. And the expression of making is found with the firmament, as it stated (Genesis 1:7), “And God made the firmament”; with the luminaries, as it is written (Genesis 1:16), “And God made the two luminaries”; with the animals of the earth, “And God made the animals of the earth” (Genesis 1:25); and with man, “Let us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26).

And it wrote an expression of making with the firmament and with the luminaries because these have a shining body and their essence is their body. Hence, it wrote the expression, “and He made,” about them - since this expression is said about the body. And likewise with the animals that have substance and form. But their substance and form are equally recognizable; hence expressions of making and formation are said about them. And the three of them are said about man - creation, formation and making - because the three of them are equally recognizable in man. Hence the three of them are said about (them) [him]. Here you have the three things that are said about creation.

Upon the earth on the face of the firmament of the skies: There are two types of birds: those that fly upon the earth, [meaning] only close to it; and those that fly high upon the face of the firmament of the skies. And for this reason, [the verb] fly is written in the piel [grammatical form]. And this is not coming to make that which is flying small, as with [the other letters] that become double [in this form] and as is written in HaPirchon under the entry, fly. But here it is impossible to say this, since, behold, it is written "upon the face of the firmament." But rather the meaning of the doubling [of the letter fay] is [to signify] two types of flying. And in Bereishit Rabbah, Chapter 1, there is [someone] who interprets from this that the angels were also created on the fifth [day], since it is written, "firmament of the skies" - and that [refers to] the 'skies of the skies,' as we have written above, Genesis 1:7. And therefore, they interpreted that it is speaking about angels as well. And behold, it is as it is written, upon the face of the skies, upon the face of the firmament of the skies; and this is [frequently] the way of Scripture.

ירקענו Beateth it. (A. V., Spreadeth it over.) Comp. וירקעו and they did beat (Ex. 39:3), רקיע expanse (A. V., A firmament.) (Gen. 1:6).

ואעשך לגוי גדול, “and I will make you into a great nation.” Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 39,15) explain that being a traveler, a nomad, brings in its wake three negative phenomena. It results 1) in a decrease of one’s fertility; 2) a decrease of one’s financial resources; and 3) in a decrease of one’s standing amongst one’s peers. G-d promised Avraham that he would not suffer from these negative phenomena. By saying: “I will make you into a great nation,” G-d told Avraham that his ability to procreate would not only not suffer but would be enhanced. By adding: “I will bless you,” G-d hinted that Avraham would prosper financially. By further adding “I will make your name great,” He countered Avraham’s concern that his standing amongst his peers would decline due to his becoming a nomad. It is noteworthy that G-d did not use the customary expression ואשימך לגוי גדול, “I will let you become a great nation,” but He said ואעשך לגוי גדול, “I will make you into a great nation.” This is equivalent to G-d saying: “I will make you into an entirely new phenomenon.” The expression G-d used is comparable to when the Torah said (1,7) ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, “G-d made the sky.” The deeper meaning of the words לגוי גדול, “to a great nation,” is a reference to the Jewish nation which is described in Deut. 4,8 as ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים, “and who else is a great nation which has righteous decrees and ordinances?” The words: “I will make you into a great nation,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as the G-d of Avraham,” the words “I will bless you,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as “the G-d of Yitzchak;” the words “and I will make your name great,” are alluded to when we speak of G-d as “the G-d of Yaakov.” The words והיה ברכה “and be a blessing,” prompted our sages when they formulated the first benediction in the principal עמידה prayer to conclude with reference to Avraham only when we say מגן אברהם, “the shield of Avraham” at the conclusion of that benediction. The deeper meaning of these words והיה ברכה, “and be a blessing,” is that G-d had said: ”up until now when I created My universe and it needed My blessing in order to endure I blessed Adam and Chavah as we read (1,28) ‘G-d blessed them.’” This was repeated when Noach and his family required G-d’s blessing after the deluge in order to rebuild mankind. At that point (9,1) the Torah wrote: “G-d blessed Noach and his sons, etc.” From here on is the power to bless was entrusted to Avraham who could use it to bless whomever he saw fit to qualify for a blessing.

It pays to look closely at the verses in which G-d’s punishment for Adam and Chavah are described. Whereas G-d’s name is mentioned in connection with the curse of the serpent, the Torah refrains from mentioning G-d’s name in verses 15-19 when the punishment meted out to Adam and Chavah is described. G-d is referred to repeatedly only in the third person as “He.” This teaches that G-d makes every effort to prove that evil never originates with Him. Hence He is careful to dissociate His name from it. By contrast, when it came to describing infinite life in the future as symbolised by the last verse in the paragraph, the Torah makes a point of attributing theseכתנות עור to ה' אלוקים, to G-d personally, directly. This whole verse, although phrased in the past tense, actually is a reference to the future as we find in connection with many prophecies. [According to Nachmanides, the reason for this is to lend emphasis to the prophecy, to assure the reader it is so certain to come true that it may be described as if it had happened already.] I believe that the appropriate translation of the word ויעש in the verse ויעש ה' אלוקים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור וילבישם, is: “He made something entirely new; He created a new concept.” The words אדם and אשתו are not to be understood literally but refer to the שכל and to the נפש respectively. It is quite possible to think of man and woman in terms of שכל, and נפש respectively, the former the innovative enterprising active force symbolising the male, whereas נפש is a more passive responsive spiritual force and therefore symbolises woman. The נפש accompanies the שכל just like a woman accompanies the male. My revered teacher Rabbi Shlomoh Aderet may his light continue to shine, has similarly explained the matter of Leviathan and its mate, i.e. that these terms are similes for the concepts of שכל and נפש. The verse introduces a vision of a future life on earth after the resurrection. G-d goes on record that when that time arrives He will make a new creation for שכל and נפש. This will be known as כתנות עור, i.e. as “bodies,” The word וילבישם “He dressed them,” means that at that time G-d will provide a body for שכל ונפש who are the first part, the intangible part, in man’s resurrection. We find a parallel concept in Job 10,11 עור ובשר תלבישני, “You will clothe me with skin and flesh.” In our verse too, G-d envisages a future when שכל ונפש will be clothed with a body, as a result of which he will become a new kind of human being. Isaiah 15,22 speaks about a “new earth” in those days. I have found support for my view in Tanchuma on Parshat Lech Lecha where G-d’s promise in Genesis 12,2 ואעשך אותך לגוי גדול, “I will make you into a great nation,” is interpreted as G-d saying to Avraham: “I am going to create for you a new creature.” The word ויעש as describing a new creation has been used already at the very beginning of Genesis (1,7) when the Torah describes the creation of the heavens in these words: ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, “G-d created the heaven.” A further meaning of the words כתנות עור, “leather coats”, is the exchangeability of the letters ע and א. When we mentioned earlier that the text of Rabbi Meir’s Torah scroll had the word עור spelled with the letter א, the allusion contained in that statement was that אור , “light,” may be a fitting substitute for עור, “skin” as a garment. In the future G-d would clothe שכל ונפש, intelligence and the emotional part of man soul, in a variety of rays of light all derived from the celestial regions. In connection with Moses’ skin radiating light from the celestial regions, our sages interpret the word אהל in Exodus 33,7 ומשה יקח את האהל, “and Moses would take the Tent , etc.” as being analogous to Job 29,3 בהלו נרו עלי ראשי, “when His lamp shone over my head.” This corresponds to my first explanation of the words האדם ואשתו, that the entire paragraph is full of allusions to נפש and גוף, “body and soul,” respectively. This is why the Torah did not write simply ויעש...כתנות עור ללבוש, “He made...leather coats to wear,” but it wrote ויעש...כתנות עור וילבישם. Only G-d Himself is able to bring about this combination of body-soul-intellect as proven by the words “He clothed them.”

A Midrashic approach tinged with kabbalah: G’d had concluded a covenant with the waters in the “lower” regions of the universe .at the time these waters were separated from the “upper” waters (Genesis 1,7) that on Sukkot some of these waters laced with salt would be used as a libation on G’d’s altar. This is confirmed by Bereshit Rabbah 5,5 according to which the “lower” waters were called “crying waters” as they accepted the separation from the upper waters only after shedding salty tears. This is reflected in Job 28,11: “He dammed up the streams because they cried so much.” Rabbi Abba said that these waters separated from the upper waters by crying. The reason they cried was that they were saying “woe to us that we did not merit to ascend to the celestial regions where we would be close to our Creator.” In fact they were so upset that they dared to split “the deep” and threatened to ascend with their intrinsic power. G’d became angry at them and forced them back to their realm. We know all this from Isaiah 43,16: “Who made a road through the sea and a path through mighty waters.” Nonetheless, G’d told the “lower” waters that seeing their revolt was motivated by their desire to be closer to Him, He would not allow the upper waters to commence with the song of praise to Him until they had obtained permission from the “lower” waters to do so. This has been confirmed in Psalms 93,4: “more majestic than the sounds of the mighty waters of the sea is the voice of the Lord on high.” What is it that these waters say in order to signify their consent? אדיר במרום ה', “the Lord is majestic on high.” Furthermore, G’d promised the “lower” waters that when the time would come for the Israelites to offer sacrifices to Him on the altar, these would be accompanied by both salt and water libations. We have another Midrash in which the (terrestrial) world is described as divided into one third desert, one third habitable, and one third ocean. The oceans said to G’d: “the desert merited that the Torah was given in it; the habitable parts of earth merited that the Temple was erected on them; what are we going to get?” G’d responded saying that in the future, in G’d’s own good time, the Jewish people would include both salt and water in the sacrificial rites

V’ASETHAH’ HER NAILS. “She shall ‘let them grow,’ [the reason being] that she should become repulsive.” This is Rashi’s language which accords with the words of Rabbi Akiba, (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 212.) and so did Onkelos explain it [“and she shall let her nails grow”]. Now, according to their opinion the word v’asethah will be like ‘v’asath’ (and it shall bring forth) the produce, (Leviticus 25:21.) for “growth” is termed asiyah (doing). But in the Sifre (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 212.) there is stated a proof to the words of Rabbi Eliezer [who explains ‘v’asethah’ her nails — and “she shall cut” her nails] from the following verse, and he [Mephibosheth] had neither ‘asah’ (dressed) his feet [i.e., cut the nails] nor ‘asah’ (trimmed) his beard. (II Samuel 19:25.) And this is indeed a great proof! Therefore I say that these are all regulations of mourning, all connected with the expression, and she shall bewail her father and mother. (Verse 13.) Thus he commanded that she shall shave her head, (In Verse 12 before us.) similar to what is written of Job [when he heard of the death of his children], and he shaved his head, (Job 1:20.) and so also, cut off thy hair, [and cast it away, and take up a lamentation]. (Jeremiah 7:29.) So, too, the cutting of nails is a form of mourning like the shaving of the head. He states, and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, (Verse 13.) that is to say, she shall don the garments of mourning, and she shall remain in thy house (Verse 13.) like a widow and not go outside at all, and she shall bewail her father and her mother, (Verse 13.) doing all this a full month, for such is the custom of mourners. And in the opinion of our Rabbis (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 213.) who say that all [these regulations] were intended to mar her beauty [the sense of the verses is as follows]: He commanded that she remove her beautiful garments, for [among] the heathens — accursed ones — their daughters adorned themselves in wartime in order to entice [the enemy] after them. She is to shave her head, which is considered a great disgrace, and pare her nails, for the custom of women is to let them grow and paint them with forms of stibium or other tints. And Scripture denotes the paring of a thing with the term asiah [“making” — ‘v’asethah’ her nails] because people cut the hair of the legs and the upper lip, as well as the nails when they grow [thus “making” and putting them in order]. It appears to me that [the term asiah in this connection] is an abbreviated expression, [Scripture] being accustomed to speak briefly concerning a self-evident matter. The sense of the verse, and he had neither ‘asah’ his feet nor ‘asah’ his beard (II Samuel 19:25.) is that he [Mephibosheth] had not “done” what was appropriate to be done to them, alluding to the shaving of the hair on the legs and the beard, or to the washing of the feet themselves. Such also is the opinion of Yonathan ben Uziel who rendered the verse, “he did not wash his feet nor trim his beard.” So also ‘v’asethah’ her nails means “and she shall do that which is done with the nails “[i.e., paring them]. And the commentators (Ibn Ezra [on the verse before us] and Rashi on the verse in II Samuel 19:25.) have said that the meaning of the term asiah is “setting in order.” And such is the meaning of the expression, and he hastened ‘la’asoth’ (to dress) it. (Genesis 18:7.) And the reason for this section [i.e. of all these regulations] is that she is converted against her will, and no one asks her whether she is willing to abandon her religion and become Jewish as is [customarily] done with proselytes. Instead, the [future] husband tells her that she must observe the law of Israel against her will and abandon her gods. This is the reason for the verse, and she shall bewail her father and her mother a full month, (Verse 13.) because she abandons her people and her gods. (See Ruth 1:8.) This is the interpretation of Rabbi Akiba (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 213 and Yebamoth 48b.) who says that her father means only the idols, similar to what is said, They say to a stock, ‘thou art my father,’ and to a stone, ‘thou hast brought us forth.’ (Jeremiah 2:27.) In general, then, she is mourning because she is leaving her religion and joining another people. It is possible that the court imposes upon her to undergo immersion [in a ritual pool for the purpose of conversion] against her will just as is done with [Canaanite] bondmen, (A Canaanite bondman sold to an Israelite had to undergo circumcision and immersion, and he was obligated in the observance of certain commandments. When liberated he assumed the status of a full-fledged Israelite.) and because she does not convert to Judaism through the normal procedure, Scripture removed her [from her master] all this time. Now, the reason for [her] mourning and bewailing [which Scripture commanded] according to the opinion of our Rabbis (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 213 and Yebamoth 48b.) is in order that she should become repulsive, so that his desire for her may wane. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that the Torah assigned her a period [of mourning] in accordance with the custom of those who weep for the dead in honor of her father and her mother who died in the battle. And the Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] wrote in the Moreh Nebuchim (Guide of the Perplexed III, 41 (at the end).) that this regulation was out of compassion for her, that she find comfort for herself, for those in misery find comfort and calm in their weeping and mourning, and during that time he must not force her to leave her religion, nor may he cohabit with her. In my opinion this respite is not primarily intended to show compassion for her, but to eliminate the names of idols from her mouth and her heart. The wandering away and separation from her father and her mother and her people will further “quench the coal,” (See II Samuel 14:7. I.e., the extinguishing of the hope.) for it is improper to cohabit with a woman who is coerced and in mourning. This is similar to the case our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have mentioned (Nedarim 20b. See also Rashbam in Pesachim 112a (at end of page) that children born of such a union are tantamount to being illegitimate although legally they are not so considered.) with respect to illegitimates, “children born of a wife whose husband has decided to divorce her,” and surely of this captive woman who cries out in her heart to her gods to save her and bring her back unto her people and unto her gods. (Ruth 1:15.) Thus when they inform her that we will force her to give up her people and her native land, and convert to Judaism, we must tell her, “Be comforted for thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity (Ibid., 2:11.) whom ye shall not see any more, forever, (Exodus 14:13.) but, instead, be your master’s wife, (See Genesis 24:51.) in accordance with the law of Moses and Jewish custom.” (Kethuboth 72a.) Then we are to give her a time for weeping and mourning as is the way of mourners in order to assuage her sorrow and her longing, for in all sorrow there is profit (Proverbs 14:23.) and consolation afterwards. Now, during that time she has pondered in her mind about the conversion, and has partly eradicated from her heart her idols, people, and native land, she has consoled herself for them and has attached herself to this man to whom she knows she will become [a wife] and has become accustomed to him. Therefore Scripture states, and thou shalt bring her to thy house, (In Verse 12 before us.) which the Rabbis have interpreted: (Sifre, Ki Theitzei 212.) “To thy house — and not to the house of another person.” Similarly, and she shall remain in thy house (Verse 13.) meaning that all this time she is to stay in the house which he uses, [for the reason that] perhaps she will desire and consent to [marry] him. (One cannot help but express a deep reverence for the compassionate interpretation Ramban has given to this section.) And in general, all these regulations are on account of the compulsion, but if she voluntarily expresses a desire to be legally converted by the court, she is immediately permitted to him, or even to his father or his brother. And thus the Rabbis have said in the Chapter Hacholeitz: (“If a man submits to Chalitzah.” — Yebamoth 47b.) “And she shall bewail her father and her mother a full month. (Verse 13.) This applies only if she did not take it upon herself [to be converted,] but if she took it upon herself, she undergoes immersion and is permitted immediately.” It is possible that with all prisoners of war we are to act according to this law [even if she wishes to convert], because she might express her desire to be converted [at once] out of fear [of the regulations mentioned in this section. Therefore, we must question the sincerity of her expressed desire to convert]. He states, And it shall be, if thou have no desire for her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will, (Verse 14.) meaning that she may do as she wishes and we must not force her to observe the law of Moses and Jewish custom. For, if she converts voluntarily we may compel her to observe the Torah, and if she profanes the Sabbath [by doing forbidden work thereon] she is to be stoned, and if she eats swine’s flesh she is to be scourged, as is the law of an apostate Israelite. (See Vol. II, p. 160.) Moreover, if she herself confessed that the conversion was not coerced, we may not let her go as she wishes, for even if we suspect that her conversion was due to fear, her status is that of a true Israelite woman, for we have already decided the law (Yebamoth 24b.) that all [who are converted whether out of fear or gain] have the status of proselytes.

I will hasten him away from her Suddenly and successfully he shall destroy her and return in a brief movement to his place. But I say that אריצנוּ מעליה means: I will hasten him over her, that he shall overpower her and be over her. Cf. “Above (ממעל) the expanse” (Gen. 1: 7); “Above (ממעל) for Him” (Isa. 6:2); “Over (מֵעַל) his garments” (I Sam. 17:39).

על ארץ מצרים בארבה, before the locust could destroy also the roots of the wheat and spelt and other plants they had been devouring. 10,20-23. נטה ידך על השמים, “in the direction of the atmosphere referred to as “heaven.” We have explained this in connection with Genesis 1,7.

נטה ידך על השמים, “in the direction of the atmosphere referred to as “heaven.” We have explained this in connection with Genesis 1,7.

She must allow them to grow so that she becomes ugly. See [Rashi on] parshas Bereishis (1:7) on the verse, “Elohim made the canopy.”

Elohim made the canopy, and divided the waters which were beneath the canopy, from the waters which were above the canopy, and it was so.

And Allah made the layer, and divided between the water which was outside of it, and the water that was above it; and then it was so.

And the Lord made the expanse, upbearing it with three fingers, between the confines of the heavens and the waters of the ocean, and separated between the waters which were below the expanse, and the waters which were above, in the collection (or covering) of the expanse; and it was so.

And God created the separation, which separated the water below the line of separation and the water above the line of separation, and it was thus as his word.

AND GOD CALLED. There are five things which God named because there was then no man to name them. They are: light, darkness, heaven, earth and the seas. In addition, God named man. (Scripture explicitly tells us that God named the Light, the Darkness, etc. I.E. points out that God also named Adam, even though this is not expressly stated in our chapter.)

And God called the firmament, heaven: God did not want that it should be called with the name, firmament - [rakiya] since that name indicates division and disagreement, as per (Exodus 39:3), "And they flattened (yiraka'au) the gold [into thin plates]" - for that which was to cover the earth. Since any [rakiya] is a covering that separates between two things. And for this reason, it does not state, "that it was good" on the second day, since disagreement was created on it; since there is no good except in a place where we find unity. And therefore on the third day, "that it was good" is stated twice, once for the work of third day and once for the finishing of the water, that has an aspect of unity in it, as it is stated, "let the waters gather to one place," and because of this unity, "that it was good" is mentioned. But on the second day - from which comes out all differences, and which is the beginning of all difference and disagreement - "that it was good" was not said about it. And God did not want that [the sky] should be called firmament, which indicates a cover that separates and divides between brothers; and it was called with the name, heavens [shamayim], which indicates peace, since shamayim is composed of the words, fire [esh] and water [mayim], who made peace between between themselves and joined together, and from them was created skies. And this is what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, state (Avot 5:17), "Any disagreement that is for the sake of the heavens [shamayim], etc.;" which means to say that a disagreement whose purpose is peace, as is the teaching of the name, shamayim; and [this is] easy to understand. And according to its simple meaning, "that it was good" was not stated on the second day, since there was no new creation on it, since the firmament was already created on the first day, and the reason for [no creations happening on the second day] is because the second day is the beginning of all difference and division; hence the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want to implant a nature of difference in any creation.

And He called: Here the verse informs us these are the [same heavens] that were mentioned in the verse, “In the beginning etc.” And [the reason] that the first verse ascribes the name, 'heavens' to them is to say that there is [here] a creation that will be called heavens in the future; but really God did not call it this name until the second day.

And according to the words of our rabbis, who said (Bereishit Rabbah 4:7) that the understanding of shamayim (heavens) is sa mayim (support the waters), the intention of [this] verse is according to the following way: “And God called to the heavens and said” to it, support the waters, so that there will be [space] to [make] room for the creatures, so that the creatures will be between the heavens and the earth; and without this, there [was] no place for the dwellers of the earth, until He called upon the heavens to support the waters that were laying upon [the earth]. And he told the lower waters to gather to one place on the third day and the dry land appeared with this, [such that] there was [now] a place for the dwellers of the earth. And this is not a contradiction to the words of our Rabbis, that say that the upper waters are held up miraculously; since even if it is the case that the heavens support them, nonetheless with regards to the set up nature of the skies and their order, they felt that they were supported by a miracle, as we have written on the verse, “And he made.”

ויקרא אלוקים לרקיע שמים, after the rakia had become firm, substantial, and it was capable of supporting the luminaries, G’d called it שמים, “heaven.” The name is appropriate, seeing that the rakia was now capable of absorbing luminaries just as heaven is reputed capable of receiving the creatures from the “lower” regions who possess something originating in the “higher” regions, i.e. their souls. One reason why these regions are called שמים is the fact that the luminaries are visible in the sky, heavens. Our sages, (Bereshit Rabbah 4,7) when commenting on these words, quote Rav as saying that the word שמים means a region in which fire and water coexist. Rabbi Acha son of Kahane, quoting Rav, says G’d took fire and water and thoroughly mixed the two, the result being shamayim. This is the reason why, as we mentioned already, the words כי טוב that it was good, do not appear in the report of G’d’s creative activity on the second “day.” Our sages, (Bereshit Rabbah 4,6) also say that seeing G’d’s activity on the second “day” was not completed on that day, the day’s work did not qualify for the description “it was good.” In order to compensate for this omission, we find the words וירא אלוקים כי טוב, “G’d saw that it was good,” twice in connection with His activity on the third “day.” The first such mention refers to the completion of G’d’s activity involving the waters, whereas the second mention “that it was good,” refers to the earth producing vegetation, the only activity which occurred on the third “day,” according to Ibn Ezra. Maimonides (Moreh, Kapach edition page 235) writes that the reason why the words “that it was good” do not appear in the report of G’d’s activities on the second “day,” is that because the rakia and all that is above it is part of the “waters,” and is called by that name. It is something concealed from most people, and how could one apply the words “it was good” to something that cannot seen by us to be good and useful? Seeing that the congregating of the waters to a single location, thus making the earth beneath appear could be observed universally, the expression “it was good” was withheld until the report about that stage of the creation. Even though the making of the rakia was the underlying purpose which made vegetation on earth feasible, something which is also concealed from us, the result of the achievement of this purpose was universally visible so that it qualifies as being described by the words “it was good.”

AND G-D CALLED THE FIRMAMENT HEAVEN. On the second day He gave them this name when He clothed them with the form of the firmament for on the first day the heavens were still in the process of creation, but the name was not attached to them until they took on this form. The meaning of this name [shamayim — heavens] is as if it had the sign of a segol under the letter shin [the prefix shin thus voweled means “that” or “for”] just as in Shalamah (For why) should I be as one that veileth herself? (Song of Songs 1:7. The letter shin there stands for asher - asher lamah (for why). Similarly in Ibn Ezra, ibid. Likewise here, the word shamayim is as if it said asher mayim (that waters), as is explained further in the text.) It is thus as if He said that they [the heavens] are waters which have congealed and stretched like a tent in the midst of the upper and lower waters. By this name shamayim He has made known the secret of their creation. In the Gemara Tractate Chagigah, (12a.) the Rabbis have said, “What is the meaning of the word shamayim? It means shem mayim.” (“It is a name for water.” So clearly explained further on by Ramban.) If so, there is one mem missing here in the word shamayim on account of the adjoining of two similar letters, just as in the word yeruba’al [which stands for yareb bo ba’al — let Baal contend against him]. (Judges 6:32.) The word shamayim is thus as if it said shem mayim, meaning that “heaven” is the name given the waters when they took on a new form. This is the plain meaning of the verses in accordance with the way of Rashi’s writing, (“The word shamayim [may be regarded as made up of either of these words]: sa mayim (carries water), etc.” Rashi.) and it conforms with the opinion of Rav (Mentioned above: that the heavens were in a fluid form on the first day, and on the second day they solidified.) which we have mentioned. Thus the names “heaven” and “earth” mentioned in the first verse point to the names by which they would be called in the future, as it would be impossible to make them known in any other manner. It is, however, more correct in accordance with the meaning of the verses that we say that the heavens mentioned in the first verse are the upper heavens, which are not part of the lower spheres but are above the merkavah (the Divine Chariot), just as it is stated, And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the transparent ice, stretched forth over their heads above. (Ezekiel 1:22.) It is on account of these higher heavens that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called He Who rideth upon the heavens. (Deuteronomy 33:26.) Scripture, however, did not relate anything concerning their creation, just as it did not mention the creation of the angels, the chayoth of the merkavah, and all Separate Intelligences which are incorporeal. Concerning the heavens, it mentioned only in a general way that they were created, meaning that they came forth from nought. On the second day He said that there should be a firmament in the midst of the waters, meaning that from the waters, the creation of which had already been mentioned, there should come forth an extended substance separating them [into two distinct waters]. These spherical bodies He also called “heavens” by the name of the first upper heavens. This is why they are called in this chapter “the firmament of the heaven” [rather than “heavens”] — And G-d set them in the firmament of the heaven (Verse 17.) — in order to explain that they are not the heavens mentioned by that name in the first verse but merely the firmaments called “heavens.” This likewise is the opinion of our Rabbis mentioned in Bereshith Rabbah, (4:1.) who state, “All Rabbis say it in the name of Rabbi Chananyah the son of Rabbi Pinchas, and Rabbi Yaakov the son of Rabbi Avin says it in the name of Rabbi Shmuel the son of Rabbi Nachman: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters — the middle drop of water congealed, and the lower heavens and the highest heaven of heavens were formed.” This saying of the Rabbis refers to the spherical bodies in which there are the lower heavens and the upper ones, called “the heavens of heavens,” as it is written: Praise ye Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. (Psalms 148:3-4.) The heavens mentioned here in the first verse, in which is the Throne of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is written, The heaven is My throne, (Isaiah 66:1.) are the ones mentioned in the beginning of that Psalm: Praise ye the Eternal from the heavens; praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels. (Psalms 148:1-2.) This interpretation is correct as far as the simple meaning of the verses is concerned. But there is yet a sublime and hidden secret in the name “the heaven” and in the name “the throne” for there is a heaven to the heavens, and a throne to the throne. Based on this, the Sages use the expressions, “In order that a man may first take upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven,” (Berachoth 13a.) and “the fear of Heaven.” (Ibid., 7a.) Scripture likewise says, That the heavens do rule. (Daniel 4:23.) The Sages also have a remarkable Midrash on the verse, And Thou hear in heaven. (I Kings 8:32. The Midrash referred to is in Sefer Habahir, 100, and found in Zohar 2, p. 271. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 19, note 58.) The worthy one will see all this alluded to in the first verse. Thus the verses have explained that the first created things were from nought, and the rest were derived from the first created substance. See no objection to this explanation from the saying of Rabbi Eliezer the Great, (Found in Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer, 3. See also Moreh Nebuchim II, 26, where Rambam discusses this saying of Rabbi Eliezer and concludes that he is not able to explain it sufficiently. Ramban, however, explains it further on in the text in a way which makes it consistent with the theory of creation from absolute nought.) who states, “Whence were the heavens created? From the light of the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He.” [This would apparently indicate that the heavens were not created from nought but from another preceding substance.] This opinion is also found in Bereshith Rabbah. (12:1.) Since the Sages wanted to elevate the first substance to the utmost and make it ethereal, they did not find it feasible that the heavens, which are moving corporeal bodies possessing matter and form, were created from nought. Instead, they said “the light of the garment” was created first, and from it came forth the real substance of the heavens. And to the earth He gave another substance, (This is based on the concluding statement of Rabbi Eliezer the Great: “Whence was the earth created? From the snow under the Throne of Glory.” (See Note 123.)) not as minute as the first [substance from which the heavens were formed], and that is “the snow under the Throne of Glory,” for the Throne of Glory was first created, and from it came forth “the snow” under it, and from it [the “snow”] was formed the substance of the earth, which was third (The Throne of Glory, the snow, the earth. In the case of the heavens, however, creation was completed in the second stage: ‘the light of the garment’ and then the heavens. This accords with the theory explained above (see Note 35) that the substance of the heavens is unlike that of the earth.) in the order of creation.

ויקרא אלוקים לרקיע שמים, as I have already explained previously, the rakia is referred to as shamayim throughout the Torah, whereas the celestial regions in the spiritual sense are called shm’ey hashamyim, “the upper heavens.” Compare Nechemyah 9,6 where we are told:אתה עשית את השמים, שמי השמים וכל צבאם, “it is You Who have made the sky, the heavens and all their hosts.” In Deuteronomy 10,14 Moses wrote: והן לה' אלוקיך שמים ושמי השמים, “both the skies and the heavens are Yours, O Lord.”

ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום שני, the day faded towards evening until the second morning appeared. Thereby the second of the six days of G’d’s creative activity had come to a close. With this morning the third “day” commenced.

ויקרא אלהים לרקיע שמים AND GOD CALLED THE EXPANSE HEAVEN — The word “שמים”, Heaven, may be regarded as made up of שא מים “Carry water”, or שם מים “There is water”, or אש ומים “Fire and water”. He mingled fire with water and of them He made the heavens (Chagigah 12a).

Wie Gott dem Lichte: "Tag!" zurief und ihm damit seine Aufgabe für die Erde erteilte, so rief Gott der Wölbung: "Himmel!" zu und gab ihr damit ihre Bestimmung für die Erde. Die רקיע ist der eigentliche irdische Himmel. Alles, was die Erde aus Himmels Höhen empfängt, das kommt ihr vermittelst derselben zu. Selbst das Licht empfängt sie nicht direkt und rein, sondern erst vermittelt und gebrochen, und damit erst für sein Wirken auf Erden zubereitet, durch den die Erde umhüllenden Erdhimmel. Wie nämlich יום den Tag im allgemeinen, dann aber speziell den Tagesteil bezeichnet, in welchem sich die wesentlichste Entfaltung der Tagesbestimmung verwirklicht; wie ארץ Erde, den ganzen Erdball, sodann aber speziell den Kontinent bezeichnet, auf welchem sich das eigentliche Erdleben entfaltet: so heißt auch שמים die ganze außerirdische, die Erde umgebende und das Erddasein bedingende Welt im allgemeinen, speziell aber die untere, der Erde zugewandte Sphäre derselben, die eben der Erde als Trägerin und Vermittlerin alles dessen erscheint, was sie aus der außerirdischen Welt an Einflüssen, Gaben und Kräften erhält.

ויקרא אלוקים לרקיע שמים. Seeing that activities occurring in the celestial regions reach us by means of G’d’s agents and not directly, the Torah had to tell us that G’d named the phenomenon, otherwise we would not have known this, [would have considered it as a result of an evolutionary process. Ed.] We know of this indirect activity of G’d when the Torah referred (verses 17-18) to “G’d placed them (the luminaries) in the רקיע השמים, and assigned to them the task to illuminate the earth, etc.”

And He called: See above, verse 8. And behold, it states that God called the heavens a name to say that He is the ruler over them - to bring down rain and to prevent it, according to His will - and man does not have any control over this.

Carrying of water. [This interpretation arises] because there is no difference between shin and sin when we explain the Torah as it is written [rather than how it is pronounced]. Thus, it is as if the Torah expressly wrote שָׂמָיִם. Furthermore, a kamatz is naturally followed by an alef, so it comes out שָׂא מָיִם.

There is water. This interpretation answers the question: How could we say that שמים means “carrying of water,” when earlier (בפסוק ו ד"ה בתוך) Rashi explained that there is a separation between the waters [and the canopy]? Thus Rashi answers that שמים also means “there is water” — i.e., the canopy does not directly carry the water. In truth, the water is there above it, and through the separation it is as if the canopy carries the water. Then Rashi answers an objection: [If so,] why does the Torah not simply write שם מים, and then the error will not arise, to say that the canopy carries the water? Rashi answers that שמים also means אש ומים, and for this reason the Torah wrote שמים, which is interpreted as שא מים — and שא is the same letters as אש. Thus, the Torah teaches that Hashem blended fire and water to make the heavens. You might object: Perhaps the only reason why the Torah wrote שמים is for the meaning of אש ומים. How do we know that it means also שם מים? The answer is: Otherwise it should have been called אש ומים. We need not ask: Why did Rashi not mention these three interpretations before, [when the Torah first wrote] שמים? The answer is: שמים is [usually] a proper noun, but here it is an adjective, for it is written, “Elohim called the canopy שמים.” That is why Rashi mentioned these interpretations here. [Alternatively,] Rashi cites all three explanations to teach that fire is not located in one place while water is in another, and to teach that they are [not merely in one place but are] mingled with each other. (Divrei Dovid)

God called the firmament heavens [ shamayim ]. Some expound the word shamayim as sham mayim , meaning “water is there.” However, it is more likely that shamayim is the double form of sham , there there, meaning that it is located beyond. The second day of Creation also brought with it an element of measurement not with regard to space but with regard to time: It was evening and it was morning, a second day. On this day, the universe achieved a new structure. Although it did not yet resemble the universe as we know it, it now contained a hierarchical structure in addition to light.

Here likewise Scripture says, in accordance with what I said above, “And God called the firmament Heaven” (Gen. 1:8), in order to explain the homonymity of the term shamayim (heaven), and to show that shamayim in the first verse is not the firmament which is also called shamayim (heaven). The difference is more clearly expressed in the words, “In the open firmament of heaven” (ibid. 1:20); here it is shown that “firmament” (raki‘a) and “heaven” (shamayim), are two different things. In consequence of this homonymity of the term shamayim the term raki‘a (firmament) is also used of the true heaven, just as the real firmament is sometimes called shamayim (heaven); comp. “And God set them in the raki‘a (firmament) of the heaven” (ibid. 1:17).

It is also important to notice that the words, “And God called a certain thing a certain name,” are invariably intended to distinguish one thing from others which are called by the same common noun. I explain, therefore, the first verse in Genesis thus: In creating the principle God created the things above and those below. Ereẓ in this verse denotes” the things below,” or “the four elements,” and in the verse, “And God called the dry land Earth” (ereẓ), it signifies the element earth. This subject is now made clear.

And therefore the stature of First Adam was from the extreme end of the world unto the other extreme end. And based on the explanation, the hidden world—the tzellem—and the revealed world—the d’moot—illuminate simultaneously as one, and with a very strong connection. And this is (T’hillim 139:5) “back and front you have restricted me” (Heb.: ah-khor va-keddem tzartahnee) , using the same word used in “and you shall wrap up the money” (Heb.: v’tzarta ha-kessef) , meaning that the internal brains were connected to the surrounding ones, and the surrounding ones with those that surround them above them. This is [what is meant by] “from the ground unto the sky”, and we know the “sky” are those things that surround. Rabbee Elazar mentioned the surrounding things only in a general way. And Rav Y’hooda (in the name of Rav) mentioned the supernal surrounding things, that being the Mem (The last letter of the word tzellem) of tzellem, the supernal roots, this being how he expounded “and connected from the edge (Heb.: oo-l’miktzei ha-sha-my-im v’ahd miktzei ha-sha-my-im) of the heavens and unto the edge of the heavens” (Devarim 4:32). For Rabbee Elazar stated simply: “unto the sky”—the revealed surrounding thing. And then he added further that the edge of the sky too that will later be called heaven, unto the edge of the sky of the supernal skies. (And refer to the RaMBa”N’s commentary on the Choomash on the verse (Bereshit 1:8):“and God-Elohi”m called the sky heavens”. And what he wrote there [starting with] “but even more correct…” (Heb.: ahvahl yoteir na-khone…) , and regarding this they stated in the G’mara: “both of those explanations are identical”. Refer to the Tosafote there [for more detail].

9. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם called the firmament.” (Genesis 1:8)

Torah (Bereshit 1:6-8)

“It was on the day that [Moses] concluded” – that is what is written: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin [from the timber of Lebanon]” (Song of Songs 3:9) – this is the world, which is made like a type of palanquin. “King Solomon [Shelomo]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, who instituted peace [shalom] between fire and water, combined one with the other, and crafted the firmament, as it is stated: “God called the firmament heaven [shamayim]” (Genesis 1:8), as it is fire [esh] and water [mayim]. “From the timber of Lebanon” – as it was constructed from the place of the Temple. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: Why is it called the foundation stone? (This is the stone that is located in the inner sanctum in the Temple.) It is because the world was founded upon it. That is what is written: “From Zion, the epitome of beauty, God appeared” (Psalms 50:2). “He crafted its pillars of silver, [its cushioning of gold, its seat of purple wool; its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the firmament, just as it says: “The pillars of the heavens will sag” (Job 26:11). Why does it call them silver [kesef]? It is because it puts the act of Creation to shame [mekhasef]. Likewise it says: “The heavens relate [the glory of God]” (Psalms 19:2). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the earth, which produces the fruit of the land and the fruit of the trees, which are similar to gold. Just as gold, there are different types and different shades, so too the fruits of the land; some of them are green and some of them are red. “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool [argaman]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the sun, which is placed above, rides on a chariot [bemerkava], and illuminates the world, just as it says: “It (The reference is to the sun that is mentioned in the previous verse.) is like a bridegroom leaving his bridal chamber…” (Psalms 19:6). By the power of the sun rain falls, and by the power of the sun the land produces fruit. That is why it calls it argaman, as the Holy One blessed be He created it in order to weave man for the creatures. Man is nothing other than fruit and food, just as it says: “The king allotted [vayman] for them [a daily portion from the king’s food]” (Daniel 1:5). “Its interior is inlaid with love” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as after all the act of Creation, He created Adam and Eve to rule over them all. (The phrase is being interpreted as meaning that the world was inlaid with what God loved, namely, Adam and Eve.) Likewise it says: “She has sent out her young women; she will call” (Proverbs 9:3). (This is expounded as referring to Adam and Eve (see Vayikra Rabba 11:1).) That is, “from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – that all the creations would fear them and be assigned to them, just as it says: “Fear of you and dread of you will be [upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, and upon all that crawls on the ground, and upon all fish of the sea; into your hand they are given]” (Genesis 9:2). Another matter: “Palanquin (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the world. Why is it called “palanquin [apiryon]”? It is because it was created only for procreation [lifriya]. Likewise it says: “He did not create it for emptiness; He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made for himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the Holy One blessed be He created it only so there would be peace [shalom] between the creations, as it is stated: “Who forms the light and creates darkness, makes peace…” (Isaiah 45:7). “From the timber [me’atzei] of Lebanon [halevanon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as by the counsel [shebaatzat] of the Torah, whose matters are clear [melubenet], God created the world. Likewise it says: “Counsel [etza] and resourcefulness are mine” (Proverbs 8:14). (The word “mine” refers to wisdom.) From where is it derived that the matters of Torah are clear? It is as indeed it is written: “Then He saw and quantified it, prepared it, and also investigated it. He said to man: [Behold, the fear of the Lord, it is wisdom, and turning away from evil is understanding]” (Job 28:27–28). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is a genealogy. Likewise it says: “The righteous one is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25). “Silver” is nothing other than refining the genealogy, just as it says: “He will sit like one refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them [like gold and like silver]” (Malachi 3:3). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Torah, in whose regard it is written: “They are more desirable than gold, than much fine gold” (Psalms 19:11), and the Holy One blessed be He gave it to study it only to one who preserves his genealogy. Likewise, it says: “To the wicked one God said: What have you to do with My book of statutes, and you invoke My covenant” (Psalms 50:16)? Why is it so? “When you see a thief, you run with him; you join in with adulterers” (Psalms 50:18). And it says: “Render to the Lord, you families of the peoples; render to the Lord honor and might” (Psalms 96:7). (The fact that it says “families of peoples” and not just “peoples,” underscores the importance of genealogy.) “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “Who rides [rokhev] the heavens to assist you” (Deuteronomy 33:26). And He weaves the world so that all of them will emerge according to their species and they will not intermingle one species with another, just as it says: “Let the earth sprout vegetation” (Genesis 1:11). (In the following verse it says: “Vegetation yielding seed in its kind” (Genesis 1:12).) He rests His Divine Presence only upon those of pure lineage in Israel. Likewise it says: “To be a God for you and for your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). When your offspring are identifiable as being after you, the Holy One blessed be He is God to them, but when his offspring are not identifiable as being after him, as they are intermingled with the offspring of their counterparts, He is not God to them. “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yudan says: This is the merit of the Torah, as it is stated in its regard: “A loving doe” (Proverbs 5:19), and the merit of the righteous, as it is stated: “And I loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: This is the Divine Presence, just as it says: “You shall love the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Another matter: “Palanquin [apiryon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the eternal Temple. Why is it called apiryon? It is because all the golden forms would produce after its kind. (It expounds the word apiryon as producing fruit [peri].) “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – just as it says: “And we will cut timber from Lebanon…[and you will take it up to Jerusalem]” (II Chronicles 2:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “He erected the pillars before the Sanctuary, one to the right [and one to the left]” (II Chronicles 3:17). Was it of silver? Was it not of bronze? (As stated in I Kings 7:15–21.) It was, rather, of refined bronze whose value equaled that of silver. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – it is taught: The entire Temple was overlaid with gold, except for behind the doors (Midot 4:1). Rabbi Aivu said: The mishna is referring to the second Temple; however, in the first Temple it was even behind the doors. There are seven types of gold: Fine gold, pure gold, beaten gold, chased gold, glittering gold, refined gold, parvayim gold. Fine gold, in its plain sense, just as you say: “The gold of that land was fine” (Genesis 2:12). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is fine when he is in the house, and it is fine when it is accompanying him. Pure gold, they place it in the crucible and it lacks nothing. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Solomon placed one thousand gold talents into the furnace one thousand times until there remained only one talent. Was it not taught: Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Yehuda said: It happened that the candelabrum in the Temple was one Gordian dinar greater than the candelabrum of the wilderness, and he placed it in the furnace eighty times until it diminished? Rather, initially the dross diminished by a large amount; from this point forward it diminished by only a minimal amount. Beaten gold is spun like a thread and drawn like wax. Hadrian had the weight of an egg [of beaten gold]. Diocletian had the weight of a Gordian dinar. (The egg-bulk is significantly larger.) This kingdom (Their Roman successors.) has none of that. Chased gold [sagur] – that would cause all the owners of gold to close [soger]. (The gold was of such high quality that all other gold dealers would close their shops until the chased gold was sold, since everyone would buy the high quality gold.) But is it not written: “And seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses” (I Chronicles 29:4)? Was it silver? Was it not gold, as it is written: “The great Temple he overlaid with juniper wood, which he overlaid with fine gold” (II Chronicles 3:5)? Why do they call it silver [kesef]? It is because it would put to shame [makhsif] all the owners of gold. And all the vessels were crafted from it, the basins, the pots, the shovels, the forks, the spoons, and the firepans, [were of] chased gold. There it is written: “And the potot for the doors of the Temple” (I Kings 7:50). What are potot? Rabbi Yitzḥak of Migdal said: It is the cup under the hinge. (The hinge extended into a hole in the ground. A "cup" was placed in the hole, and the hinge extended into the cup.) Rabbi Simai said: These are the teeth of the keys, to teach you that the Temple was not lacking even insignificant matters. Glittering [mufaz] gold – Rabbi Patriki, brother of Rabbi Derosai, says in the name of Rabbi Aivu Abba: It is like this sulfur enflamed in fire. Rabbi Avin said: It is after the name of its country, Me’ufaz. Refined gold – the school of Reish Lakish says: They would cut it like olives, feed it to ostriches, and it emerges refined. Parvayim gold – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: It is red and similar to the blood of a bull [par]; and some say that it produces fruits [perot]. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: When Menashe placed an idol in the Sanctuary, all those fruits dried. That is what is written: “The flower of Lebanon withers” (Nahum 1:4). However, in the future, everything will be restored, as it is written: “It will blossom and will rejoice…” (Isaiah 35:2). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “he crafted the curtain of sky-blue, purple, and crimson wool, and fine linen” (II Chronicles 3:14). Because the purple wool is the most important of them all, as it is a royal garment, just as it says: “He will don purple wool” (Daniel 5:7), that is why he mentioned it. Similarly, “eaters of the flesh of swine, detestable creatures, and mice” (Isaiah 66:17) – what prohibition is there that is greater regarding swine than the rest of the non-kosher animals, and mice from the other creeping animals? Rather, it mentioned swine, and the same is true regarding all non-kosher animals and beasts, and it mentioned mice, and the same is true of all creeping animals in the world. Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Ark. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rav Ilai said: This is analogous to a king who had a fine, praiseworthy, and appealing daughter. The king said to his servants: Craft a chair for her with a cover. It is preferable that they see the beauty of my daughter from behind the cover. So, the Torah is fine, praiseworthy, and appealing. The Holy One blessed be He said: Craft an Ark for it, so its beauty will be seen from within the Ark. “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the king that peace [shalom] is His. He rendered the entire Torah that way, as it is stated: “All its ways are peace” (Proverbs 3:17). “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft an Ark of acacia wood” (Exodus 25:10). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – these are the two pillars that stood before it like a type of portico. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall plate it with pure gold” (Exodus 25:11). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Tanḥuma said: This is the Ark cover, which is similar to purple, and it is written in its regard: “You shall place the Ark cover upon the Ark from above” (Exodus 25:21). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: This is the merit of the Torah, this is the merit of the righteous who engage in its study. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22), etc. (This is a reference to the interpretation given later in this section.) Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Tabernacle. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: To what is this matter comparable? It is to a king of flesh and blood who had a daughter and he loved her excessively. As long as his daughter was a minor, he would speak to her in public. When he would see her in the courtyard, he would speak with her. When she grew older and displayed signs of puberty, the king said: It is not in keeping with my daughter’s honor that I will speak to her in public. Instead, craft a partition for her so that when I wish to speak with my daughter, I will speak with her behind the partition. So, when the Holy One blessed be He saw Israel in Egypt, they were lads, as it is stated: “When Israel was a lad, I loved him, and from Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:1). He saw them at the sea, and He would speak to them, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to Me? [Speak to the children of Israel]” (Exodus 14:15). He saw them at Sinai and would speak with them, as it is stated: “Face-to-face the Lord spoke with you” (Deuteronomy 5:4). Once they received the Torah and became a complete nation for Him, they said: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). The Holy One blessed be He said: It is not in keeping with my children’s honor that I will speak to them in public. Rather, craft for Me a Tabernacle, and when I need to speak with them, I will speak with them from the Tabernacle. That is what is written: “When Moses would come into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, [he heard the Voice speaking to him from above the Ark cover that was upon the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubs, and He spoke to him]” (Numbers 7:89). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, that peace [shalom] is His, as He makes peace with Israel after the contention that He had with them due to the act of the calf. “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall make the boards for the Tabernacle [of acacia wood]” (Exodus 26:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver” (Exodus 27:11). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall overlay the boards with gold” (Exodus 26:29). “Its seat is of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft a curtain of sky-blue, purple, [and crimson wool]” (Exodus 26:31), and it is written: “You shall screen the Ark with the curtain…” (Exodus 40:3). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Yudan said: This is the merit of the Torah, and this is the merit of the righteous. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “Moses was unable to enter [the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle]” (Exodus 40:35). To what is this matter comparable? It is to a cave that is located on the seashore. The sea raged and the cave became filled with water, but the sea lacked nothing. So, the Tent of Meeting was filled with the radiance of the Divine Presence, but the world lacked nothing. That is, “its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22) – it is to teach you that even what is behind the Ark cover is not unoccupied by the Divine Presence. A certain idolater asked Rabban Gamliel: Why did the Holy One blessed be He appear to Moses from the midst of the bush? He said to him: Had he appeared on a certain carob tree or on a certain fig tree would you have asked me this? To dismiss you with nothing is not possible. It is to teach you that there is no place on earth that is unoccupied by the Divine Presence, as even from the bush He would speak would speak to Moses. Another matter: “Palanquin…” (Song of Songs 3:10) – what is written just before it? “Behold the bed of Solomon: [There are sixty valiant men around it, from the valiant of Israel, all armed with a sword, trained in war; each man, a sword on his thigh, from fear in the nights]” (Song of Songs 3:7–8). This is the Priestly Benediction, as we stated previously. (See Bemidbar Rabba 11:3.) It is to teach you that Solomon came only to explain the Torah and based his statements on the order of the Torah. Just as just before the portion of the Tabernacle, the portion of the Priestly Benediction is written, so too, Solomon did the same: First he mentioned the Priestly Benediction, and then he spoke of the Tabernacle: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10). Why did he do so? Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said: To what is the matter comparable? It is to a king who betrothed his daughter. He made an elaborate betrothal celebration, and the evil eye affected them. When the king came to marry off his daughter, what did he do? He gave her an amulet. He said to her: Let this amulet be upon you so the evil eye will not affect you. The Holy One blessed be He did so as well. When He came to give the Torah to Israel, He made an elaborate public celebration, as it is written: “All the people were seeing the thunder” (Exodus 20:15). That was only betrothal [kidushim], as it is written: “Go to the people and sanctify them [vekidashtam] today and tomorrow” (Exodus 19:10), but the evil eye affected them and the tablets were shattered, just as it says: “He shattered them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). When they came to craft the Tabernacle, He did not do so. The Holy One blessed be He gave them the blessing first, so that the evil eye would not affect them. That is why it is first written: “May the Lord bless you and protect you” (Numbers 6:24) from the evil eye, and then: “It was on the day that [Moses] concluded…”

“The Lord said to Moses: Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and its foremen, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they will stand there with you” (Numbers 11:16). This is what Rabbi Tanḥuma expounded: “The Lord said to Moses: Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel” – halakha, within how many cubits is a person obligated to stand before an elder? This is what our Sages taught: Within four cubits, a person is obligated to stand before an elder, as it is stated: “You shall rise before the elder” (Leviticus 19:32). And one greets him within four cubits. What is hidur? (This refers to the command vehadarta mentioned in the next line.) The Torah said: “You shall show deference [vehadarta] before the elderly [zaken]” (Leviticus 19:32). It is that one may not stand in his place, may not sit in his place, and may not contradict his statement. (The word zaken is being interpreted as a man who acquired wisdom [shekana hokhma]. See Kiddushin 32b.) When one asks a halakha, one should ask with fear, one should not interject to answer, one should not interrupt his statements, as anyone who does not conduct himself toward his teacher with all these qualities is characterized as wicked before the Omnipresent, his learning is forgotten, his years are truncated, and ultimately he will reach a state of poverty, as it is stated: “Good will not be for the wicked, and he will not prolong his days like a shadow, since he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:13). This fear, I do not know what it is. When it says: “You shall rise before the elder…and you shall fear your God” (Leviticus 19:32); that is fear of the teacher. If so, there is also fear of interest, and fear of weights. (“You shall fear your God” is also written in the portion containing the prohibition against taking interest (Leviticus 25:36). It does not appear explicitly in the portion of weights. One interpretation is that the context of the verse "You shall not wrong one another and fear your God" (Leviticus 25:7) is cheating on a price. Somebody who uses false weights is cheating with regard to the price and is thus included in that verse (Maharit Kiddushin 33b). Other commentaries on the Gemara give other explanations. ) Rather, Rabbi Elazar said: “Before the [penei] elderly” (Leviticus 19:32) is stated here, and elsewhere it is stated: “Since he does not fear before [milifnei] God.” He must accord him precedence to every person entering and exiting, and treat him with fear and deference, as it is stated: “You shall fear the Lord your God [et Hashem elohekha tira]” (Deuteronomy 6:13). It is taught: “Et,” to include masters of Torah, as there is no entity comparable to it. (To the Torah.) Likewise it says: “I placed them as heads over you” (Deuteronomy 1:15) – from here you learn that you should treat him in accordance with the protocol of a prince; to stand before him and to accord him precedence regarding all matters of prominence. Rabbi Abba HaKohen bar Pappa said: When I would see a group of people, I would walk on an alternate path so as not to inconvenience them, so they would not see me and stand before me. When I said this matter before Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Zevida, he said to me: ‘You must pass before them and have them see you and stand before you, and you will bring them to fear of Heaven, as it is stated: “You shall rise before the elder…and you shall fear your God.”’ Why? (Why is there is no entity comparable to the Torah?) It is because the virtue of the righteous is a virtue that has no decline, but the virtue of Esau is a virtue that is total decline; one day he is a governor, the next day, he is a deputy, the next day he is a magistrate, the next day he is a captain, the same is true regarding all their prominent people. Likewise, the prophet says: “If you raise yourself like the eagle…[from there I will bring you down, the utterance of the Lord]” (Obadiah 1:4). But the virtue of Jacob is a virtue that has no decline, and their sanctity never diminishes. Likewise you find that the elders are one of thirteen (Gold and silver count as one.) matters that are written in association with the name of the Holy One blessed be He. These are: Silver and gold, priests, Levites, Israelites, the firstborn, the altar, teruma, the anointing oil, the Tent of Meeting, the royal House of David, the offerings, the Land of Israel, and the elders. Silver and gold, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold” (Hagai 2:8). The priests, as it is written: “This is the matter that you shall do to them, to sanctify them to serve as priests to Me” (Exodus 29:1). The Levites, from where is it derived? “The Levites shall be Mine” (Numbers 3:12). The Israelites, from where is it derived? “For the children of Israel are Mine” (Leviticus 25:55). The firstborn, from where is it derived? “For all the firstborn are Mine” (Numbers 8:17). The altar, from where is it derived? “Craft for Me an altar of earth” (Exodus 20:21). Teruma, from where is it derived? “They shall take teruma for Me” (Exodus 25:2). The anointing oil, from where is it derived? “This shall be oil of sacred anointment for Me” (Exodus 30:31). The Tent of Meeting, from where is it derived? “They shall craft a Sanctuary for Me” (Exodus 25:8). The offerings, from where is it derived? “My offering, My food, for My fires” (Numbers 28:2). The royal House of David, from where is it derived? “I have seen among his sons a king for Me” (I Samuel 16:1). The Land of Israel, from where is it derived: “For the Land is Mine” (Leviticus 25:23). The elders, from where is it derived? “Gather to Me seventy men” (Numbers 11:16).

Rabbi Yanai said: Right from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “The earth was emptiness” (Genesis 1:2) – these are the actions of the wicked. “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) – these are the actions of the righteous. “God distinguished between the light and the darkness” (Genesis 1:4) – between the actions of the righteous and the actions of the wicked. “God called the light, Day” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “And to the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “It was evening” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the wicked. “And it was morning” (Genesis 1:5) – these are the actions of the righteous. “[It was evening and it was morning,] one day” (Why does it state “one day” rather than “the first day,” as it states “the second day” (Genesis 1:8), etc.?) – the Holy One blessed be He gave to them [to Israel] one [unique] day. Which is that? It is Yom Kippur. Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yirmeya said: [It was the day] on which four items were created: Mountains, the heavens, the earth, and light. (The creations on the first day were more significant than the others, and in that sense it is unique.) Rabbi Yudan said: [It was the day] on which the Holy One blessed be He was alone in His world, as there was no one else in His world other than Him. (It was the only day on which God was truly “one,” as on the second days there were already angels.) This is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, but it is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angels [malakhim] were created on the second day. That is what is written: “He covers His upper chambers with water; (This is what God did on the second day (Genesis 1:6–7).) He makes clouds His chariot; He proceeds on the wings of wind” (Psalms 104:3), and it is written: “He makes the winds His messengers [malakhav]” (Psalms 104:4). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The angels were created on the fifth day, as it is stated: “Let birds fly [yeofef] over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20) and it is written: “And with two (The seraphim had six wings, using two of them for flight (Isaiah 6:2).) it would fly [yeofef]” (Isaiah 6:2). Rabbi Lulyana bar Tavrai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Both according to the opinion of Rabbi Ḥanina and according to the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan, everyone agrees that none were created on the first day, so people should not say: Mikhael was pulling at the south side of the heavens and Gabriel at its north side, while the Holy One blessed be straightened it out it in the middle. Rather, “I am the Lord, who made everything; who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread the earth by Myself [me’iti]” (Isaiah 44:24) – it [the last word] is written [as two]: (Although the word is pronounced (keri) me’iti, in the biblical text it is written (ketiv) as two words, mi iti.) “who is with Me [mi iti]?” Who was partner with Me in creation of the world?

Another interpretation, “it was in the days of Amrafel” – Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The following exposition was brought with us in our hands when we came up from the Diaspora: (When the exiles of Israel returned to the land of Israel with Ezra from Babylon.) Wherever it is stated: “It was [vayhi] in the days,” it indicates trouble. (Vayhi is seen as a combination of the words vay and hi, both expressions of woe and misfortune.) “It was in the days of Amrafel” – what was the trouble there? “They waged war” (Genesis 14:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: There are five such instances. (For the other four instances, see: Isaiah 7:1; Jeremiah 1:3; Ruth 1:1; Esther 1:1.) This is analogous to a friend of a king who lived in a certain province, and for his sake the king took an interest in that province. Once some barbarians came to attack him, and they said: ‘Woe unto us, as the king will not show favor to the province as was his wont if they kill his friend.’ That is what is written: “They turned back, and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7) – Rabbi Aḥa said: They came only to fight against the eyeball [ein] of the world; (Abraham is called the eyeball of the world, because it was only for his sake that God took an interest in and looked out for the benefit of the people of the world.) they sought to blind the eye [ayin] that overcame the attribute of justice [mishpat] in the world. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rav Aḥa said: Hu is written. It is he [hu] who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. When the barbarians came to attack him, everyone began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel.” “It was in the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). (Israel was under attack from all sides.) This is analogous to a king’s son, whose caretaker resolved to kill him. He said: ‘If I kill him, I will be liable to execution by the king. Instead, I will take away his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own.’ So, too, Aḥaz said: ‘If there are no kids, there will be no goats, and if there are no goats there will be no flock, and if there is no flock there will be no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there will be no world.’ (That is, the world will not be able to function in its conventional manner.) That is what Aḥaz thought to himself: ‘If there are no children [in school], there will be no students, if there are no students there will be no scholars, if there are no scholars there will be no elders, if there are no elders there will be no prophets, if there are no prophets the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence upon them [Israel]. (Consequently, he closed all the schools.) That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥonya bar Rabbi Elazar said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he locked up [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: Isaiah said: ‘“I will hope for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no moment that was as grim as that time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But at that very time, I [Isaiah] hoped for Him, as it is written [immediately afterwards]: “For it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). (When God said that He would hide His face from Israel, He continued, that nevertheless the Torah would never be forgotten by them.) Of what use was it to him [Ahaz]? (Despite his best efforts, the Torah continued to be taught, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) [Of no use, as Isaiah declared:] “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord gave me, are to become signs and wonders in Israel”’ (Isaiah 8:18). Were they (The young men Isaiah was referring to.) his children? Were they not actually his students? However, we learn from here that they [his students] were as beloved to him as sons. When he [Aḥaz] locked up the synagogues and study halls, people began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥaz.” “It was in the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? [It was as Jeremiah prophesied:] “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to a king who sent a proclamation throughout the province. What did the residents of one province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. Thus it is stated: “It happened that as Yehudi would read three or four sections…” (Jeremiah 36:23) (It was the Book of Lamentations that was being read.) – this means three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse, “Its besiegers have become dominant” (Lamentations 1:5) – “He cut it up with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When everyone saw this, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was in the days that the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) (A more literal translation would be, “in the days of the judging of the judges.”) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tax to the king. The prince sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do to him? They took him and beat him. They then said: ‘Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these events; what he sought to do to us, (Subdue us.) we did to him.’ So, too, in the days of the judging of the judges – when a person of Israel would engage in idol worship, and the judge sought to implement against him the attribute of strict justice, (And decree for him corporal punishment.) he would come and flog the judge. He said: ‘What he sought to do to me, I did to him.’ (“The judging of the judges” is interpreted to mean that the people committed acts of judgment and punishment against their judges.) They said: ‘Woe [vay] to the generation that judges its judges.’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). “It was in the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [Haman’s decree:] “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews]” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a certain vineyard, and three enemies rose up against it. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began cutting off the clusters, and the third began uprooting the vines. So too, Pharaoh [said]: “Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar [exiled] “the ḥarash and the masger, (These are two classes of Torah scholars (Gittin 88a).) one thousand” (Jeremiah 29:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: One thousand ḥarash and one thousand masger; the Rabbis said: They were one thousand altogether. Haman sought to uproot the entire vineyard, as it is stated: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews…” (Esther 3:13). When everyone saw that it was so, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥashverosh.” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers either to trouble or to joy; if the context is one of trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is one of joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and made a distinction: Everywhere that vayhi is stated, (Even when it is not connected with “in the days of.”) it alludes to trouble, and vehaya [alludes to] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “And there was [vayhi] light”? (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as the world was not privileged to use that light. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, He hid it away for the righteous in the future. That is what is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light, growing brighter until the day is established” (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day”? (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wear away, as it is stated: “For the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will wear away like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), “…a third day” (Genesis 1:13), “a fourth day” (Genesis 1:19), “a fifth day” (Genesis 1:23), “a sixth day”? (Genesis 1:31). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete [joy], as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires some act [to perfect it], e.g., mustard requires sweetening, wheat requires grinding, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph”? (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as that bear (Potifar’s wife.) then accosted him. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned”? (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as Nadav and Avihu died [that day]. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle”? (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it was hidden away with the building of the Temple. (Moses’ Tabernacle was stored away forever when the permanent Temple was built.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua”? (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it became necessary for him to rend his garments. (Joshua 7:6.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) resided in his house, and the Lord had given him respite…”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: It was nevertheless not complete joy, as Natan then came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House…for My name” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We have said our [arguments], now you say yours. He said to them, (To prove his contention that vehaya always alludes to a joyous event.) is it not written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge…” (Zechariah 14:8). It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man will keep a calf of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue…[to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). They raised an objection to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That was nevertheless joyous, as on that day, Israel gained atonement for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel gained great atonement for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, He will not continue to exile you again” (Lamentations 4:22).

“God called the firmament heavens. It was evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8). “God called the firmament heavens [shamayim]” – Rav said: [The word indicates] fire [esh] and water [mayim]. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rav: The Holy One blessed be He took fire and water and integrated them with one another, and from them the heavens were made. Alternatively, shamim is written, (The letters of shamayim can also be read shamim.) as they assess [shamim] the actions of the people. If they merit, “the heavens declare his righteousness” (Psalms 97:6); if not, “the heavens reveal his iniquity” (Job 20:27). Another matter, shamayim – because the creations wonder [mishtomem] in their regard, saying: ‘Of what do they consist? Are they of fire, are they of water? It is a wonder.’ Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Levi: He [God] came and settled it: “He roofs His upper chambers with water” (Psalms 104:3); that is, they are of water. [Another interpretation: The word indicates] dyes [samim] – just as with dyes, some are green, some are red, some are black, and some are white, so, too, the heavens, at times they are green, at times they are red, at times they are black, and at times they are white. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “Shamayim” – sa mayim, bearing water. (The upper waters are on top of the heavens.) It is analogous to milk that was placed in a bowl. Until a drop of rennet falls into it, it is loose. When one drop of rennet falls into it, it congeals and becomes set [omed]. So, too, “The pillars [amudei] of heaven were loose” (Job 26:11) – the heavens became set when He put His rennet in them, “and it was evening and it was morning, a second day.” (This took place on the second day.) This is in accordance with what Rav said: They were moist on the first day and congealed on the second day.

Rabbi Elazar said: At the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He decreed: “Let the water…be gathered.” Why [is it written:] “He calls the water of the sea” (Amos 5:8), “He calls the water of the sea” (Amos 9:6) twice? Once for the generation of the Flood and once for the generation of Enosh. (The implied question is: Since God decreed at creation that the waters should be limited to one place, how is it that they subsequently came back and covered the earth? (see Devarim Rabba 10:2).) It is because: “God acted so they would be in fear of Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). This is analogous to a province that rebelled against the king. The king sent a powerful legion and surrounded it so that the residents of the province would see it and be in fear of him. So, why is it that: “He heaps together the water of the sea”? (Psalms 33:7). It is so “the entire earth would be in fear of the Lord…” (Psalms 33:8). (The water was gathered together into one place so that men would see it and be in fear that it may come back and cover them.)

R. Ami and R. Assi were accustomed to sit between the pillars [of the academy] and every now and then to rap [the bolt of the door] and say: "Is there any one who requires adjustment of a dispute? Let him come in." _ _„R. Chisda and Rabba b. R. "Huna were holding court the entire day and were becoming weak. R. Chiya b. Raba of Difty recited to them the passage: And the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening. (Ex. 18, 8.) How can we imagine that Moses was holding court the entire day? When did he study? We must therefore say that a Judge who, even for one hour, passes judgment according to its true equity, is credited by Scripture as if he had become a partner of God in the creation of the world, for it is written here (Ex. 18, 13.) From the morning unto the evening, and it is written, And it was morning and it was evening the first day. [Hence you need not hold court the entire day.] Until when should the work of justice continue? R. Shesheth said: "Until mealtime." Rami b. Chama said: "What is the Biblical passage for it? Woe to thee, O Land. when thy king is low-minded, and when thy princes eat in the morning. Happy art thou, O Land, when thy king is noble-spirited, and thy princes eat at the proper time for strengthening and not for gluttony (Ecc. 10, 16.) i.e., for strengthening of the Torah and not for the gluttony of wine." Our Rabbis taught: "The first hour [of the day] is the time when the Lydians eat; during the second hour robbers eat; during the third hour (rich) heirs eat; during the fourth hour laborers eat; during the fifth hour the people in general eat." Is this so? Has not R. Papa said that during the fourth hour the people in general eat? We must therefore say that "During the fourth hour the people in general eat; during the fifth hour laborers eat; during the sixth hour scholars eat; from this hour on eating is like throwing a stone into a skin-bottle (it has no effect)." Abaye said: "This applies only to a case where nothing was tasted in the morning; but if something were tasted in the morning then it matters little [how late he eats]."

(Numb. 11:16:) THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: GATHER ME SEVENTY PEOPLE FROM THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL…. Let our master instruct us: Within how many cubits is one obligated to stand up in the presence of an elder when he sees him? (Tanh. Numb. 3:11; Numb. R. 15:17.) Thus have our masters taught: Within four cubits one is obligated to stand up in the presence of an elder. (Qid 33b; cf also yBik. 3:3 (65c).) Thus it is stated (in Lev. 19:32): YOU SHALL RISE IN THE PRESENCE OF (To be in one’s presence is to be within four cubits.) A GRAY HEAD. One also bows down before him and asks after his welfare, within four cubits. And about which honor did Torah say (ibid. cont.): YOU SHALL HONOR THE PRESENCE OF AN ELDER? That one should not stand in his place, sit in his place, or contradict his words. Also when one asks a law (halakhah), one should ask with reverence and not rush to respond or interrupt his words. Whoever does not behave toward his teacher (rav) according to all these rules is labeled a wicked person before the Omnipresent, his learning is forgotten, his years are shortened, and in the end he comes into the hands of {transgressions} [poverty], as stated (in Eccl. 8:13): IT SHALL NOT GO WELL WITH THE WICKED ONE, NOR SHALL HE PROLONG HIS DAYS. LIKE A SHADOW, BECAUSE HE IS NOT IN FEAR BEFORE GOD. In regard to this fear I do not know what it is; when it says (in Lev. 19:32): YOU SHALL RISE IN THE PRESENCE OF A GRAY HEAD, AND YOU SHALL FEAR YOUR GOD, note that it is saying: This is the fear of students toward sages. (Since GRAY HEAD and ELDER are understood to refer to the sages.) But I might say: This is a fear of usury and a fear of weights. (In Lev. 25:36; 19:36. So why say that it refers to a sage?) It is simply that R. Eleazar has said: It is stated here: THE PRESENCE (PNY) OF THE ELDER, AND YOU SHALL FEAR YOUR GOD; while it is stated in the other passage (in Eccl. 8:13): HE IS NOT IN FEAR BEFORE (PNY) GOD. Moreover, one is obligated to (The sense of bracketed words appears in the parallel texts of Tanh. Numb. 3:11 and Numb. R. 15:17, although the exact Hebrew wordings of the two parallels differ from each other.) precede everyone when entering and leaving and to treat him with fear and honor. It is so stated (in Deut. 6:13):YOU SHALL FEAR (et) (This word generally denotes that what follows is a direct object but at times the word means “along with.” In this latter sense the et implies that one should honor someone along with the Lord your god. For an example of et indicating further inclusions, see above Tanh. (Buber) Gen. 1:8.) THE LORD YOUR GOD. to the master scholars of Torah since you have no other guide like it. And so it says (in Deut. 1:15): AND APPOINTED THEM HEADS OVER {THE PEOPLE} [YOU]. From here you learn that you should treat him in a princely manner, stand in his presence, and give him precedence in every matter of dignity. So let no one on his own refrain from standing in the presence of an elder. R. Abba bar Pappa the Priest said: When I saw a certain group of people, I would walk by another route so as not to be a bother for them, lest they see me and stand for me. When I told of the matter to R. Jose bar Zevida, he said to me: You must pass before them, so that they will see you and stand in your presence. Then you will bring them to the point of fearing Heaven, as stated (in Lev. 19:32): YOU SHALL RISE IN THE PRESENCE OF A GRAY HEAD, AND YOU SHALL FEAR YOUR GOD. Why? Because the rise of the righteous is a rise in which there is no decline. But the rise of Esau (Esau stands for any Roman.) the Wicked is a rise which is wholly decline. Today he is a governor; (Gk.: eparchos.) tomorrow a commoner; (Lat.: paganus (“peasant”).) the next day an imperial cabinet member (Lat.: comes.) the day after that a captain. (Gk.: stratiotes (“citizen soldier”).) And thus it is with all their great ones. So also the Prophet says (in Obad. vs. 4): THOUGH YOU MAKE YOUR ABODE AS HIGH AS THE EAGLE, AND THOUGH YOUR NEST IS SET AMONG THE STARS, I WILL BRING YOU DOWN FROM THERE, SAYS THE LORD. The rise of Jacob, however, is a rise which has no decline, and their holiness is never desecrated. And so you find that the elders are one of thirteen things which are written down as belonging to the name of the Holy One. These are the following: (1) The silver and gold, (2) the priests, (3) the Levites, (4) Israel, (5) the first-born, (6) the altar, (7) the priestly share, (8) the oil for anointing, (9) the tent of meeting, (10) the Davidic dynasty, (11) the offerings, (12) the land of Israel, and (13) the elders.

(Lev. 14:34:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND < OF CANAAN…, AND WHEN I PUT A PLAGUE OF LEPROSY IN A HOUSE OF THE LAND YOU POSSESS >. This text is related (to Ps. 73:1): BUT (akh) [GOD] IS GOOD TO ISRAEL. Could it < mean > to all < Israel >? The text reads (ibid., cont.): TO THE PURE IN HEART. (Lev. R. 17:1; Lam. R. 3:25 (9): M. Pss. 4:5.) [Similarly you say on the matter (in Lam. 3:25): THE LORD IS GOOD TO THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.:) TO THE SOUL THAT SEEKS HIM. Similarly you say on the matter (in Nahum 1:7): THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND HE KNOWS THOSE WHO SEEK REFUGE IN HIM. Similarly you say on the subject (in Ps. 145:9): THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND HIS MERCY IS UPON ALL HIS WORKS. Similarly you say on the matter (in Ps. 84:6 [5]): BLESSED IS THE ONE WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN YOU. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): IN WHOSE HEART ARE THE HIGHWAYS. These are the ones in whose hearts < lie > the pathways of the Law. Similarly on < the matter > (there is Ps. 125:4): DO GOOD, O LORD, TO THE GOOD. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE UPRIGHT IN THEIR HEARTS. Similarly on < the matter > (there is Ps. 145:18): THE LORD IS NEAR TO ALL WHO CALL TO HIM. Could it < mean > to all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): TO ALL WHO CALL TO HIM IN TRUTH. Similarly you say on the matter (in Micah 7:18): WHO IS A GOD LIKE YOU THAT FORGIVES INIQUITY, AND PASSES OVER THE TRANSGRESSION. Could it < mean > for all? The text reads (ibid., cont.): FOR THE REMNANT OF HIS HERITAGE. Therefore (in Ps. 73:1): GOD IS TRULY GOOD TO ISRAEL, TO THE PURE IN HEART. It does not say: "God is good to Israel"; instead < it reads >: BUT (akh) < GOD > IS GOOD < TO ISRAEL >. BUT (akh) < implies > a limitation. (See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:8, and the parallels listed there.) The afflictions which he brought upon them are good. < Good > for what? FOR THE PURE IN HEART, to purify < their heart > today for the world to come. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 73:1): BUT (akh) < GOD > IS GOOD < TO ISRAEL >, TO THE PURE IN HEART. (Ibid., vs. 3:) FOR I WAS ENVIOUS OF THOSE WHO RAGE (holelim) < WHEN > I SAW THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED. I saw their well-being, and I was envious. < I.e., I was envious > of those who commit profane acts continuously (halalim halalim), (The midrash interprets holelim in Ps. 73:3, as coming from the same root as halalim by changing the h from the he in the Psalm to a het.) as stated (in Job 15:20): A WICKED PERSON ACTS PROFANELY (metholel) (Again the midrash interprets the Psalmist’s he as equivalent to the het used here in Job and in addition interprets the whole word as coming from the root HLL. In the biblical text of Job 15:20, metholel comes from the root HYL and means “writhe in torment.”) ALL HIS DAYS. (Ps. 73:3:) THE PROSPERITY (shalom) OF THE WICKED: they dwell in quiet and tranquility. (Job 21:9:) THEIR HOUSES ARE SECURE (shalom), WITHOUT FEAR, NOR IS THE ROD OF GOD UPON THEM. (Ps. 73:4:) FOR THERE ARE NO PANGS AT THEIR DEATH, AND THEIR BODY ('WLM) IS SOUND. What pangs? You were not brought down to nothing, (Cf. the parallel in Yalqut Shim‘oni, Pss., 808, which has a slightly different verb and can be translated: “You were anxious for nothing.”) nor were you chained to suffering. (Ibid.:) AND THEIR BODY ('WLM) IS HEALTHY; therefore, they are as sound as the vestibule ('WLM) (of the Temple).

(Ps. 48:3 [2]): , THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, . R. Jonathan ben Eleazar said: There is a story about a certain pragmateutes (The Greek word means “trader.”) {shepherd} who went to the land of Israel to sell peppers. (Exod. R. 51:5; PR 41:2.) He came and dwelt there, but he did not make a sale. He said: Is this they have said (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH? In one hour he had sold all his peppers. He said: This is surely THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, EVEN MOUNT ZION, THE REMOTE REGIONS OF ZAPHON, THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Now what is all this glory for? Because it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Since Jerusalem has been destroyed, (Is. 24:11:) ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED; THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH HAS DEPARTED. What is the meaning of IS OBSCURED (rt.: 'RB)? (Below, Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 3:9.) "Became dark," qavelah (in Aramaic). as they say (in Gen. 1:5): (Also in Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) AND THERE WAS EVENING ('RB). In this world THE JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH has ceased. When the Holy One returns and rebuilds Jerusalem, he will bring back gladness, as stated (in Is. 51:3): TRULY THE LORD HAS COMFORTED ZION; HE HAS COMFORTED ALL ITS RUINS. HE HAS ALSO MADE ITS DESERT LIKE EDEN AND ITS DRY PLAIN LIKE THE GARDEN OF THE LORD. JOY AND REJOICING SHALL BE FOUND IN IT, THANKSGIVING AND THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Blessed is the one who does not have a passion for wine, for you find such to be the case with the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, in that their ancestor had commanded and told them not to drink wine. But what was his reason for not drinking wine? It is simply that he had heard Jeremiah prophesying that the temple would be destroyed. He said to them: From now on you are to be in mourning. (Jer. 35:7:) YOU SHALL NOT BUILD A HOUSE, [SOW SEED,] PLANT A VINEYARD, OR OWN SUCH THINGS; BUT YOU SHALL DWELL IN TENTS ALL {THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE} [ALL YOUR DAYS]. Now they had observed the commandments of their ancestor; but when Jeremiah was prophesying to Israel < and > telling them to repent, they were not doing so. The Holy One said to Jeremiah: You are telling them to repent, and they are not doing so. Now in the case of the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, when their ancestor gave them a simple commandment, they observed it; but when I tell Israel to repent, they do not observe < my commandment >. It is so stated (in Jer. 35:14): THE {WORD} [WORDS] OF JONADAB BEN RECHAB HAVE BEEN UPHELD. HE COMMANDED HIS CHILDREN NOT TO DRINK WINE, AND TO THIS DAY THEY HAVE NOT DRUNK IT, BECAUSE THEY HAVE {OBSERVED} [OBEYED] THE COMMANDMENTS OF THEIR ANCESTOR. BUT I SPOKE {TO YOU} [UNTO YOU] {FROM EARLY MORNING TO LATE EVENING} [CONSTANTLY], AND YOU DID NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME. What is written there? The Holy One said to Jeremiah: Say to them: By your life, whereas you have heeded this commandment, your lineage shall never disappear from before me, even as it is written (in vs. 19): THEREFORE, THUS SAYS THE LORD [OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL]: SOMEONE BELONGING TO JONADAB BEN RECHAB SHALL NOT {EVER} BE CUT OFF [FROM STANDING] BEFORE ME FOR EVER. He therefore enlightens them concerning wine (in Lev. 10:9): DRINK NO WINE OR INTOXICATING LIQUOR. Isaiah said (in Is. 24:11): THERE IS A CRY OVER WINE IN THE STREETS; ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED. What is the meaning of ALL GLADNESS IS OBSCURED (rt.: 'RB)? (Above, Exod. 11:8.) < That > all gladness has become dark, just as you say (in Gen. 1:5): (Also Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) AND THERE WAS EVENING ('RB). (Is. 24:11, cont.:) THE JOY OF THE EARTH HAS {COME TO AN END} [DEPARTED], because Zion has come to an end. Thus it is written (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): BEAUTEOUS LANDSCAPE, JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, < EVEN MOUNT ZION >. The Holy One said to Israel: In this world wine is a sign of a curse, but in the world to come I will make it into fresh grape juice. Thus it is stated (in Joel 4:18 [3:18]): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ON THAT DAY THE MOUNTAINS SHALL FLOW WITH FRESH GRAPE JUICE….

(Numb. 11:16:) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Gather Me seventy men from the elders of Israel….” Let our master instruct us: Within how many cubits is one obligated to stand up in the presence of an elder when he sees him? (Numb. R. 15:17.) Thus have our masters taught: Within four cubits one is obligated to stand up in the presence of an elder. (Qid 33b; cf also yBik. 3:3 (65c).) Thus it is stated (in Lev. 19:32), “You shall rise in the presence of (To be in one’s presence is to be within four cubits.) a gray head [...].” One also bows down before him and asks after his welfare [when] within four cubits. And about which honor did the Torah say (ibid. cont.), “you shall honor the presence of an elder?” That one should not stand in his place or contradict his words. Also when one asks [about] a law (halakhah), one should ask with reverence and not rush to respond or interrupt his words. Whoever does not behave toward his teacher (rav) according to all these rules is labeled a wicked person before the Omnipresent, his learning is forgotten, his years are shortened, and in the end he comes to poverty, as stated (in Eccl. 8:13), “It shall not go well with the wicked one, nor shall he prolong his days; [they are] like a shadow, because he is not in fear before God.” In regard to this fear I do not know [exactly] what it is; [but] when it says (in Lev. 19:32), “You shall rise in the presence of a gray head, [you shall honor the presence of an elder,] and you shall fear your God,” note that it is [really] saying, this is the fear of [students toward] sages. (Since GRAY HEAD and ELDER are understood to refer to the sages.) [But I might say that this is a fear of] usury and of [false] weights, as fear is stated about them [also]. (In Lev. 25:36; 19:36. So why say that it refers to a sage?) It is simply that R. Eleazar has said, “It is stated here, ‘[you shall honor] the presence (pny) of the elder, and you shall fear your God’; while it is stated in the other passage (in Eccl. 8:13), ‘he is not in fear before (pny) God.’” Hence, one is obligated to greet him before everyone when entering and leaving and to treat him with fear and honor. It is so stated (in Deut. 6:13), “You shall fear (et) (This word generally denotes that what follows is a direct object but at times the word means “along with.” In this latter sense the et implies that one should honor someone along with the Lord your God. For an example of et indicating further inclusions, see Tanh. (Buber) Gen. 1:8.) the Lord your God.” And we have learned, “[The et must refer] to [fear of] the master scholars of Torah since you have no other trait like it.” And so it says (in Deut. 1:15), “[So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and well-known people,] and appointed them heads over [you].” From here you learn that you should treat him in a princely manner, [i.e.,] stand in his presence, and give him precedence in every matter of dignity. R. Abba bar Pappa the Priest said, “When I would see a certain group of people, I would walk by another route so as not to be a bother for them, lest they see me and stand for me. [However] when I told of the matter to R. Jose bar Zevida, he said to me, ‘You must pass before them, so that they will see you and stand in your presence. Then you will bring them to the point of fearing Heaven, as stated (in Lev. 19:32), “You shall rise in the presence of a gray head, [you shall honor the presence of an elder,] and you shall fear your God.”’” Why? Because the rise of the righteous is a rise in which there is no decline. But the rise of Esau (Esau stands for any Roman.) the wicked is a rise which is wholly decline. Today he is a governor; (Gk.: eparchos.) tomorrow an assistant [governor]; the next day a captain. (Gk.: stratiotes (“citizen soldier”).) And thus it is with all their great ones. So also the prophet says (in Obad. 1:4), “Though you make your abode as high as the eagle, and though [your nest is set] among the stars, I will bring you down from there.” The rise of Jacob, however, is a rise which has no decline, and their holiness is never desecrated. And so you find that the elders are one of thirteen things which are written down [as belonging] to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. These [thirteen] are the following: (1) The silver and gold, (2) the priests, (3) the Levites, (4) Israel, (5) the first-born, (6) the altar, (7) the priestly share, (8) the oil for anointing, (9) the tent of meeting, (10) the Davidic dynasty, (11) the offerings, (12) the Land of Israel, and (13) the elders. Where is it shown in reference to silver and gold? As stated (in Hag. 2:8), “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine.” (See above Exod. 8:9.) Where is it shown in reference to the priests? As stated (in Exod. 29:1), “to sanctify them for serving Me as priests.” Where is it shown in reference to the Levites? As stated (in Numb. 3:12), “and the Levites shall be Mine.” Where is it shown in reference to Israel? As stated (in Lev. 25:55), “For to Me the Children of Israel [are servants].” Where is it shown in reference to the first-born? As stated (in Numb. 3:13 = 8:17), “For all the first-born are Mine.” Where is it shown in reference to the altar? As stated (in Exod. 20:21), “An altar of earth you shall make for Me.” Where is it shown in reference to the priestly share? As stated (in Exod. 25:2), “And let them take for Me a priestly share.” Where is it shown in reference to the oil for anointing? As stated (in Exod. 30:31), “This oil for anointing shall be holy to Me.” Where is it shown in reference to the tent of meeting? As stated (in Exod. 25:8), “And let them make Me a sanctuary.” Where is it shown in reference to offerings? As stated (in Numb. 28:2), “My offering, My bread for My fire offering.” (Note that this reference to offerings and the following reference to the Davidic dynasty are reversed in order from the list given above.) Where is it shown in reference to the Davidic dynasty? As stated (in I Sam. 16:1), “for I have chosen a king for Myself among his (i.e. Jesse's) sons.” Where is it shown in reference to the Land [of Israel]? As stated (in Lev. 25:23), “for the land belongs to Me.” Where is it shown in reference to the elders? As stated (in Numb. 11:16), “Gather Me seventy men [from the elders of Israel].” Another interpretation (of Numb. 11:16), “Gather Me seventy men.” This text is related (to Amos. 9:6), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and founds His celestial vault (aguddah) upon earth.” To what is the matter comparable? (Numb. R. 15:18; Sifre to Deut. 33:5 (346).) To a palace (Lat.: palatium.) that was built upon boat[s]. For as long a time that the boats are connected, the palace that is upon them will stand. Hence, it is stated (in Amos 9:6), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens.” When is His throne, as it were, established (Cf. the Gk. noun basis which means “ground” or “pedestal.”) above? (See M. Sam. 5.) When Israel becomes one society (aguddah). It is therefore stated (ibid.), “Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens.” When? When (ibid. cont.) “He founds His celestial vault (aguddah, which also means society) upon earth.” (Men. 27a.) And so it says (in Deut. 33:5), “Then He became King in Jeshurun [when the heads of the people assembled, the tribes of Israel together].” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses (in Numb. 11:16), “Gather Me seventy men.” Why? Because a gathering of righteous people is enjoyment for them and enjoyment for the world, but a gathering of wicked people is an offense to them and an offense to the world.

(Lev. 10:8-9:) “And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, [saying], ‘Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.’” Why did He give a commandment concerning wine? (Lev. R. 12:1; cf. Numb. R. 10:2; M. Prov. 23.) Because anyone who drinks wine will have boils, sores, shame, and reproach come upon him. So the holy spirit cries out (in Prov. 23:29-35), “Who has woe; who has sorrow; who has contentions; who has talk; who has unexplained sores; who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry over wine [….] Do not stare at wine when it is red, [when it gives its color to the cup….] In the end it will bite like a snake; [….] Your eyes will see strange things; [….] You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, [….] They struck me, but I felt no hurt.” (Vs. 29) “Who has woe; who has sorrow” [means,] about whom do they say, “Woe?”; “who has contentions,” [means,] about whom do they say [that he is a master of] quarrels. [(ibid., cont.) “Who has talk, means,] and about whom do they talk? (ibid., cont.) “Who has unexplained sores,” [means,] whom [do they say] has boils on his face? [(ibid., cont.) “Who has redness of eyes ('ayin),” [means,] and about whom do they say that his eyes ('ayin) are bleary and red from wine? About whom do they say all these evils? (Vs. 30) “Those who tarry over wine.” (Vs. 31) “Do not stare at wine when it is red.” Its end is blood. It is fine on the outside and bad on the inside; so never say that it is beautiful on the inside, just as [it appears] on the outside. (According to ibid., cont.,) “When it gives its color ('ayin) to the cup (kos).” [This is the oral text (the qere).] The written text (ketiv) [says] “to the purse (kis).” The drunkard sets his eye on the cup, but the shopkeeper [sets his eye] on the purse. “When it gives its color to the cup.” When one sees his comrade drinking, he says, “Pour one for me to drink.” Then he drinks and defiles himself in dung and urine. (Ibid., cont.) “He/it (In the Biblical context it is the wine that goes down smoothly.) goes down smoothly.” He ends in selling all the objects in his house and all his useful implements. Thus he [is left with] no clothes and no useful implements for the house, so that [he is left] with nothing and the house is empty from [having] everything. “He/it goes down smoothly.” In the end he declares transgressions permissible and makes them something accessible [to all] like a commons. He converses with a woman in the market place where he talks obscenely and says evil things in a drunken state without being ashamed, because he is confused and knows neither what he is saying nor what he is doing. (Prov. 23:32) “In the end it will bite like a snake.” When the snake bites a person, he does not feel it for a time; but after he goes home, [the poison in] the wound permeates him. “In the end it will bite like a snake,” most certainly like a snake. Just as in the case of the snake, [the Holy One, blessed be He,] cursed the land on account of it, as stated (in Gen. 3:17), “cursed is the land because of you”; so in the case of wine, Canaan, who was a third of the world was cursed on account of it, as stated (in Gen. 9:24-25), “Then Noah awoke from his wine…, [And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan].’” (As Enoch Zundel explains in his commentary on Tanh., Lev. 3:5, Canaan’s curse comes through his father Ham, upon whom the curse actually fell. Since Ham represented a third of Noah’s sons, a third of the world came from him. So also Numb. R. 10:2.) Ergo (in Prov. 23:32), “In the end it will bite like a snake….” (Vs. 33) “Your eyes will see strange things.” See what wine causes one who drinks it! “Your eyes will see strange things” [is a reference to], (Ps. 81:10) “There shall not be a strange god with you.” It causes him to serve idols. So it says (in Is. 28:7), “These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink.” What is the meaning of these? [These of] which it is spoken (in Exod. 32:4), “These are your gods, O Israel.” Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:6), “and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to engage in amorous sport.” [It was] because of wine that they said (in Exod. 32:4), “These are your gods, O Israel.” Therefore (in Prov. 23:33), “and your heart will speak deceitful things.” Thus it causes four things: idolatry, uncovering of nakedness, shedding of blood, and evil speech. See how strong wine is! So it is written (in Hab. 2:5), “And moreover, wine betrays an arrogant man.” It is also written (in Prov. 21:24), “An insolent and arrogant one, scorner is his name.” Now “insolent” must mean idolatry. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 119:21), “You rebuke the cursed insolent ones.” Moreover, “insolent ones” must [also] refer to the uncovering of nakedness. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 86:14), “O God, insolent ones have risen up over against me…”; and it says (in Ps. 19:14), “Also keep your servant from insolent ones.” Moreover, when one drinks and transgresses, he sees the whole world as a ship. It is so stated (in Prov. 23:34), “You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea.” When he lies down they smite him, but he does not feel it. Thus it is stated (in vs. 35), “They struck me, but I felt no hurt; they beat me, but I did not know it.” So when he is unknowing and unashamed, he uncovers himself. Then afterwards he returns and seeks it (i.e., wine). [Thus it is stated (ibid.),] “when I wake up, I seek it yet again.” See how evil is the end of those who drink wine. [Isaiah said (in Is. 5:11),] “Woe to those who rise early in the morning to pursue strong drink; who remain behind in the evening for wine to inflame them.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Inasmuch as wine causes such [evils], it is right for Me to command the priests not to drink wine when they minister before Me. Ergo (in Lev. 10:9:), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Solomon said (in Prov. 23:20), “Do not be among those who imbibe wine.” Do not cause yourself to drink [wine (yyn), which implies] seventy. Then you would face seventy [judges of the Sanhedrin] and fall into the hands of death. Y (= 10) plus y (= 10), for a subtotal of 20, plus n (= 50) results in seventy. (Cf. Sanh. 38a.) So you would face seventy [members of] the Sanhedrin (Gk.: Synedrion.) and cause your own death. See what is written (in Deut. 21:18-19), “If one has a defiant and rebellious son…, his father and mother shall take hold of him [and bring him out unto the elders of his town]….” Then the sentence shall be passed over him; and (in vs. 21) “[All the people of his own town] shall stone him [to death] with stones.” Why? Because he is (according to vs. 20) “a glutton and a drunkard.” So Solomon has said (in Prov. 23:20), “Do not be among those who imbibe wine, who gorge themselves on meat,” (See also Prov. 23:22, which adds an admonition to obey parents.) lest you bring stoning upon yourself, the most weighty of the executions. R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said, “In the Hebrew language the name [for wine] is yyn, and in the Aramaic language its name is hmr. By gematria (Gk.: geometria or grammateis. Gematria is an exegetical method in which an interpretation is reached from the sum of the numerical value of the letters in a word.) hmr becomes two hundred and forty-eight, corresponding to the [number of] parts in a human being. The wine enters into each and every limb, so that the body becomes weakened and knowledge becomes confounded. When wine enters, knowledge departs.” And so Eleazar Haqappar has taught, “Wine (yyn), with a numerical value of seventy enters; and secrets (swd), with a numerical value of seventy, (S (= 60), W (= 6), and D (= 4) add up to 70.) depart.” (Cf. Sanh. 38a, which attributes the teaching to R. Hiyya.) Therefore, the high priest was commanded not to drink wine during the time of the service, lest it confound his knowledge; for he preserves the Torah (and preserves the service) and the knowledge. Thus it is stated (in Mal. 2:6), “The true Torah was in his mouth, and no injustice was found on his lips.” It also says (in vs. 7), “For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge.” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Aaron (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor, you and your children as well.” And do [not] think that I may have commanded you [only] for the past in the beginning, at a time when the Temple was standing and you were ministering in it, since it is stated (ibid., cont.), “when you come unto the tent of witness….” [Rather,] you shall also keep yourselves from wine forever, as stated (ibid., cont.), “it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.” Therefore, keep yourselves from wine, because wine is a sign (Gk.: semeion.) of a curse. In the case of Noah, what is written about him? (In Gen. 9:21), “Then he drank of the wine and became drunk.” Cham entered and saw his nakedness. What did [Noah] say to him? He cursed his son (in vs. 25), “And he said, ‘Cursed be Canaan.’” Therefore (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” And so you find that the ten tribes went into exile only from wine. (Cf. Lev. 5:3; Numb. 10:3.) See what [scripture] says (in Amos 6:1), “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,” because they were dwelling at ease in pleasure palaces. (Ibid., cont.) “and who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria,” because they were dwelling confidently in [Sebaste]. (The city built by Herod on the site of old Samaria.) (Ibid., cont.:) “The notables of the leading nation, the ones to whom the House of Israel comes.” In what sense? The peoples of the world would sit and talk. They would say, “Who is the mightiest in Israel?” And they would answer, “Samson.” Then again they would say, “Who is the mightiest among the gentiles?” And they would answer, “Goliath,” about whom it is written (in I Sam. 17:4), “his height was six cubits and a span.” Ergo (in Amos 6:1), “The notables of the leading nation, the ones to whom the House of Israel comes.” Then again they would say, “Who is the wealthiest among the peoples of the world?” And they would answer, “Hadrian.” Then, “Who is the wealthiest in Israel?” And they would answer, “Solomon.” And these would agree with those that Solomon was the wealthiest, as stated (in I Kings 10:27), “And the king made silver [in Jerusalem as plentiful as stones].” Come and see, each and every tribe had its own May festival. (Gk. Maioumas.) When one wanted to go to his May festival, he would take his herd with him, so that he would eat fatlings from his flock. It is so stated (in Amos 6:4, 6), “and they would eat lambs from the flock…. Those who drink [straight] from the wine bowls….” What is their end? (Amos 6:7) “Therefore they shall now go at the head of the exiles.” Why? Because they had a passion for wine. For this reason he warns Aaron (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Blessed is the one who does not have a passion for wine, for you find such to be the case with the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, in that their ancestor had commanded them, “Do not drink wine, you and your children forever” (Jer. 35:6). But what was his reason for saying, “Do not drink wine, you and your children?” It is simply that he had heard Jeremiah prophesying that the Temple would be destroyed. He said to them, “From now on, (Jer. 35:6-7), ‘Do not drink wine… You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, [or own such things]; but you shall dwell in tents all your days.” Now they had mourned and observed the commandments of their ancestor; but when Jeremiah was prophesying to Israel [and] telling them to repent, they were not doing so. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, “You are telling them to repent, and they are not doing so. Now in the case of the children of Jonadab ben Rechab, when their ancestor gave them a simple commandment, they observed it; but when I tell Israel to repent, they do not observe [My commandment].” It is so stated (in Jer. 35:14), “The words of Jonadab ben Rechab have been upheld. He commanded his children not to drink wine, and to this day they have not drunk it…. But I spoke to you from early morning to late evening, [and you did not hearken unto me].” What is written there? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jeremiah, “Say to them, ‘By your life, whereas you have heeded this commandment, your lineage shall never disappear from before Me, even as it is written (in vs. 19), “Therefore, thus says the Lord [of hosts, the God of Israel], ‘Someone belonging to Jonadab ben Rechab shall not (ever) be cut off [from standing] before Me for ever.’”’” He therefore enlightens them concerning wine (in Lev. 10:9), “Drink no wine or intoxicating liquor.” Isaiah said (in is. 24:11), “There is a cry over wine in the streets; all gladness is obscured.” What is the meaning of “all gladness is obscured (rt.: 'rb)?” (Above, Exod. 11:8.) [That ] all gladness has become dark, just as you say (in Gen. 1:5), (Also Gen. 1:8, 13, 19, 23, 31.) “and there was evening ('rb).” (Is. 24:11, cont.:) “The joy of the earth has [departed], because Zion has come to an end.” Thus it is written (in Ps. 48:3), “Beauteous landscape, joy of the whole earth, [even Mount Zion].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “In this world wine is a sign of a curse, but in the world to come I will make it into fresh grape juice. Thus it is stated (in Joel 4:18), “And it shall come to pass on that day the mountains shall flow with fresh grape juice….”

Hallelujah, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights. Who are in the heavens? They are the angels who serve Him. Praise Him, all His angels. Just as there are many armies on earth, so too are there in heaven. (Genesis 2:4) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all His hosts." (Psalm 103:21)And who are His hosts who do His will? As it is said, "Bless the Lord, all His hosts." Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all His hosts." Praise Him, sun and moon. And who are the sun and moon? They are the fathers and mothers who rule with the sun and moon. As it is said, "And behold the sun and the moon." (Bereshit 37:9) Praise Him, all the stars of light. And who are the stars of light? They are the righteous, as it is said, "And those who lead the many to righteousness [shall be] like the stars forever and ever." Therefore, it is said, "Praise Him, all the stars of light." From here you learn that each one of them has a star in the heavens, and according to their deeds, so does their star shine. Therefore, it is said, "Praise them, whose stars shine." (Daniel 12:3) Praise the heavens of heavens. From here you learn that they are only rain (in the name of Radel - the 3rd heaven). As it says (1 Kings 8:27), "Behold, the heavens and the highest heaven." Therefore it is said, "Praise Him," etc. These are the waters that God created in the beginning, as it says (Genesis 1:8), "And God called the firmament Heaven." Ask for water. "Let them praise the name of the Lord," etc. They did not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, when He created them, as it says (Genesis 2:4), "On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." And it is written (Exodus 20:11), "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth." They did not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, but He commanded and they were created by themselves. Therefore it is said, "Let them praise the name of the Lord," because they were created to praise Him. And He established them forever with an ordinance that will not pass away. And what is this ordinance that He gave? He said to them (Genesis 1:6), "Let there be a firmament," etc. From that day on they did not move. God created them to take pleasure in them, but because of Adam's sin, the earth was cursed, as it says (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed be the ground," etc. Cain killed Abel, and God said to him (Genesis 4:9), "Where is Abel your brother?" (Genesis 4:10), "The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to Me from the ground." (Genesis 4:12), "You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." And God did not allow Himself to take pleasure in His creations.

"And on the seventh day God finished his work" (Gen. 2:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven dedications, six of them He dedicated, and one is reserved for the (future) generations. He created the first day and finished all His work and dedicated it, as it is said, "And it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). He created the second day and finished all His work and dedicated it, as it is said, || "And it was evening, and it was morning, a second day" (Gen. 1:8); and so through the six days of creation. He created the seventh day, (but) not for work, because it is not said in connection therewith, "And it was evening and it was morning." Why? For it is reserved for the generations (to come), as it is said, "And there shall be one day which is known unto the Lord; not day, and not night" (Zech. 14:7).

Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Ḥiyya say, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i: This midrash came up from the Diaspora in our possession. Wherever it is stated, “it was in the days,” it is nothing other than trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: They are five. “It was in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war, etc.” (Genesis 14:2). This is analogous to the friend of a king who entered a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. Barbarians came and confronted him. When they came and confronted him, everyone said: ‘Woe unto us, for the king will not attend to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the entire world. The Chaldeans came and confronted him. [People] said: ‘Woe unto us that the Holy One blessed be He will not attend to His world the way that He once did.’ That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: They sought to confront only the eyeball [galgal eino] of the world. (Abraham was as precious to the world as the eyeball is to a person. ) They sought to blind the eye [ayin] that confronted the attribute of justice in the world. (The name Ein Mishpat is interpreted as a reference to eye [ayin] and justice [mishpat]. ) “Which [hi] is Kadesh,” Rabbi Aḥa says: Hu (The word “which” is pronounced hi, but written hey-vav-aleph, such that it can be read hu, which literally means “he.” is written, [indicating that] it was he who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He, and descended into the fiery furnace. When the kings came to confront him, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai]; “it was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel the king of [Shinar].” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1). What trouble was there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west; [they devour Israel with an open mouth]” (Isaiah 9:11). This is analogous to a king who entrusted his son to a steward, but the steward hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will become liable to be executed by the king. Rather, I will withhold his wet nurse from him and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats, there is no flock, and if there is no flock, there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there is no world. So said Aḥaz: If there are no children, there are no students,17If there are no children at the beginning stages of their studies there will be no students at the intermediate level. and if there are no students, there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there is no Torah, if there is no Torah, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was his name called Aḥaz? Because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: You may derive it from this [verse]: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim as this time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). From that moment “I sought Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me [are to become signs and wonders in Israel]” (Isaiah 8:18).18This is stated by the prophet Isaiah. Despite the attempts of Aḥaz, Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. But were they his children? Were they not merely his students? Rather, it is derived from here that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not]” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to letters of a king that entered a province. In each and every province that his letters would reach, the residents of the province would stand on their feet, bare their heads, and read them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. But when they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, when Yehudi read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they saw this, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a vineyard and three enemies confronted him. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Every son who is born [you shall cast him into the Nile]” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “And the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:16).19This is a reference to the social elites, who were exiled in the exile of Yehoyakhin, eleven years before the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbi, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda says: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths, and the Rabbis say: Both together were one thousand. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: These are Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are the benefactors. The Rabbis say: These are the counselors. The wicked Haman began uprooting the vines. That is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel. He sought to purchase every foundation.20A literal translation of the Hebrew is: “He sought to purchase every egg,” meaning to control and extinguish all future potential before it could be developed. When everyone saw that Aḥashverosh was selling and Haman purchasing, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tribute to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did residents of the province do? They arose and hung him and appropriated it from him. They [then] said: ‘Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters, that we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us.’ So too, when one of the people of Israel would do something improper, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You demean your judges; as you live, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to withstand.’ What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Shimon bar Rav Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Wherever [the term] vayhi is stated, it refers to trouble or joy; if trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if joy, unparalleled joy. Rabbi Yishmael came and suggested a different distinction: Wherever vayhi is stated there is no joy; wherever vehaya is stated, there is no trouble. They raised an objection: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: With the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day a person could observe and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh and the actions of the generation of the Flood were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “The light is withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening [and it was morning, one day]” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to come to an end. That is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth [will be tattered like a garment]” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), [and] third, fourth, fifth, the sixth.21The same phrasing is used in the descriptions of the creation of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth days. See Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation require completion; wheat requires grinding, mustard requires sweetening, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, for as a result, that wicked woman confronted him. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day [Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [erecting the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on the day of the Temple’s construction, it was sequestered.22The Tabernacle was not permanent, and was hidden when the Temple was completed. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as Ya’ir, who was equivalent [in stature] to the majority of the Sanhedrin, was killed. That is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, approximately thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather approximately, or like, thirty-six; that is Ya’ir ben Menashe, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin. They raised an objection: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written there: “Saul was hostile to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him respite” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who will build [Me] a house” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.23We have stated our objections; now you state the proofs to your position. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep alive a calf of the herd [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water” (Psalms 1:3). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, [in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the flocks of sheep]” (Micah 5:7). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That, too, is not trouble, as on that day, Israel received retribution for its sins, as Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Naḥman said: Israel received great retribution on the day that the Temple was destroyed.24Israel was punished for its sins through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Were it not for that, the entire populace would have been killed as a result of their sins (Etz Yosef). That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, and He will not continue to exile you” (Lamentations 4:22).)

ויהי המבול ארבעים יום, day and night, as has been mentioned in verse 12. The night is usually included when the Torah speaks of יום, day. We have learned this already in Genesis 1,8 ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום אחד, “it was evening, it became morning, one day.”

"And G-d made the firmament" - and it was that when some of the elemental water was removed from under that part of the waters which became vaporous in nature, as it was when He said, "let the waters be gathered from beneath the heavens" Genesis 1:9, it was fit that the vaporous part would descend to that same place from which the that [non-vaporous portion of] waters was removed. But He made it such that that "firmament" that separates would have the power to stop and prevent the vaporous portion from descending - that's the "waters which are above the firmament", such that the transformed atmospheric portion would descend, while the vaporous would remain in its original place. Because of this, when the moist vapor reaches it [i.e., the firmament], it condenses and gives rise to rain, snow and hail. As they condense they descend, as it is said, "at the sound of His placing an abundance of water in the heavens" Jeremiah 10:13. - what it wanted by saying "heavens": the firmament which condenses the atmospheric part [of the waters], as it is said "And G-d called the firmament "heavens" Genesis 1:8. Now when the cloudy, excited vapor arrives there [at the firmament], it generates thunder and lightning, and it is said: "He lifts up clouds from the ends of the earth, thunder from the rain He makes" [continuation of verse quoted previously from Jeremiah]. Now, seeing as how some of the heavier watery element is above the lighter air, which from our perspectives is against their nature - this without doubt indicates the action of an volitional actor, intended such an outcome, as it is said, "the work of His hands shall the firmament declare" Psalms 19:2

HALAKHAH: “There are four New Year’s Days,” etc. It is written (Ex. 12:2. The verse establishes that months are counted from the month of the spring equinox, post-exilic (Accadic) called Nisan.) , this month shall be for you the head of the months. For you it is the head of the months but it is head neither for years nor for Sabbatical periods nor for Jubilees (It is clear from Lev.25 that Sabbaticals and Jubilees are counted from the end of the agricultural year in the month of the fall equinox.) nor for planting (To determine the years of `orlah, when no fruit may be taken.) nor for vegetables (To determine the year for purposes of the tithe since inferred from Deut. 14:22, which requires agricultural tithe being given year by year, that no tithe may be given from produce of one year for produce grown in another.) . And I could say, for you it is the head of the months but it is head neither for kings nor for holidays. Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: It is written (2Chr.3:2.) , he started to build in the second month, in the second, (The text is ambiguous. The later derivations read it as a repetition: He started to build in the second month, the second month of the fourth year; in the style of Gen. 8:5. If the same number is used to describe the month in the sequence of months and the month in the year, it follows that the year must start with month one.) in the fourth year of his reign. It bracketed the fourth year of his reign with the second of the months. Since the second of the months is only counted from Nisan, also the second in the fourth year of his reign is only counted from Nisan. Or is it only the second in the month? Any place where the second day in the month is intended it is explicit (This is how the unofficial Targum of 2Chr.3:2 reads it: He started to build on the second day of the second month of the fourth year; a reading also rejected in the Babli 3a since it always is stated as “day nin the month.”) . Or is it only the second in the week? We do not find this count in the Torah (Babli 3a.) . But is it not written, it was evening and it was morning, the second day (Gen. 1:8.) ? One makes no inferences from the Creation of the World (Since they are God’s days, not human days.) . Which one is the second of the months and which one is the second of the years (In 2Chr.3:2.) ? Rebbi Ḥanania and Rebbi Mana. One said, he started to build in the second month, that is the second of the months; in the second, that is the second in the year. But the other one, even if you switch it does not change anything. Rebbi Simeon bar Karsana in the name of Rebbi Aḥa understood it from the following: This month is for you, an exclusion. The first it be for you, [an exclusion.] An exclusion after an exclusion is to include (A general principle in both Talmudim. Peah6:9 Note 154, Yebamot 12:1 Note10, Soṭah 9:2 Note 63, Horaiot1:1 Note 9 q. v., Megillah4:4 75b l.14; Babli Megillah23b, Yoma43a, Bava qamma15b, Bava batra15a, Sanhedrin15a,44b,66a, Makkot9b, Ševuot7b, Menaḥot9b,67a, Ḥulin132a.) for kings and holidays. Could one include for years, or for Sabbatical periods, or for Jubilees, or for planting, or for vegetables? Following what Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan said: It is written, he started to build in the second month, in the second, in the fourth year of his reign. It bracketed the fourth year of his reign with the second of the months. Since the second of the months is only counted from Nisan, also the second in the fourth year of his reign is only counted from Nisan. Rebbi Jonah, Rebbi Isaac bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Joseph: He started to build in the second month, that is the second of the months; in the second, that is the second in the year. And when he says, in the fourth year of his reign, it bracketed the fourth year of his reign with the second of the months. Since the second of the months is only counted from Nisan, also the second in the fourth year of his reign is only counted from Nisan. Samuel stated and disagreed (He holds that the count of years depends on the political circumstances.) : In the third month of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt (Ex. 19:1.) . From here that one counts months from the exodus from Egypt. Not only months, from where years? The Eternal spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the second year (Num. 9:1.) . Not only at that time, from where later? In the fortieth year of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt (Num. 33:38. Babli 2b) . Not only temporarily, from where for later generations? It was in the 480th year of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt (1K.6:1.) , etc. After the Temple had been built they started to count from its building: It was at the end of twenty years after Salomon built the two houses (1K. 9:1.) . They did not merit to count from its building, they started counting from its destruction: In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, on New Year’s Day, on the tenth of the month (Ez. 40:1. In a Jubilee year, New Year’s day is moved to the Day of Atonement; cf. the author’s edition of Seder Olam(Northvale 1998), pp. 118–119, Note 4.) , etc. They did not merit to count for themselves, they started counting regnal years, [as it is written,] in year two of Darius (Ḥaggai1:1.) ; in year three of Cyrus, king of Persia (Dan. 10:1.) . And I am saying, (2Chr.3:2.) he started to build in the second month, in the second, in the fourth year of his reign. It bracketed the fourth year of his reign with the second of the months. Since the second of the months is only counted from Nisan, also the second in the fourth year of his reign is only counted from Nisan.

Rava said to him: I have not heard a solution for this problem from my teachers. However, with regard to a similar problem I heard a solution from them, as we learned in a mishna (Ta’anit 26a): On Sunday, the non-priestly watches would read two paragraphs from the Torah: “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1–5) and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6–8). And it is taught in that regard that the paragraph “In the beginning” was read by two readers and the paragraph “Let there be a firmament” by one reader.

R. Huna said: For three readings in the Torah (i.e. when only three persons are called up to the reading of a section, viz. on a Monday or Thursday or at a Sabbath afternoon service.) not less than ten verses must be allotted. (Three verses for each of the first two and four for the third.) Hezekiah (A Rabbi of that name.) explained [the reason: (Why ten verses are required.) The number] corresponds to the Ten Commandments. But have we not learned in a Mishnah: (Ta‘an. IV, 3 (Sonc. ed., p. 137).) ‘On Sunday [the men of the ma‘amad read] In the beginning (Gen. 1, 1-4.) and Let there be a firmament’ (ibid. 5-8.) although they contain not more than eight verses? (How then could R. Huna rule that a minimum of ten verses was required?) R. Iddi said: Kahana and Ashë differ [on the method of procedure], (As how to make ten verses out of eight.) one holding that [the reader] goes back, and the other maintaining that he cuts. (This is explained in the continuation.) According to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he repeats two verses; (The second person repeats the last two of the three verses which the first had read. The two, together with the eight, make up the minimum of ten verses.) and according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, And there was evening and there was morning (The second part of each of verses 4 and 8 of Gen. 1.) is a verse on its own. (So that verses 4 and 8 represent two verses each, bringing the number to ten.) But have we not learned in [the same] Mishnah: ‘On Monday [the reading of the ma‘amad was] Let there be a firmament (Gen. 1, 6-8, three verses.) and Let the waters … be gathered together’? (ibid. 9-13, five verses.) Now, according to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he goes back over two verses, but according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, even if he does so, there are not ten (Added by GRA, omitted by V, M and H.) verses! (There would only be nine, since And there was evening, etc., forms the whole of verse 13 and cannot be reckoned as two verses as in the case of verses 5 and 8.) R. Polippa b. R. Pariṭ raised an objection before R. Jonah, (To R. Huna’s ruling.) ‘Behold the section of Amalek!’ (Ex. 17, 8-16, read on Purim, which consists only of nine verses.) ‘This is different’, he replied, ‘since (So GRA, M and H. V reads: ‘he said, No, it is taught, it’.) it is the prescribed portion for the day’. (This reply could also have been given to the preceding objection, since in Gen. 1, 6-13, if only verse 8 is divided into two, there would be nine verses, as in the section of Amalek.) R. Eliezer b. R. Maḳom raised an objection: (To R. Huna’s ruling.) [It has been taught,] ‘He who reads the hafṭarah from the Prophet shall read not less than twenty-one verses’, (Meg. 23a (Sonc. ed., p. 140). From ‘but [if R. Huna’s ruling … to the last one]’ is added by GRA. V omits it but inserts in brackets: ‘It is permitted to skip in a Prophet but not in the Torah, because if [a reader] skipped even one verse by not reading it, and restored the scroll [to the ark] and recited ḳaddish, he must unroll it again, say the benedictions, and read that verse and the two verses which follow it’. This is a repetition of XI, 2, 6.) but [if R. Huna’s ruling] is valid, twenty-three verses should be required, ten for the first three, (In accordance with R. Huna’s ruling above that ‘for three readings … no less than ten verses must be allotted’.) ten for the second three, and three for the last one! (Since a minimum of three verses must be read for each person who is called up. No reply is given to the objection, but it is possible to provide the following explanation: Only when no more than three persons are called up is it necessary to allot ten verses, but when the number of persons is more than three, as, e.g., on the Sabbath when not less than seven persons must be called to the Torah, three verses for each person or twenty-one in all are sufficient.)

Elohim called the canopy heaven. It became evening and it became morning the second day.

And Allah named the layer "Heavens", and then it went from the nighttime to daylight. Day two.

And the Lord called the expanse the Heavens. And it was evening, and it was morning, the Second Day.

And God called the separation "Heavens," and it was day and night, the second day of the Genesis order.

Moses’ song was inspired by the immensity of the ‎miracle that he and the people had witnessed at the ‎time. They had witnessed the “death” and ‎‎“resurrection” of the universe, albeit in miniature. If ‎the letter ‎ז‎ is symbolic of the ‎עולם העשיה‎, the universe ‎after its completion on the seventh day, the letter ‎א‎ is ‎symbolic of the very beginning of creation, so that ‎Moses alluded to the process of a reversal in the ‎creative process as having occurred as part of the ‎miracle they had witnessed at that time. It is not ‎accidental that in the Torah scroll instead of writing ‎the ‎שירה‎, “song” in the normal fashion, the lines are ‎broken, interrupted so as to convey the manner in ‎which bricks are laid, not one exactly above the other, ‎but in a pattern that enables the wall to survive sudden ‎impacts. This is true even of stone walls that are not ‎joined by cement.‎ At this point the author allegorically describes ‎חיות‎, ‎the essence of “life” as the word of G’d which was the ‎cement that holds together the different parts of the ‎universe, all of which came into existence by His ten ‎oral directives enumerated in the first chapter of ‎Genesis. The empty spaces between the letters (words) ‎are an allusion to the part of the world where this ‎miracle occurred having retreated toward its origin ‎before the definite contours of that universe had been ‎finalized. ‎‎

2. However, in actual fact, the true tzaddikim benefit from the existence of these charlatans who impersonate them. For there are wicked people who give charity to the tzaddikim, and charity creates the concept YaBoK—Yichud (unification), Berakhah (blessing), Kedushah (holiness). Each of these three concepts is mentioned in connection with water, which corresponds to charity, as mentioned above. Unification, as it is written (Genesis 1:9), “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one area.” Blessing, as it is written (ibid. 1:20), “Let the waters swarm with the swarm of living creatures.” Holiness, as it is written (Numbers 5:17), “the holy water.”

This is in accordance with the statement in Zohar Bereishit regarding [the verse], (Genesis 1:9) “Let the waters [under the heaven] be gathered into one place.” This is the aspect of Yesod, (Zohar I 18a & 33a.) within which all the influence gathers. It is thus called, “The ingathering of all the lights.”

יקוו המים, “let the waters be gathered together;” this is the conclusion of G-d’s creative activity of the second day. The רקיע, “atmosphere/horizon,” did not become operational until the earth had dried out. The reader is asked not to be astounded at the fact that the Torah had previously inserted the phrase: “it was evening, it was morning, the second day.” The reason why this is no contradiction as supposed at first glance, is that the meaning of the words: יקוו המים is that G-d’s commandment for the process of the waters gathering together had been issued already beforethe evening and subsequent morning of the second day. There are numerous such constructions in the Torah; we must not forget also, that both the gathering together of the water and the resultant visibility of the earth, were no new phenomena that could be described as “creation.” Expansion of one phenomenon so that another phenomenon could become visible is no basic change.

From under the skies: Meaning the regular skies, which is perceivable to us, and not below the firmament of the skies, as later on the fourth day.

To one place: Not really one place, but rather several connected places, from which the waters surrounding them, gathered.

AND GOD SAID. I believe that this chapter is connected to the one preceding it (In the Hebrew Bible verses 6-8 and 9-13 form separate chapters. According to I.E. verse 9 does not start the account of the third day of creation, but is a continuation of verse 8. See note 99.) because the firmament did not come into being until the land dried. (Thus land was created on the second day and not on the third day.) Proof of this is Scripture’s statement, In the day that the Lord God made earth (dry land) and heaven (the firmament) (Gen. 2:4). Thus they were made on the same day. The revelation of something which had previously been hidden (the land) or the gathering of something which was scattered (the water) into one place is not a creation. (Hence Scripture (Gen. 2:4) states, the Lord God made earth and heaven, rather than the Lord God created earth and heaven. I.E. had previously commented that only one thing was created on each day. He therefore explains that the making of the firmament and dry land on one day does not constitute the creation of two things on the same day, for the drying of the land was not a creation.) The meaning of our verse is: now God had said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered. (And God said is to be understood as a pluperfect. Verses 8 and 9 are to be read as one verse and understood as follows: And God called the firmament heaven…for God had said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place (Cohen).) There are hundreds of similar instances in the Torah. I will offer two examples from the portion of Bereshit. One is: And the Lord God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed (Gen. 2:8). After stating this, Scripture goes on to say, And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight (v. 9). However, God caused vegetation and trees to sprout before the creation of man. (According to Gen. 1:11,12, vegetation was created before man. Therefore the meaning of Gen. 2:9 is: And out of the ground the Lord God had previously made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight.) The second example is when God commanded man not to eat from the tree of knowledge (Gen. 2:16). However, immediately after this it is written, And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man, etc. (Gen. 2:19). (The implication is that the beasts of the field were created after man. However, Gen. 1:25 tells us that man was created after the beasts of the field. Hence the meaning of formed in Gen. 2:19 is had formed, i.e., before creating man God had formed the beasts of the field and every fowl of the air.) The meaning of formed thus is had formed. According to this interpretation it follows that And God saw that it was good (Gen. 1:10) is connected to the act of creation which took place on the second day. (The account describing the making of the sky and the earth concludes with Gen. 1:10, And God saw that is was good.) The account of the creation which took place on the third day thus begins with And God said: Let the earth put forth grass (Gen. 1:11).

[LET…BE GATHERED.] The meaning of yikkavu is let them come together. Ve-nikvu in At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all nations shall be gathered (ve-nikvu) unto it (Jer. 3:17) is similar.

And God said, "let gather:" It needs to be known whether these waters are the waters of the depths and [so] when He said, "let the waters be gathered to one place," behold no other waters remained - and this is the opposite of what the verse states (Exodus 20:4), "and in the waters below the earth;" and if [these] waters were others besides the [ones of] the depths, it needs to be known how these waters were different from the waters of the depths, that the verse should refer to them alone. Also, [this would be difficult to say, since] we did not see that the statement specifies to say, "let the 'x' waters gather," but rather just "let the waters gather;" all the waters of the world are [thereby] implied. Also [it needs to be known] why the appearance of the earth is dependent on the gathering of the waters. And also we need to be precise [and understand the use of] the word, appear, since it should have said and 'the dry land be' [substituting 'be' for 'appear'].

And regarding what I explained on the verse, "In the beginning," that all was created with one statement - except that it was mixed up until God set up each thing on its day; and according to that, from the words of God in this [section] we know that the dry land extended in the water over the expanse of the earth and there was water above and below it; and the firmament divided the waters above the dry land and it lifted half of them with its wings, as it is stated, "let the firmament be within" - and [the] unqualified [use of] within implies [in] the middle - and the remaining half covered the dry land. And it is to those waters that God said, "let the waters gather to one place;" which is the waters of the oceans. And the dry land appeared from the place that it was at the time of its creation - as it acquired its place [to be] there, except it was covered and He [now] decreed about it, that it should appear.

And maybe the word appear could include that it wasn't visible in the color of the dry lands and its color was like that of the water and there was no [clear] distinction between its border and the border of the sea. And also within the understanding of 'appear' (teraeh) is that it was [now] fitting (reouiah) to what the dry lands need to be fit for, for the needs of the world. ...

And it also wanted [to teach] by stating, "and appear," that all the time that the waters are below and above the earth, the natural state of the earth is not preserved, since the water will change its [state]. And go and learn from what Maimonides wrote at the beginning of the Laws of Character Traits (Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 4:5) that water transforms the core element of dirt to water; for this [reason], He said, "let the waters gather, etc." and with this "and the dry land appear;" and the explanation [of this] is that it will stay in its [state] to put in motion the reason for its creation. And really its creation already [happened] on the first day in the first statement as explained above. We also end up saying [according to this] that not all of the waters of the world were gathered into the oceans and there are [waters in the] depths below the earth.

And it is possible that there is no gap between the waters that were gathered and the [waters of the] depths - and [it is] about that portion that has no earth [covering it], that they, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 12a) that God said to the land, "Enough" that it should not extend from one end [of the world] to the other end - and the waters remained connected to the lower waters.

After I wrote all that is written [above], a midrash from Pirkei Rebbe Eliezer 5 came to my hands and this is what it says, "On the third day, the earth was flat like a valley and the waters covered over the face of the whole earth and when the words, "let the waters gather, etc." went out from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, the mountains and hills separated over the face of the whole earth and the innards of the earth arose and the waters rolled [back] and gathered, etc." Behold [from here, we see that] when the Holy One, blessed be He said, "let the waters gather," the land was already in existence and these are [in agreement with] our words. And [this is so] even if, according to the words of this [midrash], it appears that it explains [the phrase] "and the earth appear (teraeh)," [that its] explanation is that the dry land will be sand [as a] border for the sea, [so that] when the waters fear (yireh) the dry land, they acquire their [permanent] place - by way of its stating (Jeremiah 5, 22), "that I have placed the sand as a border for the sea," and made the fear of the dry land upon the sea - and [so] the explanation of teraeh (appear) is from the word yirah (fear), and that is what it states, "Do you not fear me?, etc., that I have placed the sand as a border for the sea;" and this is different than our explanation, [since] this is the way of derash (homily) and our way is the way of peshat (straightforward understanding) and the Scripture intends [it] all.

And Nachmanides, of blessed memory, explained it's stating "and the dry land appear;" that the dirt was mixed with water and God decreed that they should separate one from the other, [so] that the dirt will harden and become dry land. So far [his explanation]. And [the] explanation of [Nachmanides], of blessed memory, needs a guarantor; also the simple meaning of the verse doesn't say this. Also, according to [the] words of [Nachmanides], of blessed memory, there was no need for the waters to gather to one place, but rather that He should say to the dry land that it should appear according to the arrangement mentioned in the words of [Nachmainides] - that the dirt should separate from the water and float up, and that the waters should stay in their place. And it is also implied from the verse that all of the waters that were under the firmament which were adjacent to the earth were gathered to one place; and that is not what is implied according to the words of the master; and also the word, 'appear,' is not exact according to [the] approach of [Nachmanides], of blessed memory. And the correct [understanding] in my eyes is as I have explained: that the land was stretched out within the waters and [there was] water above and water below it; and the Ordainer ordained that the water above the land have the firmament be placed within it and carry up the higher waters on its wings; and the part remaining under the firmament would not remain under all of the firmament equally, but rather, gathered to one place, and this is what it says, "and the waters under the heavens gather to one place" and through this, "and the dry land appear" [is understood] according to its simple meaning.

And it appears that it can be said that the aspect of all the waters upon the earth - whether the upper one that are above the firmament [or whether] the ones that were gathered to one place - they are in the aspect of 'male waters.' And so, you will find that the germination of seeds is from the waters of the ocean, which are the gathered waters, as they, of blessed memory, said (Taanit 9a) that the rains come form the water of the oceans; and after God brings rain from them, corresponding [waters] come up from the depths, and that is like they, of blessed memory, have said (Taanit 25b), no drop comes down from above for which (two or three) corresponding drops do not come up from below. And the seeds do not grow from the rain waters and not from the waters of the depths [individually], since a male by itself or a female by itself will not give birth. And behold for you their words, of blessed memory, that they said (Pirkei Derabi Eliezer 25) that there are two waters, one male and one female and this is what they wrote [on the verse (Genesis 7:19)], "'and the waters grew very strong;' when the male waters joined with the female waters, they grew exceedingly."

יקוו המים “let the waters be gathered together.” This directive was needed seeing that the mass which the Torah had previously called תהום was a mass of water within which particles of earth were all over the place causing this mass to be extremely murky. The element “dust” had to be raised so that earth could become a habitat fit for all kinds of land-based creatures. The two directives we observe here were the very opposite of natural law. We know hat the specific weight of dust is greater than that of water and that as a result water should have covered the earth all over. G’d decreed for water which previously was “on top” to descend and “earth or dust” which had previously been submerged to rise. This reversal of natural law is alluded to in Psalms 136,6 לרוקע הארץ על המים כי לעולם חסדו, “Who spread the earth over the waters, His steadfast love is eternal.” Providing His creatures with earth as a habitat was an everlasting act of kindness. This is the reason the Psalmist in Psalms 36,7 speaks of צדקתך כהררי קל, משפטיך תהום רבה. “Your righteousness is like high mountains, Your justice like the great deep.” The psalmist means that G’d demonstrated His righteousness when He gave the directive to the great deep that the waters should submerge themselves contrary to their nature in order to benefit both man and beast. We may further explain the words ותראה היבשה, “and let the dry land become visible,” to mean that the reason it is called יבשה as it could not produce any fruit as long as it was wet. Now that the dryness became visible the whole process of creating the waters had been completed. Now it was in order to refer to the result as “good.” According to the Midrash the words יקוו המים mean that the waters should be measured, i.e. the word is derived from קו, “line.” We find the word having this meaning in Zecharyah 1,16, וקו ינטה על ירושלים, “and a measuring line will be applied to Jerusalem.” Another meaning of these words views them as if G’d had said: יקוו לי המים, “let the waters congregate for Me.” The matter is best explained by means of a parable. (compare beginning of Bereshit Rabbah 5) A king once built a palace and he populated it with deaf and dumb people These people made a point of making signs by means of which they enquired after the king’s wellbeing, etc. and generally displayed appreciation of the king having provided them with a residence. The king reasoned that if these people were so appreciative of what he had done for them ,surely if he placed intelligent people in this palace they would be at least as appreciative. What happened however was that the intelligent people seized the palace for themselves instead of displaying any signs of gratitude. They claimed that the palace was theirs. Thereupon the king decreed to let the palace revert to what it had been before he had ordered it to be built. Applied to our situation in Genesis the moral of the story is that prior to the creation of man G’d was hailed by the inarticulate beings He had created. As soon as He peopled the earth with articulate and intelligent human beings they turned their back on Him so that he decreed to let the earth revert to the state it had been in prior to the creation of the universe. At the beginning of creation the waters praised and lauded G’d their Creator as we know from Psalms 93,4 מקולות מים רבים אדירים משברי ים, “more majestic than the breakers of the sea is the Lord.” According to the Midrash there the waters referred to G’d as אדיר. Already the generation of Enosh rebelled against G’d and not too long hereafter he generation of the deluge carried its rebellion against G’d to such lengths that G’d destroyed them. G’d decided to do away with that generations of living creatures whereas He allowed lowed the waters to remain undisturbed. This is the meaning of Genesis 7,12 ויהי גשם על כל הארץ. אל מקום אחד, “to a single place.”The waters had previously extended as far far as the throne of G’d Himself. If so, how was it possible for them to be compressed into a single מקום, site? This teaches that on occasion something small in size can embrace and control something far larger and presumed more powerful (Bereshit Rabbah 5,5.)

ויאמר אלוקים יקוו המים מתחת השמים, the words מתחת השמים refer to the waters beneath the rakia, known as shamayim.

ותראה היבשה, The “lower” world consist of 3 parts, corresponding to their respective qualities, ranks, i.e. the inert, mineral, the vegetation, and the living creatures. The report of the development, progressive creation, follows the pattern of beginning with the most primitive and progressing to the most advanced form of life on earth. The inert parts of our globe are not specifically mentioned by a name describing them as a category by itself. We may safely assume that when earth came into being, as part of the overall phenomena of inert objects in the universe, the predominantly large part of the earth consisted of stones and metal and the like. Even though the globe was covered with water it comprised mountains and valleys (submerged in water at that time), all of them solid. While it is true that the scientists of our day argue that two vapours rising from the earth are the reason (origin) of all the stones and metals which they have named as the source or the material that is basic (such as what is mined in quarries) and that these vapours account for the original amalgamation of different elements, we would have to view vegetation as a second stage of such elements fusing with one another in different proportions. The final, and most advanced stage of different raw materials combining in different proportions would be the חי, i.e. living (mobile) creatures. The first manifestation of an amalgam of more than one basic element would have been the dry land becoming visible. Obviously, the highest mountain peaks of the crust we call earth became visible first. Due to the appearance of the luminaries on the fourth “day,” and their giving forth heat, etc., these mountains, i.e. some of the stones they consisted of, became progressively harder, so that we find different kinds of metal scattered among such stony material. These variations occurred at the will of the Creator, of course. According to these scientists, the surface of the earth is roughly parallel in size to the part of the globe covered by water, and about half of the dry land is fit for human habitation. When G’d surrounded the dry land with the oceans, He left on the surface of the dry land a variety of wells, ponds, rivers, etc., to serve the creatures whose habitat was to become this dry land, called earth. This corresponds to what David said in Psalms 104,10 המשלח מעיינים בנחלים בין הרים יהלכון, “the One Who makes springs gush forth in torrents; they make their way between the hills.” G’d, in His wisdom, made the waters in the oceans salty so that they would not become evil smelling, poisoning the air in the process. On the other hand, the waters which are part of the earth’s surface are mainly sweet, as they had been created in the first place. They are scattered in different parts of the earth to provide drinking water for G’d’s creatures who would otherwise die from the effects of dehydration. These “sweet” waters also counteract the dryness of the atmosphere, and generally promote the growth of the plants on earth. G’d was careful not to let the fountains squirt their water indiscriminately across the surface of the earth, but arranged for them to irrigate the valleys between the mountains The usefulness of waters flowing in areas populated by human beings is evident to all of us. The oases found in the deserts are to enable travelers through the desert to sustain themselves, as well as for the benefit of the free roaming beasts that inhabit those regions. This is what David had in mind in verse 11 of Psalm 104 when he wrote ישקו כל חיתו שדי, “giving drink to all the wild beasts.” The salty waters which appear as inlets from the oceans in various parts of the globe are intended to facilitate travel by man on the oceans in ships, seeing that these waters are not turbulent as are the waters of the open sea. Very often travel by boat considerably reduces the travel time, as without these inlets one would have to travel on land for considerably longer distances. These waters were allowed to remain salty for the reason we explained, i.e. to prevent stench emanating from them, a common phenomenon observed in stagnant unsalted waters. Besides, the salt which is part of the waters of the sea can be employed usefully by man when he heats the waters and gains the residue of salt left behind after evaporation of the water. Even hot water geysers (such as the hot springs of Tiberias) are useful for man, the sulphur contained in them being the source of their heat. We also find mountains on the dry land containing salt which can be mined to provide for the needs of man. I have found in Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer, 5th chapter that the diameter of our globe is described as being equivalent to the distance a man can walk in 60 years. [assuming that the average person can walk 40 km per day, this would amount to approximately 870.000 km, hardly compatible with the facts, even if the author referred to the circumference of the globe rather than to its diameter when he wrote: “its thickness,עוביה .” Kimchi writes that Rabbi Eliezer’s view coincides with the opinion of the researchers in his time. Ed.] Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer continues that prior to G’d’s directive at the beginning of the third day, the entire planet was flat like a valley, and the waters covered it evenly. As a result of G’d’s directive, and the waters flowing concentrically, increasing in density, the highest mountains began to become visible, followed by hills, etc. As this phenomenon intensified, the earth as we know it in our times gradually emerged from the sea which had covered it. [the text in my edition of P.d.R.E. is considerably different. Ed.] At any rate, once the waters had complied with G’d’s directive and had become a single מקוה, pool, enclosed by rims, i.e. and or rocks, G’d named this pool ימים, oceans.

אל מקום אחד, this does not mean “to a single location,” but to a location set aside especially for the oceans. There would not be a new “continent” of dry land subsequently.

ויהי כן. The waters did indeed flow all together to a single continuous uninterrupted area, and as a result the dry land did become visible. This was one of the miracles performed by the Creator although in the nature of things, the contraction of the waters which had covered the whole earth and had now contracted so that as a result they must have towered high above the adjoining dry land, they did not cascade down due to the laws of gravity. Seeing that it is a law of nature that waters travels downhill, the fact that these waters did not cross the borders imposed upon them by Divine decree must be viewed as an ongoing miracle. This is reflected in the words of Jeremiah 5,22 אשר שמתי חול גבול לים, “in that I set the sand as the boundary of the ocean.” We find a similar expression in Psalms 104,9. This is also commented upon in Bereshit Rabbah 5,7, the editor writing that it is customary for man to empty a full vessel into an empty one. Who would be able to “empty” a full vessel into another full vessel?

LET THE WATERS UNDER THE HEAVEN BE GATHERED TOGETHER. The deep, which is water and sand, was like turbid waters, and He decreed concerning the waters that they be gathered together in one place, surrounded on all sides, and He further decreed concerning the sands that they rise up until they be seen above the waters and that they become dry, so that there be a stretch of dry land suitable for settlement thereon. And so it is written: To Him that spread forth the earth above the waters. (Psalms 136:6.) Or perhaps G-d’s decree was that the earth be spherical, partly visible and mostly submerged in the waters, as the Greeks imagine in their proofs, apparent or real. Thus there were two decrees, that is, two matters done by the Will of G-d that are contrary to their natural inclination. For in view of the heaviness of earth [which would cause it to sink] and the lightness of the waters [which would cause them to rise], it would have been natural that the pillar of the earth be in the center and that the waters should cover it, thus surrounding it from all sides. (But instead He decreed that the waters which filled the whole world should go down as would be natural for the earth, and that the earth should come up as would be natural for the water.) Therefore, He said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together, that is to a lower place, and then He said, And let the dry land appear. He gave them names as they assumed these forms, for at the beginning their collective name was “the deep.”

ויאמר אלוקים יקוו המים... אל מקום אחד, we already explained on verse 2 that the means employed to achieve this was the ruach, the wind. This is the reason why we were told already in verse 2 that “G’d’s wind (spirit) hovered over the expanse of the deep, something which occurred by making the rakia. (between heaven and earth) Now the water above the earth were concentrated in one region, location.

ותראה היבשה, a reference to the earth which had already been created at the same time as the heaven, before the light had been created, as I explained on verse 2.. It does not matter whether this occurred spread over a short period or over a long period.

יקוו המים THE WATERS SHALL BE DRAWN TOGETHER — For they were then spread over the surface of the whole earth, and He now gathered them together into what now constitutes the Ocean, which is the largest of all seas (Genesis Rabbah 5:2).

קוה .יקוו המים וגו׳. verwandt mit גבא, die Wasserlache (davon das spätere גבאי, גבא Geldeinsammeln), גוע, גוה, גבח, גבע גבה, קפא, קבע die alle ein Stoff- sammeln, ein Konzentrieren von Stoffen in einen Punkt, sei es in die Tiefe, die Höhe, oder um und an den Mittelpunkt, bedeuten. (Dieses Konzentrieren der Stoffe in einen örtlichen Punkt bewirkt sich nur, indem jedem Teilchen des Stoffes die zu dem Einen Orte hinstrebende Richtung gegeben wird. Daher קו die Richtschnur. Übertragen auf das Gemüt des Menschen heißt קוה im Kal, Gott zugewendet, ׳קוי ד: mit seinem ganzen Wesen Gott zuströmen, sein ganzes Wesen zu Gott hin richten, im Piel mit acc. ׳קויתי ד, heißt es umgekehrt: einen Gegenstand in die Richtung zu sich bringen, sich vorstellen und erwarten, daß er zu uns komme, daß er seine ganze Richtung zu uns nehmen werde; mit אל ist es wohl das verstärkte קוי ד׳ .קוה sind die, deren Natur, deren ganzes Wesen von selbst ganz zu Gott hinstrebt. ׳קוה אל ד bezeichnet die Energie, die erst dem ganzen Wesen diese Richtung gibt.) Also Gott sprach׳s, daß sich die Wasser nach einem Ort hin konzentrierend sammeln. Die Energie, die jedem Wassertropfen innewohnt, aus allen Höhen in die Tiefe zu dringen und sich endlich wieder in ein gemeinsames Bett zu sammeln, ist die Verwirklichung des allmächtigen Gottesgeheißes, das- יקוו המים -gesprochen, und damit unverlierbar dem Wasser diese gewaltige Richtung ge geben. — יבש. ותראה היבשה ist der diametrale Gegensatz von מים. Dieses: ,מקק ,מכך מגג ,מיי, das erweichende, auflösende Element. יבש, verwandt mit (גביש) גבש ,כבש גוש, heißt: das Starre, Gedrungene, Trockene, das der Auflösung Widerstand leistet. Mit diesem neuen Gegensatz ist das Wechselspiel des organischen Lebens vorbereitet. Alle Stoffbildung geht im flüssigen Zustande vor, sowohl Produktion als Reproduktion; alle Formgestaltung ringt zum Festen, Trocknen, Starren; flüssig keimt der Stoff, starr gestaltet sich die Form. ויהי כן: auf Gottes Geheiß ist es somit also geworden.

"And G-d made the firmament" - and it was that when some of the elemental water was removed from under that part of the waters which became vaporous in nature, as it was when He said, "let the waters be gathered from beneath the heavens" Genesis 1:9, it was fit that the vaporous part would descend to that same place from which the that [non-vaporous portion of] waters was removed. But He made it such that that "firmament" that separates would have the power to stop and prevent the vaporous portion from descending - that's the "waters which are above the firmament", such that the transformed atmospheric portion would descend, while the vaporous would remain in its original place. Because of this, when the moist vapor reaches it [i.e., the firmament], it condenses and gives rise to rain, snow and hail. As they condense they descend, as it is said, "at the sound of His placing an abundance of water in the heavens" Jeremiah 10:13. - what it wanted by saying "heavens": the firmament which condenses the atmospheric part [of the waters], as it is said "And G-d called the firmament "heavens" Genesis 1:8. Now when the cloudy, excited vapor arrives there [at the firmament], it generates thunder and lightning, and it is said: "He lifts up clouds from the ends of the earth, thunder from the rain He makes" [continuation of verse quoted previously from Jeremiah]. Now, seeing as how some of the heavier watery element is above the lighter air, which from our perspectives is against their nature - this without doubt indicates the action of an volitional actor, intended such an outcome, as it is said, "the work of His hands shall the firmament declare" Psalms 19:2

יקוו המים; this does not mean that the waters should dry up, as many people interpreted it. These people said that the process would be achieved by a substantial part of the oceans freezing and turning to ice such as the polar regions, and that this would be caused by forces in the celestial regions. אל מקום אחד. The waters should not deviate from this location. As a result they became much higher than the surrounding land mass without crashing down on earth as our senses would have us think would be the case. This is why David tells us in Psalms 104,9: גבול שמת בל יעברון, “You have set them limits which they must not cross.” The meaning is that the waters must not flood the earth.”

And God said, "let the waters gather:" Because the sea is something big and bewildering, to the point that some ancient nations attributed a specific god to it; it was also something bewildering in early thought, [the fear being] that it should not [overflow] and flood the earth, as the prophet said (Jeremiah 5:22), "Do you not fear me, says the Lord, from before Me do you not tremble; since I put sand as the border of the sea, it is a permanent law and it may not trespass it;" and in Job 38:11, it states, "And He said, until here may you come but no further, etc.;" therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to inform Israel that even the sea is the work of His hands, since He is the One that commanded the waters to gather.

"Let the waters gather (yikvu):" The root, kavah, is formed from kav (line). And the term, kivui, is used with water since it sits in an even line and surface, which is not the case with bodies that do not flow, which by their falling one on top of the other become [an uneven] pile. And this term is not found not in reference to water except in the verse, "and to you will gather (nikvu) all the nations" (Jeremiah 3:17); and there it is a poetic phrase that is borrowed from the waters; as in "and all the nations will stream to it" (Isaiah 2:2), which is borrowed from the running of waters in a stream. And it appears that it is from the term mikveh (gathering of water) that aqua and also aequus are formed in Latin, as its subject is straightness.

"Below the heavens to (el) one place:" They will come from their places, which are dispersed under all of the heavens and they will move to one place and stay there. The word, el, generally indicates movement, and not resting; therefore I say that yikvu (gather) includes the idea of movement towards the place of the gathering and not just the gathering; and so [too with the phrase], "and to you will gather (nikvu) all the nations" (Jeremiah 3:17), the intention is that they should come to it and gather in it.

"One place:" One only.

"And appear:"And through this, it will be seen.

"Hayabasha (The dry land):" It is a noun in the grammatical pattern that contains a diacritic mark (dagush), and so [too] charava: their idea is a dry (yavesh) thing or a parched (charev) thing; like (other nouns that follow this pattern), aveida, geneiva, gezeila; and it is not an adjective but rather it [is a noun] like tohu, bohu.

God said: Let the water under the heavens be gathered. This refers to the physical water under the firmament, similar to the water of today. The lower waters were called upon to be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear. When the water was collected in one place, the dry land underneath would be exposed. And it was so.

יקוו המים, “let the waters converge together;” the original תהום was in the original state i.e. cloudy water full of particles of solid matter scattered throughout. At this point G’d decreed for the water to rearrange itself in a manner which would separate the solid particles from it. As a result, the solid particles, earth, would become visible above the water as a distinct phenomenon. The earth would also become dry as a result of being above the water. We are faced here with two apparently contradictory decrees being issued by the Creator. According to our knowledge of the laws of physics, earth, which has a higher specific weight than water, should remain submerged in water, and here G’d commanded earth to become visible, i.e. to “rise” above the waters of the surrounding oceans. At that time both the waters and the earth were assigned their names, i.e. ימים ויבשת, “oceans and dry land.”

“Let the waters be gathered” [1:9]. On the third day, the Holy One said that all the waters should be gathered in one area so that the land may be seen. All the waters gathered in one area and this is the great sea. The Holy One then told the earth to sprout grass, vegetation and every sort of tree. When the Holy One told the earth to sprout trees that would have the taste of fruit, the earth did not do this. Therefore, it was cursed with Adam. (Genesis Rabbah, 5.9.)

(7) At the time of creation, the Lord had said that the waters should collect together in one place. He had stipulated at that time that should the need arise, this state of affinity could be suspended. It was a reminder of this agreement that caused the separation of the waters of the sea at that moment. (Shemot Rabbah 21)

(9) The wind was another device designed to fool the Egyptians. The Egyptians would ascribe the drying out of the sea bed to the power of the wind rather than to the Providence of G-d activated by Moses’s hand. Once the Egyptians had proceeded past the point of no return, G-d unleashed the heat of the column of fire upon the Egyptians. Since the pillar of cloud was still in front of them, they did not know the source of this unbearable heat. This led to their recognition that it was the G-d of the Israelites who fought against them; therefore they began to flee. Since this coincided with Moses’s raising his hands for the waters to return, the latter moved toward the fleeing Egyptians so that their flight could be described as a rush towards the waters. (10) When G-d had created the waters, He had not restricted its movements. Only in Genesis 1,9, did He command the waters to gather in one place. Now this command had been temporarily revoked, in order to drown the Egyptians. Therefore the use of the expression "to its original state, i.e. to the state the waters had been in at the time of creation.

Our opening Midrash reflects the same theme. Although all of Israel had contributed in providing the various sections of the tabernacle and its furnishings, when it came to assembling it, the people could not manage, whereas Moses unassisted did manage. The people's contribution then consisted only in preparing the material, providing the basis for the tabernacle's ultimate form, to be erected when it would be ready for use. We find a parallel at the time of the creation of the universe. During six days of creative activity, G-d created all the individual parts and sections of the universe. On the seventh day though, the Torah says "heaven and earth had been completed," this referred only to its constituent parts, not to the whole. Subsequently, "G-d completed on that day," something which follows the statement of "and the heavens and the earth had been completed." Similarly, we find in connection with the completion of the work of the tabernacle "all the work on the tabernacle had been completed," whereas afterwards we read "Moses erected it." Most of this has been explained in chapter four. Midrash Tanchuma points out many parallel expressions employed by the Torah both during creation and during construction of the tabernacle. The common denominator is that the former is a macrocosm whereas the latter is a microcosm designed to mirror the universe. If Moses had been unaware that his face emitted rays, and the fact that he alone could erect the tabernacle is remarkable, it reflects the idea that or with the letter ayin and with the letter aleph can be used interchangeably. The Divine, inner light illuminating the soul of Moses, was visible in the form of his skin giving off a glow, sending out rays.

The third plague, Lice, that the dirt became lice struck at the statement ""Let the water that is beneath the heavens gather into one place, and let the dry land appear," and now the dry land was struck that the dirt of the land turned to lice. "Afar" (dirt) (of the land) refers to an area fit for habitation. The rest of the land is called "Eretz", but "Afar" refers to inhabited land is clear in Perek Kisuy Hadam (Chullin 88b).

Furthermore, to merit the attribute of Tzadik one should give Tzedaka regularly, as explained in the Tikkunei Zohar (21st Correction) that it corrects the sign of the Brit, and so too one should fulfill the precept of taking delight in Shabbat, and this is what it says: 416. And also, the Shechinah, WHO IS MALCHUT, WHEN SHE IS PAIRED AND IS RECEIVING THE LIGHTS FROM ZEIR ANPIN, HER HUSBAND is called T’zdakah (Eng. ‘righteous’), and Has the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN WHO IS THE PROVIDER, is called Ba’al (lit. ‘the owner’) of the T’zdakah. And in exile, WHEN THERE IS NO PAIRING FOR ZEIR ANPIN AND NUKVA. She is poor, and Her children, WHO ARE YISRAEL, are poor, AND THE NATIONS ENSLAVE THEM. And the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, so to speak is poor, when He is outside of His place. SINCE DUE TO THE LACK OF PAIRING DURING THE TIME OF EXILE, THERE IS A DEFICIENCY ALSO IN ZEIR ANPIN, BECAUSE THIS IS BLESSING ONLY WITH THE PAIRING OF ZEIR ANPIN AND NUKVA, AND MALCHUT IS THE PLACE OF ZEIR ANPIN. And because Her it is said, “Behold their valient ones cry without” (Yeshayah 33:7). 417. HE ASKS, And in which place DOES THE BLEMISH CAUSE THAT ZEIR ANPIN IS CALLED poor and MALCHUT is called poor. AND ANSWER, At the Righteous who is called Covenant, NAMELY YESOD, And because Yisrael sinned AND BLEMISHED IT, IN YESOD, below, IN THIS WORLD. He, NAMELY YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN IS, “The river shall be drained dry” (Yeshayah 19:5), during the first and second Temples. And the Shechinah, WHICH IS MALCHUT, is dry and arid. Because they caused the upper waters, THE PROVISION, should depart from it, FROM YESOD that is called, “A RIVER EMERGING FROM ADEN” (Beresheet 2:10). And the Shechinah, WHICH IS MALCHUT, remained dry. This is what is written, “Let the waters that are under the heavens gather to one place, and let the dry land appear” (Beresheet 1:9). 418. And everyone who does charity with the poor causes that river, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, to draw the sustenance from Eden, that is the supernal mother, MEANING BINAH FOR WHEN SHE IS RECEIVING CHOCHMAH CALLED ADEN, FOR ZEIR ANPIN WHO IS CALLED RIVER RECEIVES FROM HER “to water the garden” NAMELY MALCHUT, that is called Dalet BECAUSE SHE IS poor (Heb. dalah) and impoverished. And poor is the SECRET of Shabbat. For it has nothing except for what is prepared for it. And the one who fulfills in it Shabbat delight, MEANING THAT HE GIVES IT CHARITY HAPPILY, causes that poor one (Heb. Dalet) to be watered and IS CALLED garden, WHICH IS MALCHUT, and that pauper, YESOD OF ZEIR ANPIN becomes filled and is called river.

Let me further awaken you to the explanation of this mystery, as follows: I have already informed you that the Essential Root of the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה, the Ikar Shechinah, is in the earth. The verse by which to remember this is, (Isaiah 66:1) “the earth is My footrest.” Thus, when the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה (Shechinah) receives beneficence from the blessings that are above, it is called (Genesis 1:10) The gathering of the waters-Mikveh HaMayim -מקוה המים. In contrast, when it does not receive blessings, it is called, Dry land-Yabashah-יבשה. (Genesis 1:9) The verse by which to remember this is, (Genesis 1:10) “God called the dry land-Yabashah-יבשה earth-ארץ and the gathering of waters-Mikveh HaMayim-מקוה המים He called, Seas-ימים.’” Thus, when this quality is dry-Yeveishah-יבשה and lacking, the Jewish people are in a state of hunger and thirst, naked and lacking everything, and they are shed (Neshurim-נשורים) of it. For, the Jewish people are like the leaves, whereas this quality is like the body of the tree.

10. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם said, ‘Let the waters gather.’” (Genesis 1:9)

Now, the city of Zion and Jerusalem will be built and established through this pillar called Yachin-יכין. The sign for this is the verse, (Psalms 68:11) “You prepared-Tachin-תכין in Your goodness-b’Tovatcha-בטובתך for the poor-LeAnee-לעני, O’ God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם.” If you understand three of the words in this verse, these being, “You prepared-Tachin-תכין in Your goodness-b’Tovatcha-בטובתך for the poor-LeAnee-לעני,” you then will know how HaShem of Hosts-HaShem Tzva’ot-יהו״ה צבאו״ת prepares-Meichin-מכין goodness-Tovah-טובה with the quality of E”l Chai-א״ל חי, and bestows all influence and blessing to the quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י, for [by itself] it is empty, like a pauper-Aee-עני who has nothing. The sign for this is the verse, (Genesis 1:9) “Let the waters beneath the heavens-Shamayim-שמים be gathered into one area, and let the dry land-Yabashah-יבשה appear.” Know and contemplate that the characteristics-Techunot-תכונת of all forms and masses, receive their form and structure from this place, when the emanation adheres to His title of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י. All the limbs of man, receive their form and characteristics-Techunatam-תכונתם from this place, as in the secret of the verse, (Deuteronomy 32:6) “He has made you and prepared you-VaYechoninecha-ויכננך.”

And the mystery of the matter: (Gen. 1:9) Let the waters be gathered, beneath the heavens to one place, and the dry land (yabashah) shall be visible.

And the mystery of the matter: (Gen. 1:9) Let the waters be gathered, from under the heavens to one place... etc. ‘One’ (eḥad) is Malkhut, ... and let the dry land be seen – this is sel’a (rock) – Metatron, for whose sake it is stated: (Gen. 2:21) ... and He took one of his ribs (tzel’a) , and He enclosed flesh beneath it...

And on the Festival of Weeks they will emerge, through the merit of Moses, who is ‘the giving of the Torah’ – which is mercy, and he reveals to them the Book of the Torah, and they will gather to Jerusalem, (Gen. 1:9) ... and the dry land will be visible – the wicked kingdom, and He has mercy upon His children, of that: (Deut. 32:11) Like an eagle arousing its nest... Who is ‘His nest?’ Jerusalem is His nest [for the Shekhinah].

And in which place is He poor and is She poor? In the Righteous-One (Yesod) which is the covenant, and because Israel sinned through it below, it is: (Job 14:11) ... a river dried up and parched – in the First and Second Temples. And the Shekhinah is dry and parched in it, because they caused to be gathered-up from it (Yesod) , the ‘higher waters’, and the Shekhinah was left dry. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:9) ... Let the waters be gathered, from beneath the heavens to one place, that the dry land may be seen...

And at that time, She is called ‘the full cup (kos) ’. It is this that is written: (Deut. 33:23) ... and full of the blessing of Ha-Shem, possessing (yarashah) the sea and the south. For on the days of the week, She is called ‘dry land’ (yabashah) , in Metatron. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:9) And ELQYM said: ‘Let the waters be gathered, from beneath the heavens to one place, and let the dry land be visible...’

in the congregation of the Almighty, (Assaf was one of the ten composers who contributed to the Book of Tehillim; he wrote eleven psalms (73-83). The leading Levite musician of his times, he was also endowed with the spirit of prophecy. The Talmud designates psalm 82 for the third day of the week because on the third day of creation, Hashem in His wisdom revealed the earth and established the world for His chosen “congregation.” This is an allusion to Bereishis 1:9 where we read, “Hashem said, ‘Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered (congregate) into one place, so that the dry land may appear.”—Maseches Rosh Hashana 31a)

On Tuesday: Today is the third day of the week, on which the Levites used to recite in the Holy Temple: A psalm of Assaf God stands in the congregation of the Almighty, (Assaf was one of the ten composers who contributed to the Book of Tehillim; he wrote eleven psalms (73-83). The leading Levite musician of his times, he was also endowed with the spirit of prophecy. The Talmud designates psalm 82 for the third day of the week because on the third day of creation, Hashem in His wisdom revealed the earth and established the world for His chosen “congregation.” This is an allusion to Bereishis 1:9 where we read, “Hashem said, ‘Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered (congregate) into one place, so that the dry land may appear.”—Maseches Rosh Hashana 31a) in the midst of the judges He gives judgement. How long will you judge lawlessly and show partiality to the wicked, Selah? Render justice to the lowly and the orphan, deal righteously with the poor and destitute. Rescue the lowly and the needy, save them from the hand of the wicked. They neither know nor understand, (“They” refers to the judges.) they walk along in darkness, all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Justice is one of the three pillars upon which the earth rests ( Maseches Avos 1:18). Without justice there is no stability in the world.) I had said “You are godlike beings, all of you sons of the Most High.” Nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, God, judge the earth, for You will inherit all the nations.

God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

they hastened away. (This sentence describes God’s command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid)

The deep, He covered as with a garment; (God covers the depths of the seas in order to prevent them from overflowing and destroying the world.—Metsudas Dovid) the waters remain on mountains. (Even though the nature of water is to flow downward, God nevertheless ordered that there be water on the highest mountains.—Metsudas Dovid) At Your shout they retreated, at Your thunderous voice they hastened away. (This sentence describes God’s command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid) They go up mountains, down into valleys, to the specific place You founded for them. You set a boundary (The sand is the boundary; the water may not cross it to flood the earth.—Rashi) [which] they may not cross, lest they return to cover the earth.

A psalm of Assaf (Assaf was one of the ten composers who contributed to the Book of Psalms; he wrote eleven psalms (73-83). The leading Levite musician of his times, he was also endowed with the spirit of prophecy.) God stands in the congregation of the Almighty, (The Talmud designates psalm 82 for the third day of the week because on the third day of Creation, God in His wisdom revealed the earth and established the world for His chosen “congregation.” This psalm is an allusion to Genesis 1:9 where we read, “God said, ‘Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered (congregate) into one place, so that the dry land may appear’.”.—Maseches Rosh Hashana 31a) in the midst of the judges He gives judgement. How long will you judge lawlessly and show partiality to the wicked forever? Render justice to the lowly and the orphan, deal righteously with the poor and destitute. Rescue the lowly and the needy, save them from the hand of the wicked. They neither know nor understand, (“They” refers to the judges.) they walk along in darkness, all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Justice is one of the three pillars upon which the earth rests (Maseches Avos 1:18). Without justice there is no stability in the world.) I had said “You are godlike beings, all of you, sons of the Most High.” Nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, God, judge the earth, for You will inherit all the nations.

My soul, bless Adonoy; Adonoy, my God, You are greatly exalted; with beauty and splendor are You clothed. Enwrapped in light, garment-like, He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He Who covers His upper chambers with water, (This refers to the “waters that are above the skies” (Genesis 1:6-7; Psalms 148:14).—Metsudas Dovid) He Who makes clouds His chariot, He Who walks upon wings of wind. He Who makes winds His messengers, flaming fires His servants. He Who established the earth upon its foundations, [so] that it shall never be moved. The deep, He covered as with a garment; (God covers the depths of the seas in order to prevent them from overflowing and destroying the world.—Metsudas Dovid) the waters remain on mountains. (Even though the nature of water is to flow downward, God nevertheless ordered that there be water on the highest mountains.—Metsudas Dovid) At Your shout they retreated, at Your thunderous voice they hastened away. (This sentence describes God's command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid) They go up mountains, down into valleys, to the specific place You founded for them. You set a boundary (The sand is the boundary; the water may not cross it to flood the earth.—Rashi) [which] they may not cross, lest they return to cover the earth. He Who sends springs into streams to flow between the mountains; to water all the beasts of the fields; the wild ones quench their thirst. Over them dwell the birds of the sky, from among the branches, they give voice. [You] Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers, (See footnote 00.) from the fruit of Your works (“The fruit of Your works” refers to the rain which satisfies the needs of the earth.—Metsudas Dovid) the earth is sated. [You] Who causes grass to sprout for cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, to bring forth bread from the earth; wine to cheer the heart of man, to make [his] face shine from oil, and bread to sustain the heart of man. Adonoy's trees are sated, (The trees are satisfied with the rain.) the cedars of Lebanon that He planted; where birds make their nests, the stork—the firs are her home. The high mountains [are] for the wild goats, the rocks a refuge for the rabbits. He made the moon to fix seasons the sun knows its place to set. You make darkness and night comes, in which move about all the beasts of the forest. —The young lions roar for prey, and seek their food from the Almighty. [When] the sun rises, they gather and come into their dens to lie. Man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. How many are Your works, Adonoy! You made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions! This sea, great and wide— therein are innumerable creeping things, animals small and great. There ships travel; this Leviathan (According to tradition, God created the Leviathan with a mate but slew her in order that they not reproduce. Because of their tremendous size, they would have brought much destruction to the world (See Rashi in Genesis 1:21).—Rashi) You formed to frolic with. They all look to You expectantly, to provide their food in its time. [When] You give it to them, they gather it in; [when] You open Your hand, they are sated with goodness. Whey You hide Your face, (When God withdraws His sustaining power from any creature or being, it perishes.) they are panic-stricken; When You gather in their breath, they perish, and to their dust they return. When You send Your spirit, (This refers to the era when God will restore life to the dead.—Rashi) they will be created [anew]; and You will renew the face of the earth. The glory of Adonoy will endure forever, Adonoy will rejoice in His works— Who gazes upon the earth and it trembles; Who touches the mountains and they erupt. I will sing to Adonoy with my life; I will offer hymns to my God as long as I am alive. May my words be pleasant to Him; I will rejoice in Adonoy. (When God accepts my prayer, I will rejoice in His deliverance.—Metsudas Dovici) Sin will be excised from the earth, and the wicked will be no more; My soul bless Adonoy, Praise God.

The deep, He covered as with a garment; (God covers the depths of the seas in order to prevent them from overflowing and destroying the world.—Metsudas Dovid) the waters remain on mountains. (Even though the nature of water is to flow downward, God nevertheless ordered that there be water on the highest mountains.—Metsudas Dovid) At Your shout they retreated, at Your thunderous voice they hastened away. (This sentence describes God's command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid) They go up mountains, down into valleys, to the specific place You founded for them. You set a boundary (The sand is the boundary; the water may not cross it to flood the earth.—Rashi) [which] they may not cross, lest they return to cover the earth.

A psalm of Assaf (Assaf was one of the ten composers who contributed to the Book of Psalms; he wrote eleven psalms (73-83). The leading Levite musician of his times, he was also endowed with the spirit of prophecy.) God stands in the congregation of the Almighty, (The Talmud designates psalm 82 for the third day of the week because on the third day of Creation, God in His wisdom revealed the earth and established the world for His chosen “congregation.” This psalm is an allusion to Genesis 1:9 where we read, “God said, ‘Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered (congregate) into one place, so that the dry land may appear’.”.—Maseches Rosh Hashana 31a) in the midst of the judges He gives judgement. How long will you judge lawlessly and show partiality to the wicked forever? Render justice to the lowly and the orphan, deal righteously with the poor and destitute. Rescue the lowly and the needy, save them from the hand of the wicked. They neither know nor understand, (“They” refers to the judges.) they walk along in darkness, all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Justice is one of the three pillars upon which the earth rests (Maseches Avos 1:18). Without justice there is no stability in the world.) I had said "You are godlike beings, all of you, sons of the Most High." Nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, God, judge the earth, for You will inherit all the nations.

they hastened away. (This sentence describes God's command, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place” (Genesis 1:9).—Metsudas Dovid)

in the congregation of the Almighty, (The Talmud designates psalm 82 for the third day of the week because on the third day of Creation, God in His wisdom revealed the earth and established the world for His chosen “congregation.” This psalm is an allusion to Genesis 1:9 where we read, “God said, ‘Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered (congregate) into one place, so that the dry land may appear’.”.—Maseches Rosh Hashana 31a)

Another matter: “Et hamishkan” – as it is equal to the rest of the world, which is called a tent, just as the Tabernacle is called a tent. How so? It is written: “In the beginning, God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1). And it is written: “He spreads the heavens like a sheet” (Psalms 104:2). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “You shall make sheets of goats’ hair as a tent over the Tabernacle…” (Exodus 26:7). On the second, it is written: “Let there be a firmament…and let it divide…” (Genesis 1:6). Regarding the Tabernacle it is written: “The curtain shall divide for you” (Exodus 26:33). On the third: “Let the water under the heavens [be gathered to one place]” (Genesis 1:9). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a basin of bronze and its base of bronze for washing…” (Exodus 30:18). On the fourth, “let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). In the Tabernacle, “You shall craft a candelabrum of pure gold…” (Exodus 25:31). On the fifth, “let birds fly over the earth…” (Genesis 1:20). In the Tabernacle, “the cherubs shall be spreaders of wings” (Exodus 25:20). On the sixth, man was created. In the Tabernacle, “you, draw Aaron your brother near to you” (Exodus 28:1). On the seventh, “the heavens…were completed” (Genesis 2:1). In the Tabernacle, “all the work of the Tabernacle…was completed” (Exodus 39:32). In the creation of the world it is written: “God blessed” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “he (Moses) blessed them” (Exodus 39:43). On the seventh, “God completed [vaykhal]” (Genesis 2:2). In the Tabernacle, “it was on the day that Moses concluded [kalot].” On the seventh, “and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3). In the Tabernacle, “and sanctified it” (Numbers 7:1). That is, “et hamishkan.”

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rav Beivai: “Let the water…be gathered [yikavu]” (Genesis 1:9) – let a set measure be established for the water, just as it is stated: “A plumb line [kav] (A kav is a measure used in building.) will be extended over Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:16). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Levi: [It means,] let the water eagerly wait [yekavu] for Me, for what I am going to do with it in the future. (After confining it at first, when it is time to bring the Flood I will allow it to cover the entire earth once again.) This is analogous to a king who built a palace and settled mute residents in it. They would rise early and greet the king with gestures with fingers and with kerchiefs. The king said: If they, who are mute, rise early and greet me with gestures with fingers, if they could speak, all the more so. The king then settled speaking residents in it. They rose up and seized the palace, and said: This palace is not the king’s; it is ours. The king said: Let the palace be restored to its previous state. So, in the beginning, the praises of the Holy One blessed be He would arise only from the water, as it is written: “It is from the sound of many waters…” (Psalms 93:4). What would they say? “The Lord is mighty on High” (Psalms 93:4). The Holy One blessed be He said: If these [waters] that have no ability to talk and speak and yet they laud Me, when man will be created, all the more so. [But] the generation of Enosh rose up and rebelled against Him, the generation of the Flood rebelled against him, the generation of the Dispersion rebelled against Him. The Holy One blessed be He said: Let these [mankind] be expelled and let these [waters] come back. That is what is written: “The Lord said: I will obliterate man whom I have created.” What do they think – that I need lions, or regiments of soldiers? Did I not create the world with [mere] speech? I will eradicate them from the world with speech. Rabbi Berekhya said: Did I not create them only from soil? What washes away soil? It is water.

“God made the firmament, and divided between the water that was under the firmament and the water that was above the firmament; and it was so” (Genesis 1:7). “God made the firmament” – this is one of the verses due to which ben Zoma stirred up commotion in the world. “[God] made”? This is bewildering; for were they not [brought about] by God’s mere word? That is, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; by the breath of His mouth, all their hosts” (Psalms 33:6). (The verb “made” is employed in reference to something formed by the word of God.) Why is “that it was good” not written regarding the second day? (As it is regarding all the other days of Creation.) Rabbi Yoḥanan taught it in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥalafta: It is because Gehenna was created on it, as it is stated: “For the inferno is arranged from yesterday” (Isaiah 30:33) – a day that has a yesterday, but does not have a day before yesterday. Rabbi Ḥanina says: It is because division was created, as it is stated: “And let it divide between water and water.” Rabbi Tavyomei said: If on account of division that is for the improvement of the world and its settlement, there is no “that it was good,” division that causes turmoil in the world, all the more so. Rabbi Shmuel [bar Naḥman] said: It is because the work of creating water was not completed. (Only on the third day did the water assume its final form (Genesis 1:9).) That is why “that it was good” is written twice on the third day; once for the work of creating the water, and once for the other work done on that day. A certain noblewoman asked Rabbi Yosei, saying to him: ‘Why is “that it was good” not written regarding the second day?’ He said to her: ‘Nevertheless, it ultimately returned and included everything at the end, as it is stated: “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good”’ (Genesis 1:31). She said to him: ‘This is analogous to six people who come to you and you give each one of them a maneh, but to one of them you do not give a maneh. You then give one maneh for everyone [to be divided among them] – will the result not be that they all have a maneh and a sixth in their hands, but one of them has only one sixth of a maneh in his hand?’ This was a rhetorical question. He then said to her in accordance with what Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: ‘It is because the work of creating water was not completed.’ That is why “that it was good” is written twice on the third day; once for the work of creating water, and once for the other work done on that day. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥanilai: It is written: “He tells the outcome from the outset” (Isaiah 46:10) – from the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He foresaw that Moses would be called “good” (Exodus 2:2) and that he was destined to receive his [punishment] because of it [water]. (Because of his wrongful actions at the Waters of Meriva (Numbers 20:12–13).) That is why “that it was good” is not written regarding it. Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: This is analogous to a king who had a ruthless legion. The king said: ‘Since this legion is ruthless, let my name not be written in association with it.’ So, too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Since the generation of the Flood, the generation of Enosh, and the generation of the Dispersion were all penalized by it [water], therefore, let “that it was good” not be written in association with it.’

“God said: Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the water…be gathered [yikavu]” – it is written: “At Your rebuke they fled; at the sound [of Your thunder they rushed away]” (Psalms 104:7). Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Ami: Let a set measure be established for the water, as it says: “A plumb line [kav] (A kav is used for measurement in building.) will be extended over Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:16). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let the water eagerly await [yekavu] for Me, for what I am going to do with it in the future.’ This is analogous to a king who built a palace and settled mute people in it. They would rise early and inquire regarding the king’s wellbeing with gestures, with fingers, and with kerchiefs. The king said: ‘If they could speak, would it not be even more so?’ This was a rhetorical question. The king then settled speaking residents in it. They rose and seized the palace and said: ‘This palace is not the king’s; it is ours.’ The king said: ‘Let the palace be restored to its previous state.’ So, from the beginning of the creation of the world the praises of the Holy One blessed be He would arise only from the water, as it is written: “It is from the sound of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea” (Psalms 93:4). What would they say? “The Lord is mighty on High” (Psalms 93:4). [God said:] ‘If these [waters] that have no ability to talk and speak, and yet they laud Me, when I create Man, all the more so.’ [But] the generation of the Flood arose and rebelled against Him, the generation of Enosh arose and rebelled against Him, the generation of the Dispersion arose and rebelled against Him. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let these [mankind] be expelled, and let those who had dwelled here before arise and come back.’ That is what is written: “The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7:12).

“To one place” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon say: The world in its entirety was all water, and you say “[gathered] to one place”? This is bewildering. It is analogous to ten inflated wineskins that were located in a hall. The king needed their space. What did he do to them? He untied them, let their air out, and removed them into a corner. So, the Holy One blessed be He trod upon the primordial waters (Pushing them down.) and diverted them into the ocean. That is what is written: “Behold, He halts [ya’atzor] (Ya’atzor can also mean He presses.) the water and it dries…” (Job 12:15); “He treads on the crests of the sea” (Job 9:8).

Rabbi Levi said: The waters said to one another: ‘Let us go and fulfill the command of the Holy One blessed be He.’ That is what is written: “The rivers raise, Lord; the rivers raise their voices. [The rivers boost their towering waves [dokhyam]]” (Psalms 93:3). Rabbi Levi said: [They exclaimed:] ‘Via the sea [derekh yam], via the sea.’ Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: ‘To such-and-such place [dukhta], to such-and-such corner, such-and-such waves.’ Rav Huna said: ‘To this sea [hadakh yama], to this sea.’ Rabbi Yehoshua bar Ḥanina said: ‘To water channels [dukhsa yam], to water channels.’ Rabbi Elazar said: The sea absorbed them, just as you say: “Have you entered into the depths of the sea?” (Job 38:16) – within the boundaries of the sea. The Rabbis say: [The waters exclaimed:] ‘We are pressed down [dokhim], receive us. We are broken [medukhanim], receive us.’ Rabbi Yehoshua ben Rabbi Neḥemya said: The water would ascend mountains and descend depths until it reached the ocean. That is what is written: “They rose to the mountains, descended [in the valleys to the place You established for them]” (Psalms 104:8). What place did You establish for them? This is the ocean. Rabbi Abahu expounded: The ocean is higher than the entire world, and the whole world in its entirety drinks from its water.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Holy One blessed be He stipulated a condition with the sea [upon its creation] that it should split before Israel. That is what is written: “The sea returned to its power [le’eitano]” (Exodus 14:27), in accordance with its condition [litna’o] that He stipulated with it. Rabbi Yirmeya ben Elazar said: It is not only with the sea alone that the Holy One blessed be He stipulated, but with everything that was created during the six days of Creation. That is what is written: “My hands stretched the heavens and commanded all their host” (Isaiah 45:12) – right from when “My hands stretched the heavens,” “I commanded all their host.” I commanded the sea that it should split before Israel. I commanded the heavens and the earth that they should be silent before Moses, as it is stated: “Listen, the heavens, and I will speak, and the earth will hear the sayings of my mouth” (Deuteronomy 32:1). I commanded the sun and the moon that they should stand still before Joshua, as it is stated: “Sun, stand still at Givon; [and Moon, in the Valley of Ayalon]” (Joshua 10:12). I commanded the ravens that they should sustain Elijah, as it is stated: “The ravens would bring him bread and meat…” (I Kings 17:6). I commanded the fire that it should not harm Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. I commanded the lions that they should not harm Daniel. I commanded the heavens that they should open before Ezekiel, as it is stated: “The heavens opened…” (Ezekiel 1:1). I commanded the fish that it should spew out Jonah, as it is stated: “The Lord said to the fish, and it spewed out Jonah” (Jonah 2:11).

Rabbi Elazar said: At the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One blessed be He decreed: “Let the water…be gathered.” Why [is it written:] “He calls the water of the sea” (Amos 5:8), “He calls the water of the sea” (Amos 9:6) twice? Once for the generation of the Flood and once for the generation of Enosh. (The implied question is: Since God decreed at creation that the waters should be limited to one place, how is it that they subsequently came back and covered the earth? (see Devarim Rabba 10:2).) It is because: “God acted so they would be in fear of Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). This is analogous to a province that rebelled against the king. The king sent a powerful legion and surrounded it so that the residents of the province would see it and be in fear of him. So, why is it that: “He heaps together the water of the sea”? (Psalms 33:7). It is so “the entire earth would be in fear of the Lord…” (Psalms 33:8). (The water was gathered together into one place so that men would see it and be in fear that it may come back and cover them.)

The way of the world is that a person empties a full vessel into an empty vessel. Can one, perhaps, pour a full vessel into a full vessel? The world in its entirety is all water, and yet you say “to one place”? But from here [we see] that a smaller space was able to contain a greater amount [than its size]. Kohelet and in Vayikra Rabba 19:9>. Similarly, “Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly [to the front of the rock]” (Numbers 20:10). It [the front of the rock] was the size of a small sieve, and yet all of Israel was standing before it? But from here [we see] that a smaller space was able to contain a greater amount [than its size]. Similarly, “the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take for yourselves [cupped handfuls of soot of a furnace]” (Exodus 9:8). Rav Huna said: Did Moses’s cupped hand hold eight clenched handfuls? This is bewildering. A cupped handful and a clenched handful are not the same; a cupped handful holds twice as much as a clenched handful. (God told Moses and Aaron (two people) to take “handfuls”, in the plural, indicating two handfuls each, totaling four handfuls, each handful being equal to two clenched handfuls, for a total of eight.) And it is written: “Moses threw it” (Exodus 9:8). (And to throw powerfully one must use one hand.) It emerges, then, that the cupped hand of Moses held eight clenched handfuls. But from here [we see] that a smaller space was able to contain a greater amount [than its size]. Similarly, Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: “The length of the courtyard shall be one hundred cubits and the width shall be fifty on each side” (Exodus 27:18), and yet all of Israel could stands inside of it? (See Leviticus 8:3.) This is bewildering. But from here [we see] that a smaller space was able to contain a greater amount [than its size]. Similarly, “Joshua said to the children of Israel: Come here…” (Joshua 3:9). Rav Huna said: He had them stand up between the two staves of the Ark. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: He had them all lean on one another between the two staves of the Ark. Rava said: He crowded them between the two staves of the Ark. Joshua said to them: ‘From the fact that the two staves of the Ark was able to contain you all, you may know that the Divine Presence of the Holy One blessed be He is in your midst.’ That is what is written: “Joshua said: With this you will know that the living God is in your midst” (Joshua 3:10). This was so in Jerusalem, too, as we learned: They stood crowded, but prostrated themselves spaciously. (Yoma 21a.) Rabbi Shmuel ben Rabbi Ḥana said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: There were four cubits for each person to occupy, and a [further] cubit on each side so that none of them would hear the prayer of the other. This will be so in the future, too, as it is stated: “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord, and all the nations will be gathered into it” (Jeremiah 3:17). Rabbi Yoḥanan ascended to inquire after the wellbeing of Rabbi Ḥanina and found him sitting and expounding this verse: “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord, [and all the nations will be gathered into it].” He said to him: ‘Can Jerusalem contain the Throne of the Lord?’ (And all the nations.) He said to him: ‘The Holy One blessed is He will say to it: Expand and extend and receive your populations.’ That is what is written: “Expand the place of your tent” (Isaiah 54:3). Why? “For you will spread out right and left…” (Isaiah 54:3).

“God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas, and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10). “God called the dry land Earth [eretz].” Why was it called eretz? It is because it hastened [ratzeta] to perform the will of its Maker. (By beginning to expand.) Rabbi Natan in the name of Rabbi Aḥa, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “I am God Almighty [shadai]” (Genesis 17:1) – I am the One who [she] said to the heavens and the earth: Enough [dai]. Had it not been so, they would have continually stretched out until now. “And the gathering of the waters He called Seas” – Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥalafta said: Is it not only one sea? (“The gathering of waters” is in the singular, indicating that the verse is referring to one body of water.) Why does the verse state “Seas”? However, the taste of a fish that comes up in Akko is not similar to one that comes up in Sidon or one that comes up in Spain. (Even in a single body of water (the Mediterranean), there are several distinct sections. )

What the verse said: “I know that everything that God does, it will be forever; one cannot add to it…” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: What is “one cannot add to it…”? So said the Holy One blessed be He, from the beginning of the creation of the world: “Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place…” (Genesis 1:9). Why is it written: “Who summons the waters of the sea and pours them upon the face of the earth; the Lord is His name”? (Amos 5:8). “So they would be in fear of Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14) – so the people would be in fear of Him. To what is the matter comparable? It is to a province that revolted against the king. What did the king do? He brought a mighty legion and surrounded it, so that the residents of the province would see it and be in fear of it. Another matter, thus the Holy One blessed be He created His world – day would be day and night would be night. Jacob came and rendered the day night, as the Holy One blessed be He set the sun for him not at its appointed time, as it is stated: “He encountered the place because the sun had set, and stayed the night there” (Genesis 28:11). Joshua came and rendered the night day, as it is stated: “Sun, stand still at Givon” (Joshua 10:12). The righteous deduct and add to the words of the Holy One blessed be He, so that the people will be in fear of Him. Another matter, thus the Holy One blessed be He created His world – the sea would be sea and the dry land would be dry land. Moses came and rendered the sea dry land, as it is stated: “And the children of Israel went on the dry land in the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:29). Elisha came and rendered the dry land sea, as it is stated: “So said the Lord: I will make this ravine full of pools…but this ravine will be filled with water” (II Kings 3:16–17). Thus the Holy One blessed be He created the world – the winter would be winter and the summer would be summer. Elijah came and rendered the winter summer, as so it is written: “As the Lord…lives, there shall be neither dew nor rain during these years except by my word” (I Kings 17:1). Samuel came and rendered the summer winter, as so it is written: “Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He will dispatch thunder and rain” (I Samuel 12:17). Another matter, thus the Holy One blessed be He created, the upper worlds for the residents of the upper worlds, and the lower worlds for the residents of the lower worlds, as so it is written: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, while the earth He has given to the sons of man” (Psalms 115:16). Moses came and brought the residents of the lower worlds to the upper worlds, and the residents of the upper worlds to the lower worlds, as so it is written: “Moses ascended to God…” (Exodus 19:3), [and] “The Lord descended upon Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20). Another matter, thus the Holy One blessed be He created the heavens and the earth, so that they would laud Him. From where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalms 19:2). When Moses came, he silenced them. From where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Listen, the heavens.”

“For who is a great nation that has God near it, as is the Lord our God in all of our calling to Him.” The heretics asked Rabbi Simlai: ‘How many authorities created the world?’ He said to them: ‘Let you and me inquire into the six days of Creation.’ They said to him: ‘Is it written: “In the beginning God [Elo’ah] (Singular) created”? It is written: “In the beginning God [Elohim] (Plural) created”’ (Genesis 1:1). He said to them: ‘Is created [baru]” (Plural) written? “Created [bara]” (Singular) is written. And is it written: “God said [vayomeru] (Plural) let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:7); “[God said:] Let the water…be gathered” (Genesis 1:9); “[God said:] Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14)? “Said [vayomer]” (Singular) is written.’ When they reached the action of the sixth day, they rejoiced. They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26)?’ He said to them: ‘It is not written here, “They created man in their images,” but rather, “God created man in His image”’ (Genesis 1:27). They said to him: ‘But is it not written: “For who is a great nation that has God near [kerovim] (Plural) it”?’ He said to them: ‘But is it written: “As is the Lord our God in all of our calling to them”? It is written, “[As is the Lord our God] in all of our calling to Him.”’

“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her. Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them” (Lamentations 1:17). “Zion spread her hands.” It is written: “Would that my head was water and my eyes a source of tears, [and I would weep day and night]” (Jeremiah 8:23). Who said this verse? If you say it was Jeremiah, would it be possible for him not to eat? Would it be possible for him not to sleep? Rather, who said it? One before whom there is neither eating nor sleeping, as it is written: “Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalms 121:4). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Levi: It is written: “God said: Let the water…pool [yikavu]” (Genesis 1:9). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let the water hope [yekavu] to participate in what I am destined to do with them.’ Rabbi Ḥagai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: This is analogous to a king who built palaces, and he settled mute residents in them. Each day they would rise early and inquire after the wellbeing of the king, lauding him with gestures with their fingers. The king said: ‘If these people, who are mute, laud me in this manner, if they were able to speak, all the more so.’ What did he do? He settled residents who could speak in [the palaces]. They arose and took possession of the king’s palace and said: ‘This palace is only ours.’ At that moment, the king said: ‘Let the world be restored to the way that it was.’ So too, at the beginning of the creation of the world, [God’s] praises would ascend only from the water. That is what is written: “It is from the sound of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea” (Psalms 93:4). What would they say? “The Lord is mighty on high” (Psalms 93:4). At that time, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If those who do not have a mouth, a tongue, speech, or articulation, laud me in this way, when I create people, all the more so.’ When He created people, the generation of Enosh and the generation of the Flood stood and rebelled against Him. At that time, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Let the world be restored to the way that it was, as it was stated: “The rain was upon the earth”’ (Genesis 7:12). (God brought the Flood in order to return the world to a state in which water covered the face of the earth.) Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: [This is analogous] to one who had a staff and a wicker basket. (He was poor.) He garnered wealth and purchased a flock. Wolves entered and mauled them. That shepherd said: ‘I will return to that staff and to that wicker basket.’ So too, the shepherd is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Shepherd of Israel, listen! Appear to us, You who led Joseph like a flock, You who sit enthroned above the cherubs” (Psalms 80:2). The flock is Israel, as it is stated: “You are my flock, the flock of My pasture” (Ezekiel 34:31). The wolves who entered His flock and mauled them are the enemies who entered the Temple. At that moment the Holy One blessed be He said: “Would that my head was water and my eyes a source of tears [and I would weep day and night]” (Jeremiah 8:23). It is written: “These I remember, and pour out my soul: [When I used to go with a throng of people in a procession [edadem] to the House of God, a celebrating multitude with voice of song and thanksgiving]” (Psalms 42:5). The congregation of Israel was saying before the Holy One blessed be He: In the past, I would ascend to Jerusalem and the roads were smoothed, and now they are overgrown, as it is stated: “Therefore, behold, I am hedging your way with thorns” (Hosea 2:8). Another matter, “these I remember,” in the past I would ascend and the trees would provide shade over my head, and now it is exposed to the sun. “These I remember,” in the past I would ascend in the shadow of the Holy One blessed be He, and now in the shadow of the kingdoms. “These I remember.” The emperor Vespasian deployed sentries eighteen mil from Pumim. They would question the pilgrims and say to them: ‘With whom are your loyalties?’ They would say to them: ‘We are loyal to Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian.’ Rabbi Berekhya said: The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘In the past I would ascend with baskets of first fruits on my head early in the morning, as they would say: “Arise and let us ascend to Zion” (Jeremiah 31:6). On the roads, they would say: “Our feet were standing at your gates, Jerusalem” (Psalms 122:2). On the Temple Mount, what would they say? “Halleluya. Praise the Almighty in His holy place” (Psalms 150:1). In the Temple courtyard, what would they say? “Let all who breathe praise the Lord” (Psalms 150:6). But now, we are silent [edadem]; we ascend in silence and we descend in silence.’ “These I remember.” In the past, I would ascend with songs and psalms before the Holy One blessed be He, just as it says: “With voice of song and thanksgiving” (Psalms 42:5). But now, I ascend with weeping and I descend with weeping. “These I remember.” In the past, I would ascend with many multitudes in celebration, just as it says: “A celebrating multitude” (Psalms 42:5). Rabbi Levi said: Like this flowing spring that does not cease during the day and at night. But now, I ascend clandestinely and descend clandestinely. “These I remember, and pour out my soul…” Another matter, “Zion spread her hands.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: [This is analogous] to a king who had a son. He was striking him and [the son] said: ‘I sinned.’ He [continued] striking him and [the son] said: ‘I sinned and I have been foolish.’ He continued striking him until [the son] extended his ten fingers before him. (He did this as a sign of contrition, as though to say I have sinned and cannot even express my guilt, or I have sinned and can no longer bear the suffering of my beating.) So too, the Holy One blessed be He was afflicting Jerusalem, and she said: ‘I sinned,’ until, “Zion spread her hands.” “There was no [ein] comforter for her,” Rabbi Levi said: Any place that it is stated: “Has no [ein],” ultimately it will have. “Sarai was barren, she had no [ein] child” (Genesis 11:30), but ultimately she had, as it is stated: “The Lord remembered Sarah” (Genesis 21:1). Similarly, “Hannah had no [ein] children” (I Samuel 1:2), and ultimately she had, as it is stated: “For the Lord remembered Hannah” (I Samuel 2:21). Similarly, “she is Zion, she has no one [ein] seeking her” (Jeremiah 30:17), and ultimately she had, as it is stated: “A redeemer will come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20). So, too, it says: “She has no [ein] comforter,” and ultimately she has, as it is stated: “I, it is I, who am your Comforter” (Isaiah 51:12). “The Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her,” such as Ḥalmish for Naveh, Kistera for Haifa, Susita for Tiberias, Jericho for Neve’eden, Lod for Ono. (In Roman times, the first of each of these pairs of cities was populated by gentiles, who would persecute the Jews living in the adjacent city.) “Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them,” she became distanced.

“I know that everything that God does, it will be forever, one cannot add to it, nor can one subtract from it; God did so, so they would fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). “I know that everything that God does, it will be forever…” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: It would have been fitting for Adam, the first man, to have lived and endured forever. (As the verse states that “everything God does, it will be forever,” and God created Adam.) Why was death imposed upon him? “God did so, so they would fear before Him.” Rabbi Elazar said: From the beginning of the creation of the world it is stated: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). To what purpose? “And let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). Why, then, is it written: “He calls upon the waters of the sea and pours them on the face of the earth; the Lord is His name” (Amos 9:6)? [He did so] twice, once in the generation of the flood and once in the generation of the dispersion, because “God did so, so they would fear before Him.” Reish Lakish said: It is written: “This entire matter that I command you, you shall take care to perform, do not add to it and do not subtract from it” (Deuteronomy 13:1). But the righteous add to it and do not subtract from it. Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: From here [it may be derived] that an altar outside the Temple can be permitted only by a prophet, and Elijah stood and sacrificed at the peak of the Carmel. (Once the Temple was constructed it became prohibited to offer a sacrifice in any other place. However, Elijah the prophet did so on Mount Carmel in a confrontation with idolatrous priests, in order to demonstrate to the people the truth of God and the falsehood of idolatry. See I Kings chapter 18.) Rabbi Samlai of Broyera said: [Elijah] said to Him: “It was by Your word that I performed all these matters” (I Kings 18:36). Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is written: “Your house and your kingdom will remain steadfast” (II Samuel 7:16). When? “If your descendants observe My covenant…” (Psalms 132:12). If not, “I will exact retribution for their transgression with a rod” (Psalms 89:33). Rabbi Yudan said: Great is fear [of God], as the heavens and the earth were created only due to fear; that is what is written: “God did so, so they would fear before Him.” Rabbi Yirmeya said: Great is fear, as Solomon concluded two books that he wrote with nothing other than fear. That is what is written in the book of Proverbs: “Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). In this book, it is written: “The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God [and keep His commandments, for this is all of man]” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish was ascending from Ḥamat Gader, and Rabbi Yonatan encountered him. [R’ Yonatan] said to him: ‘How does my master interpret these verses?’ [Reish Lakish] transmitted the matter to him and this is how these verses are read. (The reference is to the verses the midrash will now quote. The common theme is that the natural world is meant to maintain its basic structure, as indicated by the verse: “I know that everything that God does, it will be forever.”) The Holy One blessed be He decreed that the heavenly shall be the heavenly and the earthly shall be the earthly. Moses rose and transformed the heavenly into the earthly and the earthly into the heavenly. That is what is written: “Moses ascended to God” (Exodus 19:3); “The Lord descended on Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that the earthly shall eat and drink and that the heavenly shall not eat and shall not drink. Abraham rose and made the heavenly eat and drink; that is what is written: “He stood over them under the tree and they ate” (Genesis 18:8). (The midrash assumes that Abraham’s guests, whom he had given to eat, were angels.) Were they eating? Rabbi Natan said: They appeared to be eating; each bit would disappear in turn. Moses rose and made the earthly not eat and drink; that is what is written: “He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, he did not eat bread and he did not drink water” (Exodus 34:28). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that sea shall be sea and that dry land shall be dry land. Moses rose and transformed sea into dry land. That is what is written: “The children of Israel came into the midst of the sea on dry land” (Exodus 14:16). Elisha, the disciple of his disciple, transformed dry land into sea. That is what is written: “Make this valley full of trenches…[that valley will be filled with water]” (II Kings 3:16–17). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that the heavens shall laud him, as it is stated: “The heavens relate the glory of God” (Psalms 19:2). Moses rose and silenced them, as it is stated: “Listen heavens, and I will speak” (Deuteronomy 32:1). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that the sun and the moon shall laud him, as it is stated: “From the rising of the sun until its setting, the name of God is praised [mehulal]” (Psalms 113:3); it is written mehalel [praises]. (The word praised [mehulal] is written without a vav, such that it can be vocalized mehalel [praises]. Thus, instead of the verse stating “the name God is praised,” the verse can be read “the name of God it praises.”) Joshua, [Moses’s] disciple, rose and silenced them, as it is stated: “Sun, stand still in Givon; and Moon, in the valley of Ayalon” (Joshua 10:12). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that summer shall be summer and that winter shall be winter. Samuel rose and transformed summer into winter, as it is stated: “Is it not wheat harvest today? [I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain]” (I Samuel 12:17). (In the land of Israel, it generally rains only during the winter. The wheat harvest occurs in late spring.) Elijah rose and transformed winter into summer, as it is stated: “There shall not be dew or rain these years, except by my word” (I Kings 17:1). Likewise, the Holy One blessed be He decreed that day shall be day and night shall be night. Jacob, our patriarch, rose and transformed day into night, as it is stated: “He encountered the place, and stayed the night there, because the sun had set [ki va]” (Genesis 28:11); in fact, He extinguished [kava] the sun. (God made the sun set early so that Jacob would spend the night in that location.) The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He set the sun prematurely and spoke with him in private. This is analogous to a friend of the king who would visit him infrequently. The king would attend to all the residents of the province on his request, and he would say: ‘Extinguish the torches and lamps so I can speak with my friend in private.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He concealed the sun prematurely and spoke with Jacob in private. Deborah and Barak rose and transformed night into day. That is what is written: “Deborah and Barak ben Avinoam sang…on that day” (Judges 5:1). Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiyya [said] in the name of Rabbi Simon: Six miracles were performed on that day: On that day they came, (The people came to Deborah to ask for help in the war against the Canaanites.) on that day they sent for him (She sent for Barak.) and he sent. (Barak sent messengers to marshal the forces.) On that day they waged war. On that day Sisera was killed. On that day they distributed the spoils. On that day they recited a song, as it is stated: “Deborah and Barak ben Avinoam sang…on that day.” (These events, some of which individually took longer than the average length of a day, all took place on the same miraculously lengthy day.)

... R’ Eliezer haModa’i says: “Why do you cry out to Me?” (Exodus 14:15) Do I need to be told what to do regarding my children?! “…concerning My children and the work of My hands do you command Me?” (Isaiah 45:11) Were they not already prepared before Me from the six days of creation? As it says “If these laws depart from before Me, says the Lord, so will the seed of Israel cease being a nation before Me for all time.” (Jeremiah 31:35) Others say: Israel did a great thing. For the sake of the faith with which they believed in Me it is worth it to split the sea. For they did not say to Moshe ‘how can we go out into this barren wilderness without supplies for the journey?!’ Rather, they had faith and followed after Moshe, as it says in the prophets “Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: so said the Lord: I remember to you the lovingkindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown.” (Jeremiah 2:2) What reward did they receive for this? “Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of His grain; all who eat him shall be guilty, evil shall befall them, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 2:3) R’ Yosi haGalili says: when Israel entered the sea Mount Moriah was already uprooted from its place, together with the altar of Yitzchak which was built on it with the wood all laid out. It was as if Yitzchak was bound and placed on the altar and Avraham had stretched out his hand to take the knife and slaughter his son, as it says “And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife, to slaughter his son.” (Genesis 22:10) God (HaMakom) said to Moshe: Moshe, my children are in distress, the sea is closing, the enemy is pursuing and you stand there drawing out your prayer?! He said before Him: and what should I do? He replied: “And you raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea…” (Exodus 14:16) You should elevate, exalt, give song, exultation, thanksgiving, greatness, splendor, glory and praise to He to whom all battles belong.

R. Meir says: If for Adam, who was alone, I made dry land (viz. Genesis 1:9), for this assembly of holy ones shall I not make dry land?

(Gen. 2:4:) THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. This text is related (to Prov. 3:19): THROUGH WISDOM THE LORD FOUNDED THE EARTH. You find that through wisdom the Holy One created heaven and earth. (Targum Neofiti I, Gen. 1:1; Frag. (Jerusalem) Targum, Gen. 1:1; Tanh., Gen. 1:1.) R. Azariah said in the name of Resh Laqish: On the first day he created heaven and earth. Five days were left over. He created above and below on alternate days. On the second day he created the firmament above. On the third day (in Gen. 1:9): LET THE WATERS BE GATHERED below. On the fourth day (in Gen. 1:14): LET THERE BE LIGHTS above. On the fifth day (in Gen. 1:20): LET THE WATERS SWARM below. The sixth day remained for creating. The Holy One said: If I create above, the earth will be angry; but if I create below, the heavens will be angry. What did the Holy One do? He created Adam below with breath from above. Thus it says (in Prov. 3:19): THROUGH WISDOM THE LORD FOUNDED THE EARTH.

(Exod. 9:22:) THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: HOLD OUT YOUR ARM TOWARD THE HEAVENS …. This text is related (to Ps. 115:3): {THE LORD} [HE] HAS DONE WHATEVER HE PLEASED…. (Tanh., Exod. 2:15; Exod. R. 12:3.) The Holy One said (in vs. 16): THE HEAVENS ARE HEAVENS BELONGING TO THE LORD, . To what is the matter comparable? To a king who uttered a decree for the children of Rome not to go down to Syria and for the children of Syria not to go up to Rome. So it is with the Holy One. When he created [the beings on high, he said] (in Ps. 115:16): THE HEAVENS ARE HEAVENS BELONGING TO THE LORD, [BUT THE EARTH HE GAVE OVER TO THE CHILDREN OF ADAM]. When the Holy One wished to give Torah to Israel, he repealed the first decree and said: let those below ascend to those on high and those on high descend to those below. And I will be the one who begins. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 19:20): AND THE LORD CAME DOWN UPON MOUNT SINAI. It is also written (in Exod. 24:1): THEN HE SAID UNTO MOSES: GO UP UNTO THE LORD…. Ergo (in Ps. 115:3) THE LORD HE HAS DONE WHATEVER HE PLEASED [in the heavens and on earth]. when he wanted he said (in Gen. 1:9): LET THE WATERS BE GATHERED . And when he wanted he spoke and made the sea into dry ground, as stated (in Exod. 14:29): BUT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WENT THROUGH THE SEA [ON DRY GROUND],…

At Thy rebuke they fled (ibid.). When a man sees that his winepress is filled with grapes, and that his vineyard is ready for cutting, others may ask him: “What will you do with these grapes, since the vat is too small to contain them?” What does he do? He treads down the grapes in the vat and then puts in the new grapes. Then it is able to contain all his grapes. Similarly, though the entire world was submerged under water, the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Let the dry earth appear (Gen. 1:9). The water thereupon cried out: “Though we fill the entire world, it is cramped for us. Whither shall we go?” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He trampled upon the ocean (Normally the Mediterranean, but in this instance, as indicated a few lines below, the Dead Sea.) and slew its prince, (See Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 5:26, Bava Batra 74b Leviathan was a legendary sea animal destined to be eaten by the righteous in the future.) as it is said: He stirreth up the sea with His power, and by His understanding he smiteth through Rahab (Job 26:12). Smiteth is an expression that indicates slaying, as it is said: And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head, yea, she pierced and struck through his temple (Judg. 5:26). The seas mourn (bohin) to this very day because He slew the prince of the sea, as is said: Hast thou entered into the springs (nibhe) of the sea? (Job 38:16). Why did He slay him? Because a house that can accommodate a hundred living people can contain a thousand dead. That is why the ocean is called the Dead Sea. Ultimately, however, the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal it, as it is said: When they shall enter into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed (Ezek. 47:8). When the other waters observed that the Holy One, blessed be He, had trampled upon the ocean, they fled from the loud cries of their fellow-waters, as it is said: At Thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of Thy thunder they hastened away (Ps. 104:7).

They fled, but they did not know where to flee, as it is said: The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, unto the place which Thou hast founded for them (ibid., v. 8). This may be compared to a slave whose master commands him to wait for him in the market but neglects to tell him where to wait. The slave asks himself: “Perhaps my master meant that I should wait near the basilica, or the bathhouse, or the theater.” When they finally meet, the master slaps him on the face, and says: “I sent you to the gate of the duke’s palace.” Similarly, when the waters heard the decree, Let the waters underneath the heavens gather in one place (Gen. 1:9), they did not know whether (they were to go) to the north or the south. And so, they raced about, as it is said: The mountains rose, the valley sank (Ps. 104:8), until the Holy One, blessed be He, struck them, and declared: I ordered you to assemble at the place of the Leviathan, as is said: There go the ships; there is the leviathan, whom Thou hast formed to sport therein (ibid., v. 26).

R. Jacob the son of Issi asked: Why does it say; I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth? Because the Tabernacle is equal to the creation of the world itself. How is that so? Concerning the first day, it is written: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and it is written elsewhere: Who stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2), and concerning the Tabernacle it is written: And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7). About the second day of creation it states: Let there be a firmament and divide between them, and let it divide the waters from the waters (Gen. 1:6). About the Tabernacle it is written: And the veil shall divide between you (Exod. 26:33). With regard to the third day it states: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered (Gen. 1:9). With reference to the Tabernacle it is written: Thou shalt also make a laver of brass … and thou shalt put water therein (Exod. 30:18). On the fourth day he created light, as is stated: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven (Gen. 1:14), and concerning the Tabernacle it is said: And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold (Exod. 25:31). On the fifth day He created birds, as it is said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the fowl fly above the earth (Gen. 1:20), and with reference to the Tabernacle. He directed them to offer sacrifices of lambs and birds, and it says as well: And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high (Exod. 25:20). On the sixth day he created man, as it is said: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27), and about the Tabernacle it is written: A man who is a high priest who has been anointed to serve and to minister before God. (You write that this is not a direct quote from the Bible.) On the seventh day The heaven and the earth were finished (Gen. 2:1), and with regard to the Tabernacle it is written: Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle (Exod. 39:32). Concerning the creation of the world it is written: And God blessed (Gen. 2:3), and of the Tabernacle it is said: And Moses blessed them (Exod. 39:43); with regard to the creation it is said: And God finished (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle it is written: On that day Moses made an end (Num. 7:1); of creation it says: And hallowed it (Gen. 2:2), and of the Tabernacle: And had anointed it and sanctified it (Num. 7:1). Why is the Tabernacle equal to heaven and earth? Because even as heaven and earth bear witness concerning Israel, as it is written: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day (Deut. 30:19), so the Tabernacle bears witness in behalf of Israel, as is said: These are the accounts of the Tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the testimony (Exod. 38:21). Hence it is said: Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8).

When He desired it to happen, He said: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together (Gen. 1:9). And when He was so inclined, He made the sea become dry and turn into land, as is said: And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, upon the dry ground (Exod. 14:22). Therefore, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that hath He done, etc. With regard to the heavens, it is said: Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven that there may be hail (ibid. 9:22), and in reference to the earth it is stated: Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth (ibid. 8:12). What is written above concerning this matter? For now I have stretched out My hand … But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand (ibid. 9:16), so that you will not die as a result of the first plague, and so that My name may be declared throughout all earth (ibid., v. 36).

A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day. Rabbi Yitzchak said (Exodus 16:29), "See that the Lord has given you the Sabbath." What is meant by "see"? Rabbi Yosei of Marganita said, "[It means] it was given to you." Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Every engagement of the Sabbath is doubled." The omer offering is doubled (Leviticus 23:16), [combining] the two omer offerings into one. Its sacrifice is doubled (Numbers 28:9), with two lambs offered on the Sabbath day. Its punishment is doubled (Exodus 31:14), one who violates it shall surely be put to death. Its reward is doubled (Isaiah 58:13), "And you shall call the Sabbath a delight, the holy [day] of the Lord honored." Its warnings are doubled, "Remember" and "Keep." Its Psalm is doubled, "A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day." This is what the verse means when it says (Ecclesiastes 1:2), "Vanity of vanities," said Kohelet, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Kohelet said there are seven vanities. One vanity is [the fact] that the seven days of Creation correspond to it. Solomon said, "What was created on the first day? The heavens and the earth. And what will be their end? 'The heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment' (Isaiah 51:6)." [This is] vanity. [He said,] "And what was created on the second day? The firmament. And what will be its end? 'And the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll' (Isaiah 34:4)." [This is] vanity. [He said,] "And what was created on the third day? The gathering of the waters. And what will be their end? 'And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea' (Isaiah 11:15)." [This is] vanity. [He said,] "And what was created on the fourth day? The luminaries. As it is said (Genesis 1:17), 'And God set them in the firmament of the heaven.' And what will be their end? 'And the moon will be confounded' (Isaiah 24:23)." [This is] vanity. [He said,] And what was created on the fifth day? "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures" (Genesis 1:20). And what is their end? "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth" (Zephaniah 1:2). Says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities!" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). And what was created on the sixth day? Man. And what is his end? "For you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities!" And what was created on the seventh day, the Sabbath? He looked around to see if there was any flaw in it, but found it all holy and serene. Rabbi Isaac said that afterwards he saw that man sinned on it and was held accountable, and he also said, "This too is vanity." Thus, all seven days are considered vanity. As it says, "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:11). The reason why all seven days are considered vanity is that on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, no work is done. This is expressed by the phrase "And there was evening and there was morning, the seventh day" (Genesis 2:2-3). This is similar to a king who had a precious vessel that he did not want to bequeath to anyone but his son. Similarly, Thus, the Sabbath is a day of rest and holiness, and God only wanted to bestow it upon the Israelites. Know that it was the same when the Israelites left Egypt, before they were given the Torah, God gave them the Sabbath and they observed two Sabbaths until they received the Torah, as it is said in Nehemiah 9:14, "You made known to them Your holy Sabbath." And the Lord blessed and sanctified the Sabbath, and the Israelites are obligated to sanctify it. It is known that every forty years that the Israelites were in the wilderness, during the six days of the week, God provided them with manna, but on the Sabbath, no manna would come down, not because God lacked the power to give it, but because of the Sabbath. When the people saw this, they also observed the Sabbath, as it is said in Exodus 16:30, "So the people rested on the seventh day." Then God said, "This Sabbath I have given to Israel as a sign between Me and them." During the six days of creation, God worked on the world, and on the Sabbath, He rested. Therefore, it is said in Exodus 31:17, "Between Me and the children of Israel, it is a sign forever." God created seven heavens, but He did not choose any of them as His dwelling place except the Sabbath, as it is said in Psalm 68:5, "A father of orphans and a judge of widows is God in His holy dwelling." God created seven lands, but He did not choose any of them except for the land of Israel, as it is said in Deuteronomy 11:12, As it is said (Deuteronomy 11:12) "the eyes of God are always upon it." I created seven seas, and from all of them, I chose none except the Sea of Galilee, which I gave as an inheritance to the tribe of Naphtali. As it is said (Joshua 19:32-33) "Naphtali, he possesses the Sea and the south." I created seven worlds, and from all of them, I chose none except the seventh. Six were created for coming and going, and one, the entire seventh, was created for rest and repose for the life of the world. I created seven days, and from all of them, I chose none except the seventh day, as it is said (Genesis 2:3) "God blessed the seventh day." I created seven cycles of seven years, and from all of them, I chose none except the year of release, as it is said (Deuteronomy 15:1) "At the end of every seven years, you shall grant a release." And anyone who observes the Sabbath, the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives all his sins, as it is said (Isaiah 56:2) "Happy is the man who does this, he who holds fast to the Sabbath, not profaning it. And he who abstains from evil shall find favor."

Another thing the rivers of God lifted up. Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Ben Azai that the waters were rising and reaching up to the throne of glory, as it is said, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And it also says, "As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). And when the bee emerges from the mouth of the Almighty (Genesis 9:10), the waters would gather together. Mountains and hills rose up from the ends of the earth and spread throughout the land, creating valleys upon valleys in the midst of the earth, and the waters would roll and gather into the valleys, as it is said, "And he called the gathering of the waters 'Seas'" (Genesis 1:10). Immediately, the waters swelled and covered the land, until God rebuked them and pressed them beneath His feet, forming a border for the sea as a man makes a fence around his vineyard. And when the waters rose and saw the sand before them, they receded, as it is said, "Fear not, O Jacob My servant," says the Lord, "for I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations where I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished" (Jeremiah 46:28). And before the waters were gathered together, the deeps were created. These are the depths that are beneath the earth, and the earth above them is split like a crack in a vessel, gazing into the heart of the sea. Thus, the earth is anchored upon the waters, as it is said, "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever" (Psalm 104:5). And where did those waters go? Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Yehudah, the son of Rabbi Shalom: "What is this thing like? It is like two bowls, one full and one empty. But if they were both full, what could they do? When they are full, they pour into the channel, and when the wind passes through them, they turn to one place. So the whole world was filled with water. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He restrained them, and they dried up, as it is said, 'He holds back the waters, and they dry up; also, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth' (Job 12:15). And it also says, 'He walks on the high places of the sea' (Job 9:8), "He holds back the waters, and they dry up." And it also says (Micah 1:3), "He treads upon the high places of the sea." And it says (Psalm 33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap." And where did they go? Rabbi Levi said, "These whisper to these, 'Where are we going?' And they say, 'The way of the sea, the way of the sea, to make war with that country, to make war with that country.'" Rabbi Huna drew out a tongue of fire to each side. Rabbi Joshua ben Karcha said, "We have received that the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, was roaring before them, as it is said (Psalm 29:3), 'The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.' The rivers raise their voice."

Rabbi José said: From whom do we learn of the seven days of mourning? From Jacob, our father, for thus did his son Joseph unto him, as it is said, "And he made a mourning for his father seven days" (Gen. 50:10).

There (in the north) is the abode of the destroying spirits, earthquakes, winds, demons, lightnings and thunders; thence evil issues forth into the world, as it is said, "Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jer. 1:14). Some say by ten Sayings was the world created || and in three (Divine attributes) are these (ten Sayings) comprised, as it is said, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens, by his knowledge the depths were broken up" (Prov. 3:19, 20). By these three (attributes) was the Tabernacle made, as it is said, "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge" (Ex. 31:3). Likewise with these three (attributes) was the Temple made, as it is said, "He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and knowledge" (1 Kings 7:14). By these three attributes it will be rebuilt in the future, as it is said, "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge are the chambers filled" (Prov. 24:3, 4).

Rabbi Eliezer said: || On the day when He said, "Let the waters be gathered together" (Gen. 1:9), on that very day were the waters congealed, and they were made into twelve valleys, corresponding to the twelve tribes, and they were made into walls of water between each path, and (the people) could see one another, and they saw the Holy One, blessed be He, walking before them, but the heels of His feet they did not see, as it is said, "Thy way was in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps were not known" (Ps. 77:20).

THE GATHERING OF THE WATERS ON the third day all the earth was flat like a plain and the waters covered the surface of all the earth. When the word of the Almighty was uttered, "Let the waters be gathered together" (Gen. 1:9), the mountains and hills arose from the ends of the earth and they were scattered over the surface of all the earth, and valleys were formed over the inner parts of the earth; and the waters were rolled together and gathered into the valleys, as it is said, "And the gathering together of the waters he called seas" (Gen. 1:10). Forthwith the waters became proud and they arose to cover the earth as at first, when the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them || and subdued them, and placed them beneath the soles of His feet, and measured them with the hollow of His hand that they should neither decrease nor increase. He made the sand as the boundary of the sea, just like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard. When they rise and see the sand before them they return to their former place, as it is said, "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?" (Jer. 5:22).

“The Lord said to Moses: Extend your hand toward the heavens, and there will be hail throughout the land of Egypt, upon man, upon animal, and upon all the grasses of the field, in the land of Egypt (Exodus 9:22). “The Lord said to Moses: Extend your hand toward the heavens” – that is what is written: “Whatever the Lord wished, He has done…” (Psalms 135:6). David said: Even though the Holy One blessed be He decreed: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord and the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psalms 115:16) [it is to be understood in this way]. To what is this matter comparable? It is [comparable] to a king who decreed and said that Romans may not go down to Syria and Syrians may not go up to Rome. Similarly, when the Holy One blessed be He created the world, He decreed and said: “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the children of men.” When He sought to give the Torah, He cancelled the first decree and said: Those below will ascend to those above, and those above will descend to those below, and it is I who begins, as it is stated: “The Lord descended onto Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20), and it is written: “To Moses He said: Ascend to God” (Exodus 24:1). That is: “Whatever the Lord wished, He has done, in the heavens and on the earth.” Likewise, when He sought to , He said: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9), and when He sought to act, He made the dry land into sea and the depths, as it is stated: “Who summons the water of the sea” (Amos 5:8; 9:6), and it says: “All the fountains of the great deep burst” (Genesis 7:11). When He sought to do so, he made the sea and the depths into dry land, as it is stated: “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:29), and it says: “He led them through the depths, as through a wilderness” (Psalms 106:9). Likewise in Egypt, regarding Moses, who was on the land, He gave him license to control the actions of the heavens, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: Extend your hand toward the heavens…” Why did He bring hail upon them? It is because they [the Egyptians] set Israel to be planters of vineyards, gardens, orchards, and trees; therefore He brought hail upon them and broke everything. “Upon man, upon animal” – when the Holy One blessed be He saw that they did not heed His words that He had said to them: “Now send, gather [your livestock…every man and animal that will be found in the field… will die]” (Exodus 9:19), the Holy One blessed be He said: They deserve that the hail shall fall upon everything. (Since they did not listen to God’s warning. )

Another interpretation: “This month shall be for you” – that is what is written: “He made the moon for festivals; the sun knows its setting” (Psalms 104:19). There are many [of God’s] deeds that Moses recorded in the Torah that are unclear and David arose and explained them. We find in the act of Creation, that when He created the heavens and the earth, He created light, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1), and afterward: “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). David explained it: After God created light, He created the heavens, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and then, “He stretches the heavens like a curtain” (Psalms 104:2). Here we have learned that after He created light He created the heavens. Three creations preceded the world: Water, air [ruaḥ], (The Hebrew word ruaḥ can mean air, wind, or spirit. ) and fire. Water became pregnant and gave birth to darkness. Fire became pregnant and gave birth to light. Air became pregnant and gave birth to wisdom. With these six creations the world is conducted, with spirit, with wisdom, with fire, with light, with darkness, and with water. That is why David said: “May my soul bless the Lord. Lord my God, You are very great” (Psalms 104:1). A person sees a beautiful pillar and says: Blessed is the quarry from which this was quarried. The world is beautiful; blessed is the Omnipresent who quarried it and created it with speech, happy are you O world, that the Holy One blessed be He reigns over you. [A person of] flesh and blood etches [tzar] his image on a wooden tablet, and the tablet is larger than his image. God, may His name be blessed, is great, and His image is great. The world is small, and He is greater than the world, as it is stated: “For the Lord is God, an everlasting Rock [tzur olamim]” (Isaiah 26:4). (In contrast to an image created by flesh and blood, where the image is necessarily smaller than the object upon which it is drawn, God’s image is greater than the world.) What is taught when Scripture states: Tzur olamim? Relative to Him, the two worlds [olamim] (This world and the World to Come.) are considered nothing. That is why it is stated: “Lord my God, You are very great.” After He covered Himself with light, He then created the world, as it is stated: “He covers Himself with light like a garment; [He stretches the heavens like a curtain]” (Psalms 104:2). [A person of] flesh and blood, after he builds the house, he builds the upper story. God is not like that; after He built the roof, He built the upper story, and after He built the upper story, He positioned it on the atmosphere of the world, on nothing. Then He installed His chariots, clouds; and then His dais on the storm. Who informs you about all these matters? It is David, who explained the deeds of God to inform all humanity of His might, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot” (Psalms 104:3); not from copper, not from iron, but with balconies of water. Then He constructed the upper stories, not from stone and not from hewed stone, but from layers of water, as it is stated: “He lays the beams of Your upper chambers in the waters.” [A person of] flesh and blood makes his chariot strong to bear his entire burden, and he makes it from iron, bronze, silver, or gold. But God, may His name be blessed, a cloud has no substance, and He makes clouds His chariots, as it is stated: “He makes the clouds His chariot.” Flesh and blood, if there was a muddy path before him, he walks on stones that are hard. But God is not so; rather, He leaves the visible cloud and walks on the invisible wind, as it is stated: “Who walks upon the wings of the wind” (Psalms 104:3). Flesh and blood conscripts strong, powerful soldiers capable of wearing helmets, and armor, and weapons. But the Holy One blessed be He conscripted His soldiers that are invisible, as it is stated: “Who makes winds His messengers” (Psalms 104:4). The wind emerges, followed by lightning, as it is stated: “The flaming fire His servants” (Psalms 104:4). After He created the sky, He created angels on the second day, and on that same day He created Gehenna, as “that it was good,” is not written about it [the second day]. Like [a person of] flesh and blood who acquires slaves and says [to his associates]: ‘Make swords.’ They say to him: ‘Why?’ He says to them: ‘So if they rebel, they will receive a death sentence.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said: I created Gehenna [on the second day], about which “that it was good” is not written, so if people sin, they will descend into it. From where is it derived that Gehenna was created on the second day? It is as the prophet explains: “For Hell has been prepared from yesterday” (Isaiah 30:33), from the day that a person could say yesterday. When would a person be able to say yesterday? It is on the second day, as the first day of the week precedes it. Afterward, He created dry land on the third day, as it is stated: “He established the earth upon its foundations” (Psalms 104:5). At that moment, one was naked and one was clothed, like [a person of] flesh and blood who has two servants; he stripped the garment off of one and clothed the other with it. So, God said: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9) – He exposed the earth and covered the depths. So said David: “You covered the depths as with a garment” (Psalms 104:6). “From Your rebuke they flee” (Psalms 104:7) – like flesh and blood who saw his winepress filled with grapes and a vineyard to harvest. People said to him: ‘Where will you put the rest of the grapes, since the winepress is small?’ He said to them: ‘I will make a winepress that will hold all the grapes in the vineyard.’ What did he do? He trampled the grapes and trod on one [pile] after another, and then brought the grapes that were in the vineyard, and the winepress held all the grapes. (The winepress could not contain all the grapes at once but could contain all the juice. ) So, the entire world was filled with water, and the earth was immersed in the water. The Holy One blessed be He said: “Let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). The waters said: ‘We fill the world, and until now it is crowded for us; where will we go?’ May His name be blessed, He kicked Ocean and killed it, as it is stated: “With His power, He calmed the sea, and with His understanding, He crushed [maḥatz] Rahav” (Job 26:12). Maḥatz means nothing other than killing, as it is stated: “She crushed [maḥatza] and pierced his temple” (Judges 5:26). (This is a description of how Yael killed Sisera.) When he killed it, some say that it is crying until today, as it is stated: “Have you entered into the springs of [nivkhei] (The midrash reads nivkhei as though it derives from the term bekhi, weeping.) the sea?” (Job 38:16). Why did He kill them? It is because a house that holds one hundred living people holds one thousand dead. That is why Ocean is called the Dead Sea; but the Holy One blessed be He is destined to heal it, as it is stated: “To the sea it will flow, and the water will be healed” (Ezekiel 47:8). When the rest of the waters saw that He kicked Ocean, its fellows fled at the sound of its scream. It is like a donkey driver of flesh and blood who was walking and there were two servants in front of him; [when the donkey driver whips the donkeys], those [servants] in front [of the donkeys] run and flee. So, the rest of the water in the world fled at the sound of the scream of Ocean, as it is stated: “From Your rebuke they flee.” They fled, but they did not know to where they were fleeing, as it is stated: “They rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys, to this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8). It is like a servant of flesh and blood to whom his master said: ‘Wait for me in the marketplace,’ but did not tell him where to wait. The servant began saying: Perhaps he told me to wait for him near the basilica, perhaps he told me near the bathhouse, or perhaps he told me alongside the platform. He [the master] entered [the city], found him and slapped him. He said to him: ‘I sent you to the gate of the prefect’s palace.’ So, the waters were wandering, when they heard that He said to them: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place” (Genesis 1:9). He did not say to them to the north or to the south, but rather they scattered, “they rose to the mountains, descended in the valleys.” The Holy One blessed be He slapped them. He said to them: ‘I said to you to go to the place of the leviathan.’ From where that it is so? It is as it is stated: “To this place You established for them” (Psalms 104:8), and that is the place of leviathan, as it is stated: “This leviathan, whom You created to frolic in it [the sea]” (Psalms 104:26). “You set a boundary that they may not cross” (Psalms 104:9). Like flesh and blood that put his animal into a pen and locked the gate before it so it would not go out and graze on the grain. So, the Holy One blessed be He locked the sea with sand and administered an oath to it that it would not go beyond the sand, as it is stated: “That I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22). “Who sends springs through the ravines” (Psalms 104:10) – like [a person of] flesh and blood who has baskets [for the pressing] of olives. He pressed the beam onto them, and the oil came out from above and oil descended below. So, the mountain from this side and the mountain from that side press on the springs and they burst forth and emerge from between the mountains. That is why it is written: “Who sends springs through the ravines.” Afterward, what did David say? “He made the moon for festivals” (Psalms 104:19) – the Holy One blessed be He created three hundred and sixty-five windows in the firmament; one hundred and eighty-three in the east and one hundred and eighty-two in the west; some of them He created for the sun and some of them He created for the moon, so that the world would follow it. The sun goes through all of them, as does the moon except for eleven windows that the moon does not enter any of them. This is like a prefect and a duke who were receiving gifts. The prefect took commensurate with his honor and the duke commensurate with his honor. So, the sun is called great and the moon is called small. This is why the sun is called great, because it is eleven days greater than the moon. (The solar year is roughly eleven days longer than twelve lunar months.) This is why He created the moon for the festivals, so that Israel would increase and decrease like the moon [waxes and wanes]. But this [waxing and waning] is not harmful to it [the moon], but it is for the setting of the festivals. (Similarly, though Israel’s fortunes increase and diminish, it will ultimately prevail.) All the years are counted by the sun [by the solar calendar], the years of the world and the years of [the lives of] people, and it [the sun] knows the span of every person, how long he saw the sun. All this to say that He created the moon for the festivals? David rose and explained: “He made the moon for the festivals.” They said to David: ‘While we were in Egypt, we received [the consecration of] the month by the moon’; that is what is written: “This month shall be for you” (Exodus 12:2).

“And you, raise your staff, and extend your hand over the sea, and split it; and the children of Israel will come into the midst of the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:16). “Raise your staff” – Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You are saying to me that I should split the sea and render the sea dry land, but isn’t it written: “I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22)? You swore that you would never split it.’ Rabbi Elazar HaKappar said: Moses said to Him: ‘Didn’t You say that the sea would not be rendered dry land? As it is stated: “I placed the sand as the boundary of the sea,” and it is written: “He shut the sea with doors”’ (Job 38:8). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You did not read from the beginning of the Torah. What is written: “God said: Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). It is I who stipulated with it, so, I stipulated with it from the beginning that I would split it, as it is stated: “The sea returned to its power [le’eitano] before the morning” (Exodus 14:27), to its stipulation [tena’o] that I stipulated with it from the beginning. Immediately, Moses heeded the Holy One blessed be He and went to split the sea. When he went to split the sea, it was unwilling to take upon itself to split. The sea said to him: ‘I should split because of you? I am greater than you, as I was created on the third [day of creation] and you were created on the sixth.’ When Moses heard this, he went and said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘The sea refuses to split.’ What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He placed His right hand on the right hand of Moses, as it is stated: “He caused [His glorious arm] to go to the right of Moses…” (Isaiah 63:12). Immediately, it [the sea] saw the Holy One blessed be He and fled, as it is stated: “The sea saw and fled” (Psalms 114:3). What did it see? It saw that the Holy One blessed be He placed His right hand upon Moses. It could no longer resist, so it fled immediately. Moses said to it: ‘Why are you fleeing?’ It said to him: ‘From the God of Jacob, due to fear of the Holy One blessed be He.’ Immediately, when Moses raised his hand over the sea, it split, as it is stated: “The water divided” (Exodus 14:21). It does not say “the sea divided,” but rather, the water divided. This teaches that all the water that was in all the springs and the cisterns and everywhere divided, as it is stated: “The water divided.” Likewise, when they returned, all the water returned, and so it says: “The water returned” (Exodus 14:28). All these miracles were performed by Moses, as it is stated: “Moses extended his hand over the sea” (Exodus 14:21). That is why the Holy One blessed be He praises him, as it is stated: “He remembered the days of old, Moses, His people: [Where is he who took them up from the sea, the shepherd of His flock?]” (Isaiah 63:11) and it is written: “He caused His glorious arm to go to the right of Moses” (Isaiah 63:12).

Rabbi Avtolis the elder said: This is analogous to a king who had a son who angered him. He decreed a harsh punishment for him, and the tutor pleaded on his behalf. He said to him: ‘Are you asking on behalf of my son? I have already reconciled with my son.’ Rabbi says: He [God] said to him [Moses]: ‘Last night you were saying: “Since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name [he has harmed this people, and You did not rescue Your people]” (Exodus 5:23), and now you are standing [before Me] and praying intensely. “Why are you crying out to Me?” Yesterday, they were saying: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt [that you took us to die in the wilderness]?” (Exodus 14:11), and now you are praying intensely? “Speak to the children of Israel and have them set forth [veyisa’u].” Have them remove [yasiu] a matter from their heart.’ Rabbi says: The Holy One blessed be He says: ‘The faith that Israel had in Me is enough for Me to split the sea for them, as they did not say to Moses: (When Moses said to them: “Speak to the children of Israel, and they shall turn back” (Exodus 14:2).) How can we turn back [towards Egypt] and break the hearts of the children and women who are with us? Rather, they had faith in me and followed Moses.’ Rabbi Eliezer says: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘There is a time to shorten [prayers] and a time to extend. My children are in a state of distress, the sea blocks them and the enemy is in pursuit, and you are standing and extending your prayers? “Speak to the children of Israel and have them set forth.”’ Rabbi Yehoshua says: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Israel only needs to set forth. Let them set their legs forth from the dry land to the sea, and you will see the miracles that I will perform on their behalf.’ Rabbi Meir says: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Israel does not need to pray before Me. If Adam, the first man, who was alone, I made dry land for him, as it is stated: “Let the waters be gathered under the heavens” (Genesis 1:9), for a sacred congregation that is destined to say before Me: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2), all the more so.’ Rabbi Benaya says: [God said:] ‘Due to the merit of Abraham, I will split the sea for them, because of what he did, as it is stated: “He split [vayevaka] the wood for the burnt offering” (For the binding of Isaac.) (Genesis 22:3), and it says: “The waters were divided [vayibaku]”’ (Exodus 14:21). Rabbi Akiva says: [God said:] ‘Due to the merit of Jacob, I will split the sea for them, as it is stated: “You shall spread to the west and to the east”’ (Genesis 28:14). Rabbi Shimon says: [God said:] ‘I have already had it written about you [Moses]: “In all My house he is trusted” (Numbers 12:7), and you are under My authority and the sea is under My authority; I have appointed you trustee over it, as it is stated: “Raise your staff.”’

“I am the Lord your God” – this is analogous to a king of flesh and blood who enters a city. They sweep it, sprinkle water on it, decorate it, spread fine curtains and tapestries, and kindle lamps. The Holy One blessed be He said: I am not so, but rather, when I entered My world, I spread tapestries, as it is stated: “Who spreads the heavens like a curtain” (Isaiah 40:22). I kindled lamps, as it is written: “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). I sprinkled water, as it is stated: “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). I decorated everything that I made, as it is stated: “The heavens and the earth and their entire host were completed” (Genesis 2:1).

“And the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams” (Leviticus 8:2), Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: He fashioned a hill of sorts; a ram on one side, a ram on the other side, and a bull in the middle. (The different heights of the animals produced the effect of a hill. This symbolized the fact that Aaron and his sons were becoming exalted through the process of investiture on these days (Etz Yosef). ) “Assemble the entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting” (Leviticus 8:3). “Assemble the entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” Rabbi Elazar said: All of Israel was six hundred thousand, and you say: “At the entrance of the Tent of Meeting”? Rather, this is one of the places where the lesser contained the greater. (A large number of people were able to gather in a relatively small area. ) Similarly, “Let the water under the heavens be gathered to one place” (Genesis 1:9). The way of the world is that a person empties a full vessel into an empty vessel. Or, is it, perhaps, a full vessel into a full vessel? The entire world was full of water, and you say: “Let the water…be gathered”? Rather, this is one of the places where the lesser contained the greater. Similarly, “take for yourselves cupped handfuls of soot of a furnace” (Exodus 9:8). Rav Huna said: This cupped handful and this clenched handful are not comparable. The cupped handful is twice the clenched handful. Four cupped handfuls are eight clenched handfuls. The outcome is that the cupped hand of Moses holds eight clenched handfuls. (Two handfuls for Moses and two handfuls for Aaron are altogether four cupped handfuls. But it says that “Moses shall throw it heavenward.” In order to do so powerfully, he must use one hand.) Rather, it teaches that the Holy One blessed be He provided the ability. [Moses and] Aaron took cupped handfuls, and Moses threw them. And you say: “Moses threw then heavenward” (Exodus 9:8) all at once. Rather, this is one of the places where the lesser contained the greater. Similarly, “The length of the courtyard shall be one hundred cubits and the width shall be fifty on each side” (Exodus 27:18). Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: The length of the courtyard was one hundred cubits and all of Israel was standing inside it? Rather, this is one of the places where the lesser contained the greater. Similarly, “Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock” (Numbers 20:10). Rav Ḥanin said: It was the size of a sieve and all of Israel was standing before it? Rather, this is one of the places where the lesser contained the greater. Similarly, “Joshua said to the children of Israel: Come here” (Joshua 3:9). Rav Huna said: He stood them all erect between the two staves of the Ark. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: He arranged them between the two staves of the Ark. Rava said: He crowded them between the two staves of the Ark. That is what is written: “Joshua said: With this you will know that the living God is in your midst” (Joshua 3:10). He said to them: Because the two staves of the Ark contained you, I know that His Divine Presence is in your midst. This occurred in the Temple, too, as we learned: They would stand crowded and prostrate themselves spaced. (Mishna Avot 5:5. ) Rabbi Shmuel bar Ivya said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: There were four cubits between each and every one, and a cubit on each side so that none of them would hear the voice of another praying. This will occur in the future, too, as it is stated: “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord, and all the nations will be gathered to it” (Jeremiah 3:17). Rabbi Yoḥanan ascended to inquire after the wellbeing of Rabbi Ḥanina and found him engaged in this verse: “At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord, and all the nations will be gathered to it.” He said to him: ‘Will it [Jerusalem] contain them?’ He said to him: ‘The verse says: “Expand the place of your tent” (Isaiah 54:2) “for you will spread right and left”’ (Isaiah 54:3).

“It was on the eighth day; Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel” (Leviticus 9:1). “It was on the eighth day.” Rav Ahava bar Kahana began: “Wisdom has built her house, [has hewed her seven pillars]; She has prepared her meat, [mixed her wine, also set her table]. She has sent her young women; [she will call upon the heights of the city]: Whoever is a simpleton, [let him turn from here; he who lacks heart, she speaks to him]” (Proverbs 9:1–4). Rabbi Yirmeya bar Ilai interpreted the verse regarding the creation of the world. “Wisdom has built her house,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom” (Proverbs 3:19). “Has hewed her seven pillars,” these are the seven days of Creation, as it is stated: “For in six days [the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in it, and He rested on the seventh day]” (Exodus 20:11), “God blessed the seventh day” (Genesis 2:3). “She has prepared her meat” – “God said: Let the earth produce [living creatures]” (Genesis 1:24). “Mixed her wine” – “God said: Let the water…be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “Also set her table” – “God said: Let the earth sprout grass, vegetation-yielding seed” (Genesis 1:11). “She has sent her young women; she will call” – this is Adam and Eve. “Upon the heights of the city,” as the Holy One blessed be He elevated them and called them godlike. That is what is written: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). After all this praise, “whoever is a simpleton, let him turn from here,”– they forsook the will of the Holy One blessed be He and followed the will of the serpent. That is why: “He who lacks heart, she speaks to him” – “you are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19).

Rabbi Aḥa said: This is analogous to a ruler who entered a province and many groups of bandits were with him. (The bandits had been apprehended and were in chains.) One [citizen] said to another: ‘How fearsome is this ruler!’ That one said to him: ‘Your loyalty is good, so you have nothing to fear from him.’ So too, when Israel heard the portion of the offerings, they were afraid. (There were offerings for many sins, particularly for those violated unwittingly.) Moses said to them: ‘Fear not. Engage in Torah study and you need not fear any of these.’ That is what is written: “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, [and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering]” (Leviticus 7:37). Why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types. Rabbi Simon said: This dish of mixed fruits and nuts is served last. Why? It is because it has many types. So too, why is the peace offering last? Because it has many types: Blood and fats to the altar, the breast and the thigh to the priest, the hide and the flesh to the owners. Rabbi Shimon says: One who is complete [shalem] brings a peace offering [shelamim], but one in acute mourning (This is one whose relative died that day but has not yet been buried.) does not bring a peace offering.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Great is peace, as all blessings are included in it. “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace” (Psalms 29:11). Ḥizkiya said two [statements]. Ḥizkiya said: Peace is great, as in the regard of all the mitzvot, it is written: “If you see…if you encounter” (Exodus 23:4–5); “if…will happen” (Deuteronomy 22:6). If a mitzva happens to present itself to you, you are obligated to perform it, and if not, you are not obligated to perform it. However, here, “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), seek it in your place and pursue it elsewhere. Ḥizkiya said another: Peace is great, as regarding all the journeys it is written: “They traveled…they encamped” (Numbers 33:5); (Both verbs are written in the plural: Vayisu, vayaḥanu.) they traveled in dispute and they encamped in dispute. When they all came before Mount Sinai, they all became a single encampment. That is what is written: “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there” (Exodus 19:2). It is not written here “Israel encamped [vayaḥanu] there,” but rather “Israel encamped [vayiḥan] there.” (The verb is singular rather than plural. ) The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘This is the moment that I am giving the Torah to My children.’ Bar Kappara said three. Bar Kappara said: Great is peace, as the verses presented matters of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Abraham and Sarah. That is what is written: “After my withering, will I have youth, and my lord is old?” (Genesis 18:12). But to Abraham He did not say so, but rather: “And I have grown old” (Genesis 18:13). (When God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, He did not tell him that she had said that he was old, but rather that she had said she was old. ) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace, as the verse employed expressions of falsehood in the prophets in order to institute peace between a man and his wife, as it is stated: “Behold now, you are barren and have not given birth; but you will conceive, and you will give birth to a son” (Judges 13:3). But to Mano’aḥ, he did not say so, but rather, “The angel of the Lord said to Mano'ah: From everything that I said to the woman let her beware” (Judges 13:13). In any case, she requires medicine. (He did not refer to her as barren, which might have resulted in her husband looking down on her, but merely said that she required treatment in order to conceive, and therefore she should follow his instructions.) Bar Kappara said another: Great is peace. If the supernal beings who do not have jealousy, hatred, rivalry, strife, quarrels, dispute, or the evil eye require peace – that is what is written: “He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2); the earthly beings, who have all these traits, all the more so. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Great is peace, as the verses employed expressions of falsehood in the Torah in order to institute peace between Joseph and his brothers. That is what is written: “So say to Joseph: Please, forgive [the transgression of your brothers and their sin as they did evil to you]” (Genesis 50:17), (Joseph’s brothers sent a message to him in the name of their father Jacob asking that he forgive them, although the verses never state that Jacob actually said this. ) and we do not find that Jacob commanded anything. Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said: Great is peace as, even in times of war, one opens only with peace. That is what is written: “When you approach a city to wage war against it, [you shall call to it for peace]” (Deuteronomy 20:10). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Yosei said: Great is peace, as the name of the Holy One blessed be He is called peace. That is what is written: “He called it: The Lord is peace” (Judges 6:24). Rabbi Tanḥum bar Yudan said: From here [it may be derived] that it is prohibited for a person to ask after the welfare of another (While employing the term “peace”, which has been established to be a name of God. ) in a filthy place. Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife. (The reference is to the ritual of the sota (see Numbers 5:11–31), which involves erasing the name of God. The purpose of the ritual is to restore trust and peace between man and wife. ) Rabbi Meir would sit and lecture on Shabbat at night. There was a certain woman who would stand there and listen to him teaching the lecture, and she would wait until he concluded the lecture. [Once,] she went home and found the lamps extinguished. Her husband said to her: ‘Where were you?’ She said to him: ‘I was sitting and listening to the voice of the lecturer.’ He said to her: ‘Such and such shall befall me; you will not enter here until you go and spit in the face of that lecturer.’ She remained outside the first, second, and third weeks. Her neighbors said to her: ‘Are you still angry with one another? We will come with you to the lecturer.’ When Rabbi Meir saw them, he saw through the Divine Spirit. He said to them: ‘Is there a woman among you who is proficient in chanting to heal the eye?’ (It was common for people to utter incantations to treat certain medical conditions. The individual employing the incantation would also spit. ) Her neighbors said to her: ‘Go now and spit in his face and release your husband of his vow.’ When she sat before him, she feared him. She said to him: ‘Rabbi, I am not proficient in chanting to heal the eye.’ He said to her: ‘Even so, spit in my face seven times, and I will be relieved.’ She did so. He said to her: ‘Go say to your husband: You said one time, but I spat seven times.’ His students said to him: ‘Rabbi, should the Torah be demeaned in this way? Should you not have said to one of us to chant for you?’ He said to them: ‘Is it not sufficient for Meir to be like his Maker, as Rabbi Yishmael taught: Great is peace, as the the Holy One blessed be He said that the great name that is written in sanctity should be erased in water in order to institute peace between a man and his wife.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: Great is peace, as when the Holy One blessed be He created His world He made peace between the supernal and the earthly. On the first day, He created part of the supernal and part of the earthly [realms]. That is what is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second, He created from the supernal [realm]. That is what is written: “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third, He created from the earthly [realm]. That is what is written: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). On the fourth, from the supernal [realm]: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth, He created from the earthly [realm]: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth, He came to create man. He said: If I create him from the supernal, the supernal will be more numerous than the earthly by one creation. If I create him from the earthly, the earthly will be more numerous than the supernal by one creation. What did He do? He created him from the supernal and from the earthly. That is what is written: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7); from the earthly, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7); from the supernal. Rabbi Mani of She’av and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Great is peace, as all the blessings, goodness, and consolations that the Holy One blessed be He brings upon Israel conclude with peace. In the recitation of Shema: Who spreads a canopy of peace; in prayer: He who makes peace; in the Priestly Benediction: “And grant you peace” (Numbers 6:26). (In the blessings surrounding the recitation of Shema, in the Amida prayer, and in the Priestly Benediction, the theme of the final blessing is peace. ) I have [provided sources] only in blessings; from where is it derived regarding offerings? “This is the Torah for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investiture offering, and for the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:37). I have only regarding the general; where is it derived in specific? (The previous source cited regarding offerings is a verse that mentions all of the offerings. Where is this expressed within the particular discussions of each offering? ) “This is the law of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “This is the law of the meal offering” (Leviticus 6:7); “This is the law of the sin offering” (Leviticus 6:18); “This is the law of the guilt offering” (Leviticus 7:1); “This is the law of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11). (The particular laws of peace offerings are discussed after those of the other types of offerings. ) I have [provided a source] only regarding individual offerings; from where is it derived regarding communal offerings? The verse states: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times” (Numbers 29:39), and it concludes with peace offerings. (The full text of the verse is: “These you shall offer to the Lord in your appointed times, aside from your vows and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your meal offerings and for your libations and for your peace offerings.” ) And I have [provided a source] only in this world; from where is it derived regarding the World to Come? “I will extend peace to it like a river” (Isaiah 66:12). The Rabbis say: Great is peace, as when the messianic king comes, he will open only with peace, as it is stated: “How pleasant are the feet of the herald on the mountains, announcing peace” (Isaiah 52:7).

All our sages agree that the Tabernacle was a microcosm of the macrocosm, that it reflected to the extent possible, structures and concepts and their development prevalent in the Celestial Regions, though those "structures" and concepts are, of course, abstract. Midrash Rabbah Terumah 33,4 commenting on Chronicles I 29,11: "Yours, O Lord are greatness, might, splendour, triumph, and majesty-- yes all that is in Heaven and earth," quotes Rabbi Berechyah; he sees this as proof that G–d transferred His residence to the Tabernacle. There is also a Midrash Tanchuma on Parshat Pekudey which quotes Psalms 26,8: "O Lord, I love Your temple abode, the dwelling-place of Your glory," as proof that the residence of G–d on earth corresponds to the one He has in the Celestial Regions. Its construction was also a repetition of the process of creation. This is derived from the text of the Bible in Genesis 1,1: "At the beginning G–d created the heaven and the earth," whereas we read in Psalms 104,2: "You spread the heavens like a tent cloth." The Tabernacle was also covered by tent cloth as per Exodus 26,1: "You shall make the Tabernacle from ten strips of tent cloth." When describing what happened on the second day of creation, the Torah speaks about a firmament which is to separate the "upper" waters from the "lower" waters (Genesis 1,6), whereas when giving the instructions for building the Tabernacle the Torah directs that the "curtain shall divide between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies" (Exodus 26,33). The Torah, relating the work G–d performed on the third day of creation, mentions that the waters are to be gathered into one area (Genesis 1,9), whereas during the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah commands the construction of a copper basin into which all the water is to be poured (Exodus 30,18). On the fourth day of creation the Torah reports the construction of the great luminaries (Genesis 1,14), whereas the Torah commands the construction of a lampstand as part of the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25,31). On the fifth day of creation G–d created the birds, etc. (Genesis 1,20), whereas in the Tabernacle the Torah commands that the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark be equipped with wings, bird-like (Exodus 25,20). Sacrifices of birds are also prescribed to be offered up in the Tabernacle. On the sixth day of creation G–d created man in His own image to reflect the glory of his Creator (Genesis 1,27), whereas in the Tabernacle a human being, the High Priest, was to be anointed and consecrated to parallel in this microcosm the function of man in the macrocosm in this microcosm. On the seventh day of creation, the universe is described as having been completed (Genesis 2,1); we find a similar expression when the Torah describes the construction of the Tabernacle as having been completed (Exodus 39,32). When the universe was completed G–d blessed it (Genesis 1,28-2,3), whereas when the Tabernacle was completed Moses blessed it (Exodus 39,43). When the universe was completed the Torah uses the term ויכל to describe the completion (Genesis 2,2); when the Tabernacle was completed the Torah uses the same expression (Exodus 40,33 and Numbers 7,1). When the universe was completed G–d sanctified it (Genesis 2,3); when the construction of the Tabernacle was completed the Torah also relates that Moses anointed and sanctified it (Numbers 7,1).

Rabbenu Bachyah comments on the repeated use of the word משכן in 38,21, that this is a hint that the Tabernacle in our world stood "opposite" the Sanctuary in the Celestial Regions. We know this also from Exodus 15,17: מכון לשבתך פעלת ה', "You have made a place for You to dwell in." The word מכון should be read as מכוון, "corresponding" to the Sanctuary in Heaven. This places the importance of the Tabernacle on earth on a par with the creation of the universe. In connection with the universe, Isaiah 40,22, speaks about G–d "who spread out the skies like gauze, stretched them out like a tent to dwell in," whereas in connection with the Tabernacle on earth the Torah says: "You shall make cloths of goats' hair for a tent over the Tabernacle." In connection with the creation of the universe the Psalmist (Psalms 104,2) speaks about נוטה שמים כיריעה, "He stretches the heavens like a tent-doth." During the process of creation we read (Genesis 1,9) "Let the waters concentrate in one place," whereas in connection with the construction of the Tabernacle the Torah instructs the making of a copper basin to contain all the water used in the Tabernacle by the priests. During the creation the Torah speaks about the creation of luminaries, whereas during the construction of the Tabernacle the making of a candlestick is commanded. The winged creatures mentioned during the process of creation are matched in the Tabernacle by the cherubs spreading their wings over the Holy Ark. Whereas the creation of Adam represented the highlight of the act of creation, the highlight of the construction of the Tabernacle was reached when G–d told Moses to appoint Aaron as High Priest (Exodus 28,1). The completion of the work of creation was announced by the words: ויכלו השמים והארץ, whereas the completion of the work on the Tabernacle was described by the Torah as ותכל כל עבודת משכן (39,32). Whereas the Torah reported that G–d blessed the seventh day (Genesis 2,3), Moses blessed the Tabernacle and sanctified it and all its utensils (39,43). The Torah reported G–d as resting on the seventh day, (Genesis 2,3), whereas in connection with the Tabernacle the Torah stated: "You shall perform your work during six days and the seventh day shall be holy" (35,2). After all this the Torah said: "Take from yourselves a donation" Thus far the comment of Rabbenu Bachyah.

ורוח אלקים, this wind was needed as a feature on physical earth, at the time when G-d commanded the waters to recede so that dry land would become visible. (Genesis 1,9). Compare also Exodus 1,21 when Moses credits the east wind with having made possible the splitting of the sea of reeds, enabling the people of Israel to cross on dry ground.

וכסף פקודי העדה, “and the excess silver shekalim (1750) etc.” these were not shekalim from the census or donations for construction of the Tabernacle as described in verse 29 as נחושת התנופה,”copper from the elevation offering;” the Torah wishes to tell us that the people as a whole did not have more than this amount of silver left in their possession after parting with their donations of silver shekalim. ובכסף ונחושת, “and with the silver and the copper, etc;” The Torah now proceeds to tell us for what all this silver and copper had been used when constructing the Tabernacle. This had not been spelled when the Torah told us what the gold was used for, as no complete item other than the menorah, candlestick, was made of gold. Gold was used as an overlay both for the altar, the Holy Ark, the Table and the boards of the walls. It is worthwhile to reflect on how important the Tabernacle was relative to the creation of the physical universe, and how this was reflected in many of the details surrounding it, On the first day G–d was reported as having created heaven and earth before giving the order to light to come into existence. [Heaven and earth you will recall were wrapped completely in darkness. Ed.] G–d’s activity on that day is described in Psalms 104,2 as נוטה שים כיריעה, “spreading the heavens like a carpet.” The corresponding activity when constructing the Tabernacle was covering its walls with goat-skins. (Exodus 26,7) On the second day G–d had created the horizon and divided the lower waters from the upper waters. (Genesis 1,6) The corresponding activity involving the construction of the Tabernacle was the installation of the dividing curtain, פרוכת, between the Holy of Holies, and the Sanctuary proper. (Exodus 26,33) On the third day G–d had commanded the earth beneath the oceans to form a coherent surface and to become visible above the waters of the ocean. (Genesis 1,9) The corresponding activity during the construction of the Tabernacle was the making of the water-basin, כיור used by the priests to purify their hands and feet. (Exodus 30,18) On the fourth day G–d had positioned the Luminaries in the sky, (Genesis 1,14). The corresponding activity had been the making and placing of the menorah in the Tabernacle and kindling it. (Exodus 25,31) On the fifth day G–d had created the fish and the birds (Genesis 1,20), and the corresponding activity during the construction of the Tabernacle had been the winged cherubs which had been constructed and placed on the cover of the Holy Ark. (Exodus 25,6) On the sixth day G–d had created the first human being, (Genesis 1,27); the corresponding activity during construction of the Tabernacle was the order to Moses to consecrate his brother Aaron as High Priest. (Exodus 28,1.) On the seventh day, G–d had “rested,” (Genesis 2,1) the corresponding report concerning the Tabernacle is found in Exodus 39,43, with the words: ותכל כל עבודת המשכן, “all the work of constructing the Tabernacle had been completed” After G–d had completed to create the universe He blessed it and all its inhabitant and he sanctified the Sabbath (Genesis 2,1) Moses did likewise in Numbers 7,1. The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle reminds us of the heavens, source of our spiritual inspiration, whereas the table is symbolic of earth and its products is reminding us of how the Creator has provided for all His creatures. The showbreads are the visible symbol on that Table. The six rows on which they were placed are reminiscent of the six seasons of the year: sowing, harvesting, cold season, hot season, summer and winter.

והמבול היה מים על הארץ, “when the deluge covered the earth with water.” There is good reason to ask why G–d chose the deluge as the instrument with which to punish mankind, rather than any other means at His disposal. Our sages in the Talmud tractate Rosh Hashanah folio 12 answered this question by stating that this method was chosen as it conformed to the principle of making the punishment match the sin. Man had sinned by means of boiling water, (metaphor for extremely serious sins, involving sexual emissions that are considered as the result of the body becoming heated) so G–d chose equally severe measures as the means to punish them by. The subject has been illustrated by a parable in which a king magnanimously set aside a section of a city to serve as residence for blind people, and he provided them with all comforts in order to make their lives more tolerable. Whenever the king passed this way, the blind people would rise and shout in gratitude for the king’s generosity. Once the king heard their voices and enquired from his entourage who was the source of this shouting. He was told that it originated with the blind people whom he so lavishly supported. They added that the blind people do the same whenever they hear horses galloping in their neighbourhood. He responded by saying: “how much louder would be their shouting if they were able to see their benefactor with their own eyes.” He therefore commanded to return these blind people to their former locations, and to install people with eyesight in the section formerly reserved for the blind. He ordered that the new residents be provided with all that he had formerly provided the blind with. When these people now realised that they had been promoted, they lived it up. Instead of being grateful, whenever the king passed in their area they raised their voices cursing him for having forced them to relocate. When the king was told about this, he decided to execute all these people. The point of the parable is that originally the universe having been in chaos, was transformed into water, i.e. an element that is both blind and deaf. Even though, the waters praised the Lord for having thus raised their status. We know this from Psalms 93,3: נשאו נהרות ה', נשאו נהרות קולם, נשאו נהרות קולם, “the oceans sound o Lord, the oceans sound their thunder, the ocean sounds its pounding.” When the Lord heard this, He ordered the oceans which had covered the surface of the earth to be relocated so as to provide room for the earth to emerge and be seen. (Genesis 1.9) He created man in order to inhabit that earth, where previously there had only been water, providing man with fruit-bearing trees and all kinds of other luxuries, expecting, of course, to be rewarded with man’s expression of appreciation. The earth was so good that it required to be tilled only once in forty years. Instead, man took his good fortune for granted and instead of accepting the rules laid down by the Creator, rebelled against Him. When the Lord became aware of this, He had no choice but to punish them for their ingratitude. He commanded the waters to return to their original areas, allocated them at the beginning of creation. [The author credits his Rabbi with telling him this parable, who in turn had credited it to Rabbi Nathan Afniel.]

Thus Scripture states, His banner of love was over me, alluding to the camp of the shekhinah located in the midst of the four tribal ensigns, as it is written: “Then, midway between the divisions, the Tent of Meeting, the division of the Levites, shall move” [Num. 2:17]. And we have similarly found that the figures of the Tabernacle constitute a symbol of the Holy One, blessed be He, and of the world. So our sages have said: “R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: ‘When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses “Make Me a sanctuary that I might dwell among you,” he was to erect four poles and stretch out the tabernacle upon them. This teaches that the Holy One showed him red fire, green fire, black fire, and white fire. He said to him: “follow the patterns … that are being shown to you on the mountain” [Exod. 25:40].’ “R. Berechyah said: ‘This can be likened in a parable to a king who had a wonderful garment made of pearls. He said to his retainer: “Make me another like this one.” The retainer said to him: “My lord king, can I really make one like it?” The king said: “I in accord with my glory, you in accord with your own material.” Similarly, our teacher Moses said to God: “Can I construct something like these?” God said: “In accord with their patterns, using blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine linen.’” “Thus is the entire world included within the construction of the sanctuary. Concerning the world it is written: ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ [Gen. 1:1] and ‘He stretches the heavens out like a curtain’ [Ps. 104:2]. The Tabernacle contained goat skins for its tent. On the second day it is written: ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, separating water from water’ [Gen. 1:6]. Concerning the tabernacle it states: ‘the curtain shall serve as a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies’ [Exod. 26:33]. On the third day of creation, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one area …’ [Gen. 1:9]. Concerning the sanctuary: ‘You shall make a brass basin’ [Exod. 30:18]. On the fourth day: ‘Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the sky’ [Gen. 1:14] while in the tabernacle there was the candelabrum of pure gold. On the fifth day of creation: ‘… and birds that fly above the earth’ [Gen. 1:20] while in the Sanctuary: ‘Let there be cherubim with outstretched wings’ [Exod. 25:20]. Humanity was created on the sixth day. Concerning the sanctuary it states: ‘Bring forward Aaron your brother’ [Exod. 28:1]. On the seventh day: ‘The heaven and the earth were completed’ [Gen. 2:1]. Concerning the tabernacle: ‘Thus was completed all of the work of the Tabernacle …’ [Exod. 39:32]. Concerning the work of Creation, it is written: ‘God blessed them’ [Gen. 1:33] and concerning the construction of the tabernacle: ‘Moses blessed them …’ [Exod. 39:43]. On the seventh day it states: ‘On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing’ [Gen. 2:2], concerning the tabernacle: ‘On the day which Moses completed …’ [Num. 7:1]. On the seventh day: ‘God sanctified it’ [Gen. 2:3]; concerning the tabernacle: ‘Moses consecrated it …’ [Num. 7:1].” (Midrash Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1.) All of the above alludes to the fact that this world draws its life and is connected and adheres to the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. So too the ark and its utensils are symbolic allusions. Above “seraphim stand” [Isa. 6:2]; below “acacia wood stands” [Exod. 26:16]. Above “He sits upon the cherubim” [Ps. 80:2]; below “cherubim of outstretched wing” [Exod. 37:9]. Above are the holy wheels (of Ezekiel’s vision); below “the structure of the wheels was like the structure of the wheel of the heavenly chariot-throne” [I Kings 7:33].

[AND LAMECH SAID…] Note, this (Verses 23 and 24. The reason is that I.E. understands verses 23 and 24 to be an attempt by Lamech to induce his wives to cohabit with him. However, verses 20 through 22 tell us that they in fact did so. Hence verses 23 and 24 must describe what happened before verses 20-22. Its meaning is that Lamech had already said to Adah and Zillah. Va-yomer is thus a pluperfect (Krinsky).) should have appeared earlier. I have already noted two similar examples of this in my earlier comments. (See I.E.’s comment on Gen. 1:9.) Three additional examples are: that the man took a golden ring (Gen. 24:22); (This is followed by: and said: Whose daughter art thou (Gen. 24:23). Now, would the servant give a golden ring to the girl before asking her who she was? Therefore Gen. 24:23 must be rendered: And he already said, Whose daughter art thou (Krinsky).) And the Lord said unto Moses, say unto the children of Israel: Ye are a stiff-necked people (Ex. 33:5); (This is preceded by: And when the people heard these evil tidings (v. 4). However, the evil tidings are reported in verse 5. Thus verse 5 should precede verse 4. Hence the meaning of And when the people heard (v. 4) is: and when the people had heard; i.e., when they heard the following, namely what is reported in the next verse (Meijler).) and And I besought the Lord at that time (Deut. 3:23). (Cf. I.E.’s comment on Deut. 3:23. What is reported in this verse took place before Deut. 3:21, viz., And I commanded Joshua, etc. Moses besought God before he commanded Joshua not to fear the kings of Canaan. Hence Deut. 3:23 is to be rendered as And I had besought the Lord. Ibid. I. E.’s commentary.) As to our verse, it is to be interpreted as our sages did. The rabbis tell us that Adah and Zillah were afraid to bear children because they feared that their offspring, who were the seventh generation from Cain, would die or be killed as punishment for Cain’s sin. Therefore Lamech said to them, “I am in truth the seventh generation (From Cain. However, in truth Lamech lied to them. He was the sixth and not the seventh generation from Cain (Filwarg).) and if a man would wound me or a child bruise me, then I would kill them.” I have slain is used in place of I will slay. (Haragti is a perfect.) Similar examples are: I will give (natati) (Literally, I gave.) the price of the field (Gen. 23:13), and which I took out (According to I.E., I took (lakachti) means I will take.) of the hand of the Amorite (Gen. 48:22). There are many similar instances. (The point is that the Bible occasionally uses a perfect in place of an imperfect.)

[AND AARON RETURNED.] And Aaron returned is connected to the section that follows, (Verse 15 is connected to verse 16.) even though it is separated. (According to the masorah, verse 16 starts a new section.) I have already given you many such examples. (Where verses that are in different section are connected. See I.E. on Gen. 1:9.) When Aaron returned and the plague was stayed, God spoke. (This is the meaning of verses 15 and 16.)

לאיתנו, to its original position. Shemot Rabbah 21,6 understands this expression as לתנאי הראשון, to its original condition or contract which was made between the waters and G'd at the time G'd said in Genesis 1,9 that the waters should gather to one place. Why does the Midrash describe this as the "first condition," when the first condition of the waters was its state of being divided, not possessing molecular adhesion. The directive that the waters should congregate i.e. adhere to each other was the "second condition!" Perhaps what is meant by our verse is that after the waters had returned to their original state they realised that Moses had not destroyed their cohesion but that he had now allowed them to again resume their previous cohesion. It is possible that although the waters knew about the agreement made at the time with G'd, they had not imagined that when the time came to honour this agreement that the result would be so radical i.e. that they would literally form walls of stone (frozen water). When things went back to normal the waters realised that what had transpired was only part of the original agreement, and that G'd had not added new conditions. We must try and understand this agreement in depth, seeing that according to the Midrash the waters first refused to part at Moses' request, claiming that inasmuch as they had been created before man they did not have to take orders from a human being. G'd had to incline His right hand together with the right hand of Moses (Isaiah 63,12 "who made His glorious arm march at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them, etc."). Another problem with the verse is that we know that selected individuals did experience that the waters were split on their behalf; an example is the sainted Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair (Chulin 7). If G'd's contract with the waters at the time had been restricted to the sea splitting for the Jews at the time of the Exodus, by what power did Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair accomplish such a miracle?

A Midrashic approach (Mechilta): the word לאיתנו means the same as לתנאו, “to its (contractual) condition.” Genesis 1,9 where the Torah writes ותראה היבשה, “so that the dry land shall become visible,” hints at the same thing, i.e. the dry land shall become visible in the water. [It would appear that when the universe was described prior to the earth becoming visible as והארץ היתה תהו ובהו at the very beginning of Genesis, this was a temporary condition which was reversed on the third day. Ed.]

ונסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד, “and a drink-offering of one quarter hin wine for the one sheep.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes that as soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation the deputy High Priest would wave the flag-like cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. A the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the assembled people would bow down and after every section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the burnt-offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid 7,3). The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1 as that psalm dealt with aspects of the creation of the universe, recalling that everything had been void and empty before. The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד to commemorate the directive “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse 4 of that psalm the separation between different levels of holiness is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the Azarah, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah speaks of separation between upper and lower waters (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse 4 of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible (Genesis 1,9). This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they sat in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah (G’d) also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day i.e. psalm 94, which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to the people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81 which amongst other matters deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea-monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21). On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendor. It was the day that man, the most perfect of the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even nature, i.e. was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on the different days of the week. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.

Solomon compared wisdom which is a spiritual delight to honey which is a physical delight. This is a method Solomon employs in most of his parables in the Book of Proverbs. His purpose is to teach man to relate his spirit, his intellect, to his nature. Seeing that man is made up of a physical part and a spiritual, disembodied part, the only way he can relate the one to the other is by the use of the parable. Comparisons between the physical and the spiritual have to be illustrated for man in order for him to comprehend their validity. We know that the phenomena in this terrestrial world are comprised of four distinct categories, beginning with the lowest, most primitive form and culminating in the most sophisticated creature. The most primitive category of physical phenomena are the ones called דומם, inert objects such as stones, etc. Such objects do not possess any degree of mobility. The next higher category are plants; they are rooted in the earth but grow both vertically and horizontally. Next in terms of sophistication are all living, mobile creatures; finally the most sophisticated physical phenomenon is man inasmuch as only he can communicate his thoughts and feelings by means of language. Man’s advantage over other mammals is not his physical mobility but his intelligence. You will find the report in the Torah of the progress of creation of the universe in Genesis describe the creation of the inert, followed by the creation of vegetation, followed by the report of the emergence of a variety of more and more sophisticated forms of life, and only at the very end does the Torah describe the creation of man, G’d’s crowning handiwork. Only of man does the Torah report that he reflected part of the Creator Himself, was created “in His image” (Genesis 1,25). The report of the phenomena in the terrestrial world coming into existence follows the opposite pattern of the report of the phenomena of a celestial (extra-terrestrial) nature. When reporting on the creation of physical phenomena the Torah begins with the lowest, i.e. the mass of dry land becoming visible on the third day (Genesis 1,9), it continues with the report of the creation of vegetable matter (Genesis 1,11), etc., etc., whereas when it comes to describing phenomena in the celestial spheres (or at least in the world of the planets, the galaxies, a world between earth and heaven), the Torah begins with the creation of “light,” followed by the creation of a רקיע, “a firmament,” etc. The luminaries sun and moon, which were placed in orbit on the fourth day are another example of celestial phenomena being created in a descending order of their sophistication or lack of physicality.

A Midrashic approach: The reason that the Torah writes the words משכן,המשכן here in succession is to teach us that the Sanctuary on earth has a parallel in the celestial regions. We mentioned previously that all this is based on Exodus 15,17 where the Torah spoke of “the place You made to dwell in, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord which Your hands established.” The word מכון which the Torah wrote to describe the place for G’d to dwell in, should be read as מכוון, “prepared for, intended for.” The concept here is that the Tabernacle, Sanctuary, was considered as equivalent in importance and value to the entire world G’d had created previously. There are a number of expressions which have been used in the construction of the Tabernacle which closely parallel expressions we are familiar with in connection with descriptions of the universe such as carpets, יריעות, to name one. When earth was created the Torah spoke about luminaries, מאורות being created. The Tabernacle contained as an essential part a מנורה, a lampstand intended to illuminate the Sanctuary. In connection with the creation of earth the Torah mentioned that the waters congregated in one area, i.e. יקוו המים אל מקום אחד, whereas part of the vessels required for the Tabernacle was a כיור, a basin in which water had been collected. The Tabernacle’s roof consisted of carpets, יריעות, forming sort of a tent-like cover, whereas the sky or heaven covering our terrestrial universe is described as something G’d “spread like a tent over the universe” (Psalms 104,2). The author continues quoting more such examples. The gist of the Midrash Tanchuma 2 on our portion is that there are too many parallel expressions in the creation of the universe and the manufacture of the Tabernacle for them to be accidental; the message must be that we are dealing here with a microcosm, i.e. a miniature “world.” It is therefore easier to perceive of the Presence of G’d feeling comfortable in such surroundings. Thus far the Midrash

נסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד. As soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation, the deputy High Priest would wave the flag cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. At the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the people assembled would bow down, and after each section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the olah, the burnt offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid, 7,3.) The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1, seeing that this psalm deals with aspects of the creation of the universe. It recalls that everything had been void and empty before that “day.” The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד, to commemorate the directive: “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah, is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse four of that psalm the separation between different levels of sanctity is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the עזרה, vestibule, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah describes the separation between the “upper” and “lower” waters. (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse four of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor, etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible. (Genesis 1,9) This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they would sit in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality, which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day, i.e. psalm 94 which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and the moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81, which, amongst other matters, deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21) ; On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendour. It was the day that man, the most accomplished of all the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even over nature, i.e. he was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on different days of the week.

For He hath founded it upon (the) seas, And established it upon (the) floods: – The earth He has established upon seas and floods for the sake of the creatures upon it; but this mountain He has not founded for all creatures, not even for all the sons of men, but for the clean of hand and pure of heart; and it is the seed of Jacob who seek the Lord, and were bidden to be clean of hand and pure of heart. And so they were often, as in the days of Joshua and in the days of the elders who outlived him, even as it says (Josh. 24:31), "and Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua"; and so, in the days of the judges all the days of the judges; and in the days of Samuel it says (1 Sam. 7:2), "All the house of Israel was drawn together after the Lord"; and in the days of David and Solomon; and so in the days of the rest of the kings who were good. And there has not been one such as this among other people to serve the Name unitedly. Therefore he says that none shall ascend this holy hill of the Lord except the seekers after the Lord, and they are the house of Jacob. And in the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob, with some verbal change): "the earth is the Lord's and its fulness – this is the land of Israel: for He hath founded it upon (the) seas and established it upon the floods (rivers), because it rests upon seven seas and four rivers, and these are the seven seas: the Great Sea, the Sea of Sibhkay, the Sea of Tiberias, the Salt Sea, the Sea of Chulta, the Sea of Chulitha, the Sea of Sheryithi, and the Sea of Hispamia; and these are the four rivers: the Jordan, the Yarmukh, the Keramyon, and the Pigah." And the interpretation of upon (the) seas and upon (the) floods is "next to" seas and rivers, as (in the text) (Num. 2:20), "and next to him (i.e. Ephraim), the tribe of Manasseh." And (it is said) that there is no habitable spot in the world (more than) eighteen days' (journey) distant from the sea, and this is for the provision of moisture for the creatures; and likewise the rivers are for the use (provision) of the creatures; and this is according to what is said (Is. 45:18), "He formed it to be inhabited" because He established it so that created beings might live in it. And the reason (for so doing) was because it had not been created so from the beginning, but rather (at first) to be entirely under water; for the waters encompassed it on every side as the air encompassed the waters on every side, and the fire encompasses the air on every side. And behold the earth was under the waters, in accordance with the nature He imposes on them; and He did not make it so at first, in order to demonstrate that all is in His hand and that He varies (their) natures at His pleasure. And God commanded that its first division should be uncovered, so that the creatures might live in it; and (so) He says (Gen. 1:9) "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto one place and let the dry land appear."

the sea wrinkled Like (above 7:5), “my skin wrinkled.” Many wrinkles were formed. (So, when He said (Gen. 1:9), “Let the waters...gather,” they were gathered from their straightness and were wrinkled into many wrinkles) until they gathered into one place, which was prepared for them.

they make a line Heb. קוו, an expression of an extended line. Another explanation: it is an expression of (Gen. 1:9) “Let the waters...gather (יקוו).”

From Your rebuke they fled When You said (Gen. 1:9): “Let the waters gather.” And from that voice they hastened away and gathered in the place that You founded for them.

205. “This is that which is written, etc.” This is [the meaning of] that which is stated: “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place” [Genesis 1:9]. This means: Let the levels under the heavens be gathered into one place, to be in wholeness for six extremities, as is appropriate. And yet, in that unification of “Hear O Israel,” one must connect fear to it, [which means] that one must protract the [letter] dalet in eḥad [“one”]. This is the reason that the dalet in eḥad is large, and this is [the meaning of] that which is stated: “And let the dry land appear” [Genesis 1:9] – that the dalet, which is “the dry land,” should appear and be connected to that unification.

THE HOPE [Heb. tikvat] OF MAN [Heb. enosh] IS THE WORM. Rambam: he should consider his end and his return to the worm. I found a similar approach in Rashi’s commentary to the verse “the only desire of the righteous is the good, and the hope of the wicked is wrath” (Proverbs 11:23): they are assured of and hoping for Gehinnom. This shows that once a person is sure that something will happen it can be said to be “his hope”. Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that the mishna does not say “for your hope is the worm” because no person hopes to be eaten by the worms. It says instead “for the hope of man is the worm”, i.e. that every person is destined to be eaten by the worms. (The “hope of man” refers not to any actual person’s hope but to the fate of every person insofar as he is human, per the use of “hope” Tosafot Yom Tov has established above. Saying “your hope” would imply a personal hope, which is not true.) He also writes that the alphanumeric value of “man” [Heb. enosh, אנוש] is the same as the alphanumeric value of the sum of two other synonyms for “man”, אדם and איש. It is because of the joining of earth, אדמה, and the essence, i.e. potential, of man, אישות, that a person is the flesh, בשר, which is eaten by worms. He did not concern himself over the difference of one between the two values (The value of אנוש is 357, and the value of אדם + איש is 356.) [because one alludes to the joining of earth and the essence of man]. Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of Chasid Ya’avetz that the mishna means “be lowly of spirit” before those who insult you, and do not answer them becase “the hope of [the] man” who insults you is the worm, and why should you care what he says? He then says that this is based on the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Do not fear the disparagement of man, and do not be broken by their insults; for like a garment, a moth will eat them, and like wool, a worm will eat them” (Isaiah 51:7-8). Midrash Shmuel also writes that “hope” here is to be understood literally, and explains the mishna as saying that the hope and desire of a person is that he receive a proper burial and not be buried like a donkey. I say that although everyone hopes to have a proper burial befitting a person, it cannot be said that his hope and desire is to be eaten by the worm. If he were to be buried and not eaten by any worms, that would be best. Not only that, we find the Sages mentioning people whom the worms did not touch (Bava Batra 17a) and, we find the story of R. Elazar bar Shimon in Bava Metzia 83b. (In this story, R. Elazar bar Shimon’s daughter stores his body in her attic. One day she sees a worm coming out of his ear. He appears to her in a dream and explains that he once heard someone insulting a Torah scholar and did not sufficiently protest; the worm is a punishment for this. The import of the story is that worms only eat bodies that were engaged in sin, and it is possible to hope to be sinless and therefore not subject to worms.) I say that what caused the commentators all this difficulty is their understanding of the word tikvah as coming from the root k.v.h, meaning “to hope”. But this is not so, and the root is in fact k.v, as in the verse “kav by kav” (Isaiah 28:10). The second tav in the word tikvat is not in place of a hey (If the word in our mishna is “hope” from the root k.v.h., “to hope”, then we understand tikvat as the word tikvah appearing in the construct state and we read tikvat enosh as “the hope of man”.) ; it is simply a suffix, of the kind that appears in the words tif’eret, tilboshet. (The roots of which are p.’.r. and l.b.sh., respectively—the tav at the end is a suffix added on to the root. Tosafot Yom Tov suggests that our word tikvat should be understood similarly, the tav being a suffix. ) We find this word in the verse “the line [Heb. tikvat] of scarlet cord” (Joshua 2:18). We understand the kav in Isaiah the same way—as a measuring cord, with the verse meaning that one receives measure for measure. We also explain the verse in Proverbs 11:23, tikvat enosh `evra, to mean that the wicked are judged by the measuring cord and condemned to the wrath and rage of G-d. And this is what our tanna means when he says tikvat enosh rimah: the measuring cord by which punishment will be dealt out to a person is the worm. [I later saw a passage in Bereshit Rabbah 5:1 on the verse yikavu hamayim, “let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9): he shall make a measure for the water, as the verse says, “a kav [line] shall be stretched over Jerusalem.]

He is here comparing Noah to the first created man who was formed out of the earth; for in that manner also does he speak of him when he came forth out of the ark; since both then and now there took place a first beginning of the cultivation of the land, each being after a deluge. For also, at the time of the original creation of the world the earth was, as it were, a lake, being covered by an inundation of water, for the sacred historian could not tell us that God said, "Let the waters be gathered together into one body, and let the dry land appear," unless it had previously been inundated with waters which now returned into certain depths of the earth. Nor again is the expression a purposeless one, "He began to be a tiller of the earth," for in the second generation he was himself the beginning of men, and also of seed, and of the cultivation of the land, and of the life of all other things. This is the literal meaning of the words. But if we look to their inner sense, a distinction is made between being a cultivator of the earth and a tiller of it; as the murderer of his brother is represented as tilling the earth, but not as cultivating it. For by the earth our body is symbolically represented, which is by its nature earthly, and which the unjust and wicked man tills like a lazy hireling, but which the man endued with virtue cultivates like a skilful manager of plants and an agriculturist of good works appointed to superintend it. Because the workman of the body, the mind, as being carnal, procures carnal pleasures; but the cultivator of the earth is careful to produce useful fruits, those, namely, which are to be obtained by the study of continence, and modesty, and sound wisdom; and he prunes away all superfluous excesses and badhabits which spring up around, like the thin and misplaced branches of trees.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel would say: In the future, all the nations and all the kingdoms will gather together in Jerusalem, as it says (Jeremiah 3:17), “And all the nations will assemble there in the name of the Eternal,” and it says (Genesis 1:9), “Let the waters be assembled.” Just as [there the assembly of] all the waters in Creation were in one place, so too, the assembly here is a gathering of all the nations and kingdoms into Jerusalem, as it says, “And all the nations will assemble there.”

HALAKHAH: (This is repeated (mostly by the corrector) from Ta`aniot 4:3, Notes 141–148.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses. Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments [But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed. One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse. But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split. Rebbi Philippos ben Protos objected before Rebbi Jonah, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day.] Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked, was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses. Should there not be 23? Three for ten, three for ten, and one three (He reads the statement of Rav Huna to mean that any time three people read in the Torah they together must read 10 verses. Then on a Sabbath, when 3+3+1 readers are called, they must read a minimum of 23 verses. Corresponding to this the reader from Prophets should have to read 23 verses. The fact that he has to read only 21 shows that we have to read Rav Huna’s remark as referring only to the weekday and Sabbath afternoon readings.) .

HALAKHAH: (This Halakhah is repeated in Megillah 4:2.) Rav Ḥuna said, three people reading in the Torah shall not do less than ten verses (Each one may not read less than three verses but one has to read at least 4. Babli Megillah21b.) . Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the Ten Commandments (Babli Megillah 21b, as one of two explanations.) . But did we not state, “on Sunday, In the Beginning and there shall be a spread”? And these are only eight! Rebbi Idi said, Cahana and Assi disagreed (In Babli Megillah 22a, disagreement of Rav and Samuel.) . One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he splits it was evening, it was morning, as a separate verse (He splits it off from v. 5 and reads it as separate sentence. In contrast to the Babli which prescribes only one sentence to be repeated, the Yerushalmi has the three readers reading a total of 10 verses as required by Rav Ḥuna.) . But did we not state, “on Monday, there shall be a spread and the waters shall come together”? One said, he repeats. But the other said, he splits. He who says that he repeats, he repeats two verses. He who says he splits, he could not split (Since “it was evening, it was morning, the third day” already is a separate verse.) . Rebbi Philippos ben Perita objected before Rebbi Ze`ira, is there not the paragraph about Amalek? He said to him, there is a difference since this is the topic of the day (The reading for Purim, for which three readers are called on a weekday, is Ex.17:8–16. The reading is not connected to the text before or after, it cannot be augmented. Since there are 9 verses and the Mishnaic requirement can be satisfied without problems, there is no need to change anything to satisfy the additional Amoraic rule. Tosaphot Megillah 21b s.v. אין.) . Rebbi Eleazar from Merom asked before Rebbi Jonah; was it not stated, the one who reads the conclusion from Prophets should not do less than 21 verses (Babli Megillah 23a. The question would be that since we require that one reader at least read 4 verses, should there not be at least 22 verses? The question needs no answer since there is no reading from Prophets on weekdays; the number 21 refers to the seven people called to read on a Sabbath; cf. Megillah 4:2 Note 74.) ?

It was stated (Babli 27b.) : The people of the watch (Meaning the bystanders who do not work in this week.) are fasting every day. On Monday they were fasting for travellers at sea; God commanded, there shall be a spread in midst of the water (Gen. 1:6.) . On Tuesday they are fasting for road travellers; God commanded, the waters under the sky shall congregate (Gen. 1:9.) . On Wednesday they are fasting for children that diphteria should not develop in their mouths; God commanded, there shall be lights (Gen. 1:14.) . “Curses” is written (Reading מְאֹרוֹת as מְאֵרוֹת.) . On Thursday they are fasting that pregnant women should not miscarry and that the children of nursing women should not die; God commanded, let the waters teem with living creepers (Gen. 1:20.) . They fasted neither on Friday nor on Sunday in order to honor the Sabbath. It was stated: The Great Synhedrion was fasting with them. Can the Synhedrion fast every day? They split themselves into clans. “One does not fast for two reasons simultaneously (Babli 8b.) , from the following: we rose and asked of our God for this (Ezra 8:23, misquoted. The same misquote is in the Munich ms. of the Babli (Diqduqe Soferim Ta`anit p. 38, Note ס). Therefore the misquote is a Midrash, not a scribal error. Editors of the printed Babli corrected the quote.) .” Rebbi Tanḥuma said, not because of this but because of the following, to ask for mercy from the God of Heaven for this secret (Dan. 2:18.) . For if there were two reasons, such as a drought and locusts, one blows the shofar about them. When Rebbi Ḥaggai went for a fast, he said before them: Our brothers, even though in our hearts are many worries, this is for what we came.

Which portions of the Torah would the members of the non-priestly watch read on each day? On Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:1–8). On Monday they would read: “Let there be a firmament” and “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9–13). On Tuesday they would read: “Let the waters be gathered” and “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14–19). On Wednesday: “Let there be lights” and “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20–23). On Thursday: “Let the waters swarm” and “Let the earth bring forth” (Genesis 1:24–31). On Friday: “Let the earth bring forth” and “And the heaven and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1–3).

They fled at Your blast, rushed away at the sound of Your thunder,

He heaps up the ocean waters like a mound, stores the deep in vaults.

Elohim said, Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen. It was so.

Allah willed that the waters should be gathered together from beneath the heavens into one location, and that the dry land should appear; and then it was so.

And the Lord said, Let the lower waters which remain under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and the earth be dried, that the land may be visible. And it was so.

These are the words of one who demands this for the glory of the Torah, this day, the third, twice blessed with “it is good,” (Genesis 1:10, 12.) of the weekly portion Tavo, in the year פדותינו (556). (I.e., 5556; it is customary to omit the millennial.)

He called seas: A gathering [of water] is called a sea, and many gatherings are called seas. This is the simple explanation of the thing. And the exegetical understanding [drasha] is known.

[SEAS.] Scripture employs the term seas (yammim) because there is no one name for the sea that surrounds all of the earth. (Ibn Ezra, in line with other medievalists, believed that there is one sea covering most of the earth. Thus he was faced with the problem of why Scripture doesn’t say God called the gathering of the waters “sea.” His guess was that the sea had different names in different places. Hence Scripture refers to it as seas. For an alternate interpretation see Filwarg.)

And God called the dry land earth: And it is the one mentioned in the first verse, "In the beginning, etc." And its stating the word, "called" can be explained in two ways: either it is an expression of calling a name or it is an expression of yelling; He yelled at it that it should no longer spread out, as they, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 12a), "He said to his world, 'enough!'" And when it listened and no longer spread out, He called it earth, as they, of blessed memory, stated (Bereishit Rabbah 5:8), as a result of being reconciled (nitratsit), it was called earth (erets).

And its stating, "He called seas," this is not the depths, which is spoken of in verse 2, since 'the depths' is said about the waters more generally; and the water under the earth as well as the gathered waters were all in the aspect of depths, [during the time] before the earth appeared, since they were all equally mixed with the waters that today are below the earth.

And its stating, "and God saw that it was good," refers also to the gathering of waters, since with it is there life and existence in the world; since the rains in the world are from it, as they, of blessed memory, say (Taanit 9b).

ולמקוה המים קרא ימים. “And the gathering of waters He called ‘oceans.’” The term “oceans” does not apply to the actual waters but to the hollow of the globe within which they are situated. This is why Onkelos translates these words as ולבית כנשות מיא.,meaning the dug out part. which holds the waters in one place and prevents it from overflowing. Isaiah 11,9 which reads: “and the waters cover the sea,” proves that this is the true meaning of “oceans.” Genesis 1,22 describing the habitat of the fish also supports this view. The Trah writes: ומלא את המים בימים, “and they shall fill the waters in the oceans.” A further proof of the correctness of this interpretation is found in Kings II 16,17 ואת הים מעל הבקר הנחשת אשר תחתיה הוריד ,”and the tank he (King Achaz) lowered from the (bronze) oxen which were below it.” The fact that the word for ocean in our verse is inythe plural proves that it refers to the depressions in the globe that the waters are in, else the fact that the surface of the waters are contiguous would require that the Torah write the word ים, “ocean” in the singular. The Talmud in Baba Batra 74 states that there are seven oceans.

ויקרא, up until now this mass of dry land had not qualified for a name, seeing that it had not been visible to the naked eye. The same applies to the waters, which, though they had existed since the first day, had only now been called ימים, oceans. They had previously only been known as תהום, a murky mass of liquid containing some opaque solid particles. The second verse in which we read of these definitions had been written by Moses, had not been said by G’d. What Moses had meant is that at that time there existed something, which in his time was referred to as תהום. Alternately, we could say that the word תהם is derived from the word תהו. This would be an appropriate description, seeing that in the deep waters there is so much confusion and so little light that everything appears as utter confusion, and none of the creatures in that environment can derive pleasure or satisfaction from their existence. There are such locations in the middle of the ocean where the waters are exceedingly deep and far removed from any of the continents of the earth known as dry land by the Torah. Certain of the scientists have already offered proof that earth, i.e. our lower universe, is a sphere seeing that earth itself exists as part of a much greater sphere, the universe. [remember that in Kimchi’s time before Copernicus, the earth was considered the center of the universe or the galaxy, not the sun, as proven by Copernicus in 1543. Ed.] According to the theory proposed by Kimchi or the scientists of his time, one configuration cannot maintain its individuality if it is within another configuration which is different. [If I understand him correctly, he reasons that the earth being spherical is determined by its position within the larger universe surrounded by orbiting planets, which would collide if earth were not dead center, and equidistant on all sides from all the planets orbiting around it. Ed.] ; In fact, the very place described by scientists as תהום is an area in which ships cannot navigate, nor fish survive. The word תהום is a figure of speech, borrowed from descriptions of places containing deep waters. The name ים, ocean, on the other hand, is a term describing the location of the water, a word which is not a derivative of any other root or noun. It is not an adjective describing the condition of the water. It is not comparable to the name יבשת, which is called thus because it reflects the fact that it consists of material which is dry. It is a noun in its own right. The noun ארץ, on the other hand, is also not derived from an adjective, but a definition in its own right. The word תהום, though a noun, merely describes a large quantity of water, as distinct from the word ים, which may apply even to a very shallow expanse of water, including areas very close to a sandy beach.

Concerning the use of the plural mode to describe such waters, i.e. ימים, the scholar Rabbi Yitzchok Israeli writes that it includes two parts of the oceans. It includes what was known as the “great ocean,” the one which spans the better part of the sphere called earth, as well as the southern sea known as “sarndif.”

The reason why the Torah does not report that G’d separated the oceans and the dry land from one another is because no absolute separation exists between these phenomena such as the absolute separation between light and darkness. The phenomenon of the tides illustrates this, i.e. the borders of the oceans and the land mass are not constant but vary during the course of the day [due to the influence of the moon’s gravitational pull. Ed.] In Bereshit Rabbah 5,8 Rabbi Yoseph bar Chalafta attributes the plural mode in the name ימים to the fact that the taste of fish caught in different oceans is different from one another, suggesting that the habitat in which one category of fish lived is materially different from one another although both are water.

AND G-D CALLED THE DRY LAND EARTH. The verse states that the proper name for it would be yabashah (dry land) for as the waters are separated from the sand it becomes dry. However, He called it eretz (earth) as the name which included the four elements created on the first day. The reason for this is that they were all created for the sake of the earth in order that there be a habitation for man, since among the lower creatures no one but man recognizes his Creator. (This is a major principle in Ramban’s thought, that the purpose of all existence is that man acknowledge his Creator. “We have no other reason for the Creation.” (See end of Seder Bo in the Book of Exodus).) And the gathering together of the waters He called ‘yamim’ (seas). It is as if [the word yamim, (seas) combines the two words] yam and mayim (a sea of waters), for the bottom of the ocean is called yam, as it is written, As the waters cover the sea, (Isaiah 11:9.) and likewise, And he took down the sea from off the brazen oxen. (II Kings 16:17.) It is called “sea” because there was a large gathering of water in it.

AND G-D SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD. This means that their continued existence was by His Will, and the purport is that when He clothed them with this form He desired them to be so and their existence was thus established as I have explained. (In Verse 4.) This conforms to what our Rabbis have said: (Bereshith Rabbah 4:8.) “Why is it not stated in reference to the work of the second day that it was good? Because the work associated with the waters was not completed until the third day. Therefore on the third day, [the words ki tov — that it was good] are repeated, once in reference to the completion of the work associated with the waters, and once in reference to [the completion of the other work of] that day.”

ליבשה ארץ, as I explained earlier, the “yabashah” is none other than the earth mentioned in verse 1 as הארץ, as well as in many other places.

קרא ימים CALLED HE SEAS — But does it not form one great sea? But it speaks of seas because the taste of fish which comes up from the sea at Acco is not the same as the taste of fish which comes up from the sea at Aspamia (Genesis Rabbah 5:8).

ויקרא, Gott gab dem aus den Fluten hervorragenden festen Erdkörper die Bestimmung: ארץ, die eigentliche Erde zu sein, in welcher, durch welche und auf welcher das die Erde charakterisierende Individualitäten-Dasein seine eigentliche Gestalt und Verwirklichung findet. Das Wasser, das Flüssige, ist nur die vorbereitende Bedingung dazu. ולמקוה המים קרא ימים der Sammlung der Wasser aber rief er zu: Bette! Bleibet nicht Eine Sammlung von Wassern, sondern brechet in den Kontinent ein und sammelt euch in verschiedenen Betten zu gesonderten, den Kontinent teilenden Meeren. Diese Scheidung des Kontinents durch den überall eindringenden Ozean in gesonderte Erdteile, eine Scheidung, die dann durch weitere Sonderung vermittelst der Ströme und Flüsse eine noch weitere Zerfällung bewirkte, hat der Individualitätenbestimmung der Erde ein noch größeres Gebiet der Mannigfaltigkeit gegeben und ist die Grundlage aller Völkerentwicklung geworden. So singt das תהלים-Lied: "Gottes ist die Erde und was sie füllt, so auch die Menschenwelt und was sie bewohnt; denn Er hat an Meere sie gegründet und stellt noch fort und fort an Strömen sie fest." — (Ps. 24.2.)

וירא א׳ כי טוב Gott sah ein, daß diese Sonderung gut, d. h. seinem Zwecke mit der Erdwelt entsprechend sei, darum lässt Er sie fortbestehen und darum besteht sie fort. Beim vorhergehenden Werke fehlt das כי טוב, weil erst mit diesem die Wassersonderung ihre Vollendung erhielt. Bis dahin war es eine Trennung, ein מהלקת ohne Zweck. Allein ein מהלקת mit Zweck, damit das טוב, das Gute gefördert werde, ist nicht nur einmal כי טוב, sondern, wenn sogar noch ein מהלקת hinzu kommt, gar — wie hier am dritten Tage — zweimal כי טוב, weil hier der Zweck des Guten hervortritt, das ohne jene Gegensätze gar nicht Leben gewonnen hätte. Dieses וירא א׳ כי טוב schließt somit die erste Scheidung der unteren und oberen Wasser mit ein. Daß dieser große Kreislauf und Austausch, wie wir ihn jetzt bewundernd erblicken, urkräftig noch heute sich vollzieht, daß der Ozean die Erde umkreist, alles Wasser zum Meere stürtzt, aus dem Ozean zu Wolken steigt und wieder niederstürzend, nachdem es die Erde getränkt, in Quellen, Bächen, Flüssen und Strömen wieder dem Meere zueilt, um den Kreislauf aufs neue zu beginnen, und ebenso Meer und Land in beständigem Austausch begriffen sind: Alles dies ist nicht nur also, weil Gott es einmal geschaffen, sondern weil er, nachdem Er es geschaffen, noch fort und fort es Seinem Zwecke entsprechend findet. —

ויקרא אלוקים ליבשה ארץ, G’d assigned a name which is applicable to the whole also to parts of it. The reason is that the particular part of the “earth” described previously as merely יבשה, is in reality the most important and productive part of the “earth.” (based on Moreh Nevuchim) Isaiah 45,18 already referred to this when he said of earth that לשבת יצרה, “G’d formed it in order that it be populated,” i.e. subterranean earth is of secondary importance, seeing one cannot cultivate it and make it one’s habitat.

"and G-d saw that it was good" - He wanted it thus because of the goal which is: the intended Goodness

And He called: See above, verse 5. And it states that God called the dry land and the sea with a name, to say that He is the one that [keeps] the waters of the seas in the seas that they should not go out and flood the land; and when He wants, He sends them [out] and they overturn the land and destroy great countries to the point that what was dry land yesterday will become sea today, without man having any control over this.

Yamim (seas): It is one sea that includes all the seas (as I wrote above about the word, Elohim), since they are all united (connected) one with the other.

And God saw that it was good: The intention is that His desire was completed and it was what He wanted it to be. And above on the second day, it doesn't say, "it was good," because the work of the water was not completed (Rashi). Since the desire of God was not completed [on the second day] with the separation of the higher waters from the lower ones, as the main [point] of the creation of the firmament was for the need of bringing down water for the growth of the plants; and behold, until the waters were gathered and the dry land did not appear, there was no place for all this, since the earth was still "chaos and void" - covered by water on all sides and not fitting for habitation. However, when the waters gathered to one place and the dry land appeared, then the work of the water was finished, since there was [now] a place for the falling of the rain onto the face of the dry land, to make it propagate and to make it grow vegetation. And if you will [ask]: if so, why was it not stated that the waters should gather on the second day together with "let there be a firmament;" [the answer is] that the order would not have been proper and elegant if He was involved on one day with [both] the heavens and the earth. And just the opposite, behold the matter comes out very nicely: that on the second day, He created the firmament and on the third day, He arranged the earth that it should grow vegetation; and in order for that to be, He needed first to gather the waters to one place, so that the planet could appear.

"He called seas"d. Is there not but one sea? I.e., all other seas flow from the Ocean, as it says (Koheles 1:7): “All the rivers flow into the sea...”

At Spain. For in Spain, the fish are better.

God called the dry land earth. It should not be inferred from these verses that the dry land already existed as a distinct entity, albeit under water. Rather, it seems more likely that just as the light burst forth from within the darkness, so too the dry land was initially incorporated within the water, as it were. Only on the third day did the land dry, consolidate, and become a separate entity that would now be called earth. And the gathering of the waters He called seas. The place in which the waters gathered would become a distinct entity. This includes not only actual seas, but also discrete bodies of water, such as lakes of any size. Even the basin in the Temple, which King Solomon fashioned so the priests could wash their hands and feet, is known as a sea. From this point forward, the earth and the sea would be the two largest entities in the world. And God saw that it was good. Unlike the mystifying creation of the first day, or the traumatic separation of the second, the creations of the third day were already the beginnings of the fully formed universe. The earth and the seas were given their own space and unique characteristics that would enable the flourishing of those creatures that would inhabit each of them respectively. The existence of the earth and the seas was possible only because they had been separated from each other. This combination of dry land and water, and their subsequent division, was seen by God as good.

ויקרא אלוקים ליבשה ארץ. “G’d named the dry land ארץ. The name יבשה is appropriate, seeing that as soon as the water is removed from the dust, [one of the four basic raw materials. Ed.] that is left behind becomes dry.

ולמקוה המים קרא ימים, “He named the collection of waters ימים.” The reason why the waters were now described as ימים, oceans, is because the ground at the bottom of the ocean is called ים, as we know from Isaiah 11,9 כמים לים מכסים, “as the waters which cover the ocean.”

וירא אלוקים כי טוב, “G’d ‘saw’ that it was good.” A reference to the permanence of the waters covering the bottom of the ocean, a change from the previous condition. [The new condition needed approval by G’d, seeing that nature had carried out His command, as opposed to G’d having done it Himself, as on the second day. (verse 7). Ed.]

In this figurative sense the verb is to be understood, when applied to God e.g., “I saw (raïti) the Lord” (1 Kings 22:19); “And the Lord appeared (va-yera) unto him (Gen. 18:1); “And God saw (va-yar) that it was good” (Gen. 1:10) “I beseech thee, show me (hareni) thy glory” (Exod. 33:18); “And they saw (va-yirü) the God of Israel” (Exod. 24:10). All these instances refer to intellectual perception, and by no means to perception with the eye as in its literal meaning: for, on the one hand, the eye can only perceive a corporeal object, and in connection with it certain accidents, as colour, shape, etc.: and, on the other hand, God does not perceive by means of a corporeal organ, as will be explained.

The Universe has not been created out of an element that preceded it in time, since time itself formed part of the Creation. For this reason Scripture employs the term “bereshit” (in a principle), in which the beth is a preposition denoting “in.” The true explanation of the first verse of Genesis is as follows: “In [creating] a principle God created the beings above and the things below.” This explanation is in accordance with the theory of the Creation.

Let me further awaken you to the explanation of this mystery, as follows: I have already informed you that the Essential Root of the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה, the Ikar Shechinah, is in the earth. The verse by which to remember this is, (Isaiah 66:1) “the earth is My footrest.” Thus, when the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה (Shechinah) receives beneficence from the blessings that are above, it is called (Genesis 1:10) The gathering of the waters-Mikveh HaMayim -מקוה המים. In contrast, when it does not receive blessings, it is called, Dry land-Yabashah-יבשה. (Genesis 1:9) The verse by which to remember this is, (Genesis 1:10) “God called the dry land-Yabashah-יבשה earth-ארץ and the gathering of waters-Mikveh HaMayim-מקוה המים He called, Seas-ימים.’” Thus, when this quality is dry-Yeveishah-יבשה and lacking, the Jewish people are in a state of hunger and thirst, naked and lacking everything, and they are shed (Neshurim-נשורים) of it. For, the Jewish people are like the leaves, whereas this quality is like the body of the tree.

Know that outside the partition of the Divine Sefirot are plagues that are called bad-Ra-רע, which surround the Sefirot from the outside and sometimes cling to HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י and descend to the world. This is why the verse states, “But bad came down from before HaShem-יהו"ה,” rather than “from HaShem-יהו"ה.” In the same manner, in the account of the act of creation it states, (Genesis 1:10) “And God saw that it was good.” However, at the end of the act of creation it states, (Genesis 1:31) “and behold, it was very good.” In Bereshit Rabbah our sages said that, “it was good” refers to the good inclination-Yetzer Tov-יצר טוב, whereas “very good” refers to death. This is because if something comes from HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Righteous One-Tzaddik-צדיק, then even death is called life and good. This is the meaning of what our sages, of blessed memory stated, (Talmud Bavli, Brachot 18a) “Even in their death, the righteous-Tzaddikim-צדיקים are considered to be alive.” About this Torah states, (Genesis 2:9) “And the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil.” That is, when HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י, which is called the Tree of Knowledge-Eitz HaDa’at-עץ הדעת, draws from the quality of Good-Tov-טוב, all its actions are called good. That is, all life and all death that come to the worlds are good.

Know and understand that when HaShem-יהו"ה came to create the creatures through His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י, which is sometimes called God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם, He looked into His quality of Goodness-Tov-טוב for counsel to create all creatures and form all forms, as it states in the account of creation. (Genesis 1:10) That is, God-Elohi”m-אלהי"ם took counsel from His quality of Goodness-Tov-טוב and created the world. This is the essential truth, for if not for the quality of His Goodness-Tov-טוב, His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י, which was called God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם in the act of creation, would be incapable of sustaining the creatures and fulfilling their needs. Since all His acts of creation were sealed with this quality called Good-Tov-טוב, the verse therefore states, (Genesis 1:31) “And God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם saw everything that He had done and behold, it was very good-Tov-טוב.”

11. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם called the dry land.” (Genesis 1:10)

12. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:10)

It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:10) And ELQYM called the dry land earth’, to make vegetation and fruits, which are the Holy Land of Israel below. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:11) And ELQYM said: let the earth sprout vegetation...

And therefore, of this seed, which is the holy drop, it is stated:... and it vomited Jonah onto dry land, (Jon. 2:11) which is the ‘female’. And from that which was ‘dry land’ – Hei (ה) – is called ‘earth’ (eretz) , to produce seeds and fruits. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:10) And ELQYM called the dry land ‘earth’...

Another matter, “vekorbano…” – what did the princes see that led them to present offerings in this manner? The Rabbis say: Even though each of them presented an identical offering, they offered it regarding significant matters, and each and every one presented according to his perspective. Naḥshon began and presented regarding the protocol of the monarchy, just as his father crowned him over his brothers, just as it says: “Judah, you, your brothers will acknowledge you…[your father's sons will prostrate themselves to you]. Judah is a lion cub…” (Genesis 49:8–9). Likewise it says: “For Judah prevailed over his brothers, as the prince would come from him” (I Chronicles 5:2). There was a tradition in the hand of the tribe of Judah, their Sages, and their prominent leaders, from Jacob our patriarch, regarding everything that is destined to befall each tribe until the messianic era. Likewise, there was a tradition in the hand of each and every tribe regarding what would befall it until the messianic era, from Jacob their father. “Vekorbano…” – he presented the dish and the basin corresponding to the kings of the house of David, who are destined to emerge from him, who ruled over the entire world, over the sea and over the land, e.g., Solomon and the messianic king. Solomon, from where is it derived? It is as it is written: “For he ruled over the entire region beyond the river, from Tifsaḥ to Gaza” (I Kings 5:4). Rav and Shmuel, one said Tifsaḥ is at one end of the world and Gaza is at the other end of the world. One said: They stand adjacent to one another; just as he ruled over Tifsaḥ and over Gaza, so he ruled over the entire world. And it says: “All the world sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom…. Each would bring his tribute…” (I Kings 10:24–25). From where is it derived that he ruled over the sea? It is as it is written: “Also the fleet of Hiram, which had carried gold from Ophir…” (I Kings 10:11). “For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years…” (I Kings 10:22). And it says: “I will set his hand upon the seas, his right on the rivers” (Psalms 89:26). The messianic king, from where is it derived? It is, as it is written: "He will rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the land" (Psalms 72:8). Over the land, from where is it derived? It is as it is written: “And all the kings, all the nations will bow to him, will serve him” (Psalms 72:11). And it says: “And behold, among the clouds of the heavens…. To him was given dominion, [honor, and kingship, and all the peoples, nations, and languages would serve him]” (Daniel 7:13–14). “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the entire earth” (Daniel 2:35). This is why he presented a dish, corresponding to the sea that surrounds the entire world and resembles a dish. Why was “its weight one hundred and thirty”? (Numbers 7:13). It is because when the Holy One blessed be He gathered all the waters to one place on the third day of the formation of the world, he called them seas, as it is stated: “And to the gathering of the waters, He called seas [yamim]” (Genesis 1:10). The numerical value of yamim is one hundred; yod, yod are twenty, mem, mem are eighty, that is one hundred. Solomon came and added a sea to the construction of the Temple in which the priests could immerse themselves, just as it says: “He crafted the sea, of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, [circular around, and its height was five cubits; a thirty-cubit line would wrap around it]” (I Kings 7:23). Corresponding to those thirty cubits that was the circumference of the sea that Solomon crafted, he added thirty shekels to the weight of the dish corresponding to the sea of Solomon. That is one hundred and thirty shekels, the weight of the dish, corresponding to the seas and to the sea of Solomon. “One silver basin” (Numbers 7:13), it is corresponding to the world, that is shaped like an orb that is tossed from hand to hand. Why was its weight “seventy shekels”? (Numbers 7:13). It is because both of them (Solomon and the Messianic king.) ruled over seventy nations, which exist from one end of the world to the other end. From where is it derived that the sea is shaped in the form of a dish and the world is shaped like an orb? It is like that which we learned: The Rabbis say: Only one that has in its hand a staff, a bird, an orb, a dish, a sword, a crown, or a ring is forbidden. (A statue of a person in whose hands one of these objects appears is considered an idol, and it is forbidden to benefit from it in any way.) A staff, as it rules the entire world with it. A bird: “My hand has grasped the riches of the peoples like a nest” (Isaiah 10:14). An orb, as the world is shaped like an orb. Rabbi Yona said: Alexander of Macedonia, when he sought to ascend heavenward, he would rise and rise until he would see the world as an orb and the sea as a dish. That is why, when they draw him, it is with an orb in his hand. Should they draw him with a dish in his hand? He does not have dominion over the sea. But the Holy One blessed be He has dominion over the sea and has dominion over the land, recues at sea and rescues on land; that is why they brought a dish corresponding to the sea and a basin corresponding to the land. “Both of them full [of high quality flour]" (Numbers 7:13), as the nation brought tributes [menaḥot] (The word menahot can also refer to meal offerings, which typically consist of high quality flour.) to Solomon; likewise they are destined to bring it to the messianic king, just as it says: “[The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute [minḥa]]; the kings of Sheba and Seva will offer gifts” (Psalms 72:10). “Full [mele’im]” means nothing other than gifts, just as it says: “And gave them all [vaymalum] to the king” (I Samuel 18:27). “High quality flour [solet]" (Numbers 7:13), just as it says: "valued [hamesulaim] like gold" (Lamentations 4:2). "Mixed with oil” (Numbers 7:13), just as it says: “A good name is better than fragrant oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1), and it says: “Your name is like poured oil” (Song of Songs 1:3), as their good name would go forth throughout the world. Why were they of silver? It is just as it says: “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver” (Proverbs 10:20). “One gold ladle, ten shekels, [full of incense]” (Numbers 7:14), corresponding to the ten generations from Peretz to David, as it is stated: “These are the generations of Peretz: [Peretz begot Hetzron]; and Hetzron begot [Ram, and Ram begot Aminadav;] Aminadav begot Naḥshon, [and Naḥshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Oved]; and Oved begot [Yishai], and Yishai begot David” (Ruth 4:18–22). “One…ladle,” as they were all like one hand, all full-fledged righteous men. That is, “full of incense” (Numbers 7:14), as their actions were pleasant like the fragrance of the incense. “One young bull” (Numbers 7:15), corresponding to Abraham, who was the primary progenitor, and who, in his regard, it is stated: “Abraham ran to the cattle [and took a young bull]” (Genesis 18:7). “One ram” (Numbers 7:15), this is Isaac, as, in his regard it is stated: “He took the ram and he offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son” (Genesis 22:13). “One sheep” (Numbers 7:15), corresponding to Jacob, in whose regard it is stated: “Jacob separated the sheep” (Genesis 30:40). “One goat as a sin offering” (Numbers 7:16), corresponding to Judah, who brought Joseph’s fine tunic that he had immersed in the blood of the goat, as it is stated: “They slaughtered a goat [and they dipped the tunic in the blood]" (Genesis 37:31). Judah brought it to his father and said: “Identify this, please, is it your son’s tunic?” (Genesis 37:32). That is why it was meted to him with the same measure, as Tamar said to him: “Identify, please, whose signet, belt, [and staff are these?]” (Genesis 38:25). That is why sin offering is stated in this regard, as they brought it as atonement for him, because he brought anguish to his father. “And for the peace offering [hashelamim], two cattle” (Numbers 7:17) – these are David and Solomon, as they initiated the monarchy, as cattle [bakar] is nothing other than an expression of monarchy, just as it says: “Butter of cattle [bakar] and milk of sheep…” (Deuteronomy 32:14), and we translate it: Give them the plunder of their kings. (Targum Onkelos on the verse. Shelamim) , because they were full-fledged righteous men, (Shelamim is expounded as though it is written shelemim, complete.) and in their days, Israel were flawless [mushlamim], and in the days of Solomon, the kingdom was complete [shelema], as it is stated: “Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord” (I Chronicles 29:23). The two of them built the Temple; David made the foundation, and Solomon built it. “Five rams, five goats, five sheep in their first year” (Numbers 7:17) – these are fifteen corresponding to the fifteen kings who were from Reḥavam until Zedekiah, king son of a king. Some were full-fledged righteous men, some were middling, and some were full-fledged wicked men. “This was the offering of Naḥshon son of Aminadav” (Numbers 7:17). When the Holy One blessed be He saw that he presented his offering corresponding to the order of the patriarchs and the royal dynasty, He began lauding his offering: “This was the offering of Naḥshon son of Aminadav.”

“God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas, and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10). “God called the dry land Earth [eretz].” Why was it called eretz? It is because it hastened [ratzeta] to perform the will of its Maker. (By beginning to expand.) Rabbi Natan in the name of Rabbi Aḥa, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “I am God Almighty [shadai]” (Genesis 17:1) – I am the One who [she] said to the heavens and the earth: Enough [dai]. Had it not been so, they would have continually stretched out until now. “And the gathering of the waters He called Seas” – Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥalafta said: Is it not only one sea? (“The gathering of waters” is in the singular, indicating that the verse is referring to one body of water.) Why does the verse state “Seas”? However, the taste of a fish that comes up in Akko is not similar to one that comes up in Sidon or one that comes up in Spain. (Even in a single body of water (the Mediterranean), there are several distinct sections. )

(Exod. 37:1:) THEN BEZALEL MADE THE ARK. This text is related (to Ps. 119:130): THE OPENING OF YOUR WORDS ENLIGHTEN; IT GIVES UNDERSTANDING TO THE SIMPLE. R. Simeon [ben Jehozadak] asked R. Samuel bar {Nehemiah} [Nahman]: < Since > you are a master of Haggadah, tell me: How did the Holy One create the world? (Tanh., Exod. 10:6; Gen. R. 3:4; Exod. R. 50:1; Lev. R. 31:7; M. Pss. 104:4.) He said to him: When the Holy One wanted to create the world, he wrapped himself in light and created his world, as stated (in Ps. 104:2): WHO PUTS ON LIGHT LIKE A GARMENT. (See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:10.) After that (in the same vs.): WHO SPREADS OUT THE HEAVENS LIKE A SHEET. Therefore (in Ps. 119:130): THE OPENING OF YOUR WORDS ENLIGHTEN…. R. Judah said: To what is the matter comparable? To a king {who had} [who wanted to build himself] a palace, (Lat.: palatium; Gk.: palation.) but that place was {one of} darkness. (Cf. Gen. R.3:1.) What did he do? He lit the lamps, and afterwards he built a palace. So when the Holy One built the world, it was all darkness. What did he do? He wrapped himself in light and created it. Ergo (in Exod. 119:130): THE OPENING (PTH) OF YOUR WORDS ENLIGHTEN…. From the Holy One the righteous have learned that they should begin in light. When the Holy One said to him (i.e., to Moses in Exod. 25:8): AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY, Moses told Bezalel to make a Tabernacle. With what did he first begin (PTH)? The work on the Ark. (Exod. 37:1:) THEN BEZALEL MADE THE ARK.

Another thing the rivers of God lifted up. Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Ben Azai that the waters were rising and reaching up to the throne of glory, as it is said, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And it also says, "As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). And when the bee emerges from the mouth of the Almighty (Genesis 9:10), the waters would gather together. Mountains and hills rose up from the ends of the earth and spread throughout the land, creating valleys upon valleys in the midst of the earth, and the waters would roll and gather into the valleys, as it is said, "And he called the gathering of the waters 'Seas'" (Genesis 1:10). Immediately, the waters swelled and covered the land, until God rebuked them and pressed them beneath His feet, forming a border for the sea as a man makes a fence around his vineyard. And when the waters rose and saw the sand before them, they receded, as it is said, "Fear not, O Jacob My servant," says the Lord, "for I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations where I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished" (Jeremiah 46:28). And before the waters were gathered together, the deeps were created. These are the depths that are beneath the earth, and the earth above them is split like a crack in a vessel, gazing into the heart of the sea. Thus, the earth is anchored upon the waters, as it is said, "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever" (Psalm 104:5). And where did those waters go? Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Yehudah, the son of Rabbi Shalom: "What is this thing like? It is like two bowls, one full and one empty. But if they were both full, what could they do? When they are full, they pour into the channel, and when the wind passes through them, they turn to one place. So the whole world was filled with water. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He restrained them, and they dried up, as it is said, 'He holds back the waters, and they dry up; also, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth' (Job 12:15). And it also says, 'He walks on the high places of the sea' (Job 9:8), "He holds back the waters, and they dry up." And it also says (Micah 1:3), "He treads upon the high places of the sea." And it says (Psalm 33:7), "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap." And where did they go? Rabbi Levi said, "These whisper to these, 'Where are we going?' And they say, 'The way of the sea, the way of the sea, to make war with that country, to make war with that country.'" Rabbi Huna drew out a tongue of fire to each side. Rabbi Joshua ben Karcha said, "We have received that the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, was roaring before them, as it is said (Psalm 29:3), 'The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.' The rivers raise their voice."

THE GATHERING OF THE WATERS ON the third day all the earth was flat like a plain and the waters covered the surface of all the earth. When the word of the Almighty was uttered, "Let the waters be gathered together" (Gen. 1:9), the mountains and hills arose from the ends of the earth and they were scattered over the surface of all the earth, and valleys were formed over the inner parts of the earth; and the waters were rolled together and gathered into the valleys, as it is said, "And the gathering together of the waters he called seas" (Gen. 1:10). Forthwith the waters became proud and they arose to cover the earth as at first, when the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them || and subdued them, and placed them beneath the soles of His feet, and measured them with the hollow of His hand that they should neither decrease nor increase. He made the sand as the boundary of the sea, just like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard. When they rise and see the sand before them they return to their former place, as it is said, "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?" (Jer. 5:22).

2) "All that have fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers — those may you eat': "in the seas (yamim)": This is the Great Sea (the Mediterranean), as it is written (Bereshith 1:10): "And the (great) ingathering of the waters, He called yamim." "and in the nechalim": These are the rivers, as it is written (Bereshith 2:10): "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden." This tells me only of oceans and rivers, that flow (both) in the dry season and in the rainy season. Whence do I derive for inclusion other waters, and other rivers, that flow in the rainy season but not in the dry season, until you include water in holes? From (the repetition of) "in the waters" (Bereshith 11:8, Bereshith 11:9).

R. Yossi Hameshulam says: Whence is it derived that just as it (Eretz Yisrael) imparts flavors to the land, so it imparts flavors to the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean)? From (Bereshith 11:10) "and the gathering of the waters He called "'seas.'" Now the sea is one, viz. (Ibid. 9) "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place." How, then, is "and the gathering of the waters He called 'seas'" to be understood? (It is to be understood as meaning) that the flavor of a fish brought up from Acco is not like that of one brought up from Tzor, and that the flavor of a fish brought up from Tzor is not like that of one brought up from Spain.

Or, because Eretz Yisrael is surrounded with mountains, I might think that what is revealed (i.e., exposed) drinks (rain), and that what is concealed does not; it is, therefore, written (Devarim 11:11) "From the rain of the heavens you will drink water" — both the revealed and the concealed. And thus is it written (Job 37:11) "Af-Bri (the plenipotentiary of rain) will load the cloud. He (Af-Bri) will scatter the cloud of His rain, and he around (the mountain) (will guide it) with his stratagems." So that clouds surround it and water it from every side.

All seas are equivalent to a mikveh, for it is said, "And the gathering (ulemikveh) of the waters He called the seas" (Genesis 1:10), the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Judah says: only the Great Sea is equivalent to a mikveh, for it says "seas" only because there are in it many kinds of seas. Rabbi Yose says: all seas afford cleanness when running, and yet they are unfit for zavim and metzoraim and for the preparation of the hatat waters.

Flowing water is considered like a spring and dripping water is considered like a mikveh. Rabbi Zadok testified that if flowing water exceeded dripping water [with which it was mixed] it was valid [as flowing water]. If dripping water became flowing water, its flow may be blocked by a stick or by a reed or even by a zav or a zavah, and then one may go down and immerse oneself in it, the words of Rabbi Judah. Rabbi Yose says: one may not stop the flow of water with anything which is liable to uncleanness.

All garments can contract the uncleanness of negaim except those of non-Jews. One who buys garments [with signs of negaim] from non-Jews they must be inspected as if the signs had then first appeared. The hides [of animals] of the sea do not contract the uncleanness of negaim. If one joined to them anything which grows on land, even if it is only a thread or a cord, as long as it is something that is susceptible to uncleanness, they also become susceptible to uncleanness.

All seas are equivalent to a ritual bath (mikveh), for it is said, "And the gathering (ulemikveh) of the waters He called the seas" (Genesis 1:10), the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Judah says: only the Great Sea is equivalent to a ritual bath, for it says "seas" only because there are in it many kinds of seas. Rabbi Yose says: all seas afford cleanness when running, and yet they are unfit for zavim and metzoraim and for the preparation of the hatat waters.

הים הגדול כמקוה – The Bible did not call a place a “Mikveh” other than the Great Sea (i.e., the Mediterranean Sea), for it is what Scripture refers to in the account of Creation (Genesis 1:10), for there all the waters of Creation were gathered.

מפני שהיא מן התורה – the obligation of immersion in a Mikveh of water (see Genesis 1:10). It is from the Torah.

"as it says (Proverbs 4:2) 'For a good lesson'": All of the acts of creation - about which it is stated, "And God saw that it was good" - were only created for the sake of the Torah, which is called a lesson, as you say (Deuteronomy 32:2), "My lesson drops like the rain."

All seas are equivalent to a mikveh, for it is said, "And the gathering ( of the waters He called the seas" (Genesis 1:10), the words of Rabbi Meir. According to Rabbi Meir the seas are considered to be like a mikveh and not like a flowing spring, which can be used for the red cow, for zavim (those with unusual genital discharge) and for metzoraim (those with scale disease), all of whom require "living waters." In contrast to the rules governing a spring, for a mikveh to purify the water must be gathered into one place and it cannot be running. The seas are treated like a mikveh and therefore its waters purify only when they are gathered in one place. Rabbi Meir learns this from a midrash on the word "gathering" which is in Hebrew, mikveh. Genesis calls the seas a mikveh and therefore they are subject to the same rules as a mikveh and not to the rules of a live spring.

All seas are equivalent to a ritual bath (, for it is said, "And the gathering ( of the waters He called the seas" (Genesis 1:10), the words of Rabbi Meir. According to Rabbi Meir the seas are considered to be like a mikveh and not like a flowing spring, which can be used for the red cow, for zavim (those with unusual genital discharge) and for metzoraim (those with scale disease), all of whom require "living waters." In contrast to the rules governing a spring, for a mikveh to purify the water must be gathered into one place and it cannot be running. The seas are treated like a mikveh and therefore its waters purify only when they are gathered in one place. Rabbi Meir learns this from a midrash on the word "gathering" which is in Hebrew, mikveh. Genesis calls the seas a mikveh and therefore they are subject to the same rules as a mikveh and not to the rules of a live spring.

Felle von Wassertieren. Mit ים ist hier nicht nur das Meer gemeint, sondern jedes Wasser, im Gegensatz zum Trockenen, wie Gen. 1,10.

The word ארץ here is a generic term applying to each of these four components our terrestrial earth is made of, collectively as well as separately, such as in Genesis 1,10 ויקרא אלקים ליבשה ארץ. In view of this [ארץ without the letters וה in front, Ed.], the word והארץ refers to Earth, i.e. all its four elements combined. The words תהו ובהו on the other hand, refer to the element alone. The Torah tells us that at that stage this element could not be defined as it could not be isolated. You should know that the number of planets is 955, corresponding to numerical value of the word השמים. [The final letter ם is considered as equivalent to 600. Ed.] You will find this idea in a book called מעשה מרכבה, where we are told that at the time G'd descends from the celestial regions, i.e. from 955 רקיעים, heavens, and He seats Himself on the throne commensurate with His glory, all these heavens as well as the gateways to the regions called ערבות, recite the verse שאו שערים ראשיכם, "lift up you gates your heads, etc." (Psalms 24,9). We also find in Derech Eretz Rabbah, that "G'd is the solitary Ruler in the celestial regions, His name is One, and He resides in 390 heavens [the numerical equivalent of the word שמים, Rabbi Chavell.]. Each one of these "heavens" has been stamped with His name, a name which has been alluded to in the Torah (Deut. 32,1) האזינו ה-שמים, "hearken the Heavens." When I shall explain that verse in due course, I will quote that Midrash in detail. At any rate, it is impossible to reduce this number of heavens. According to our sages in the Talmud (Kabbalists), there are only seven heavens and they are enumerated in Chagigah 12. We quote: "Rav Yehudah said that there are two kinds of heaven seeing that the Torah wrote in Deut. 10,14: השמים ושמי השמים, 'the heaven and the heaven of the heavens.' Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that there are seven heavens and they are called: וילון, רקיע, שחקים, זבול, מעון, מכון, ערבות. According to researchers, i.e. the philosophers, there are nine heavens. They are: גלגל המקיף (compare Maimonides hilchot Yesodey Ha-Torah), גלגל המזלות the zodiac, i.e. the horoscopes, and the seven "heavens" dominated by the seven fixed stars [an antiquated astronomical concept believed in by all astronomers until exploded by Copernicus about 1540. Ed.] According to these "philosophers," the four elements of our terrestrial universe rank below these regions dominated by what is known as שבעה כוכבי לכת, the 7 fixed planets. King Solomon already listed these four elements in the same order in a single verse in Proverbs 30,4 where he wrote: מי עלה שמים וירד, מי אסף רוח בחפניו, מי צרר מים בשמלה? מי הקים כל אפסי ארץ? "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind (spirit) in his hand? Who has wrapped the water in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? According to the philosophers the element of fire receives its heat from the planet moon which is immediately above it and closest to it. This is due to the constant motion of that planet. It is a well known fact that every body which is in motion generates heat by its motion. The larger the body in question and the closer to earth, the greater the heat it generates and its ability to warm other bodies which are close to it. Seeing that it is the nature of fire to rise constantly, it is the first element to receive warmth from the moon. The fact that fire rises must certainly have a purpose. The moon itself, however is not warm nor does it inflame. Nor does fire rise indefinitely. Both the earth and the moon have been assigned definitive orbits separated from each other by an atmosphere which neither can break out of. Just as water, which has a tendency to descend, cannot descend to the extent of flooding the earth, so fire cannot ascend beyond certain limits and inflame what is beyond those limits. These philosophers use Job 37,18 חזק כראי מוצק ועדו , "strong like a mirror which has been cast," as proof that the atmosphere separating planets and their respective orbits from one another is impenetrable. I have already pointed out that the universe was created in the month of Tishrey, a month under the influence of the zodiac sign מאזנים, "scales." This is also the meaning of the second verse in Genesis, that the wind of the Lord was hovering above the deep." We know that the zodiac sign governing the wind is "scales," whereas the zodiac sign governing water is עקרב, "scorpion." The correct interpretation of our verse is therefore: "When did G'd create heaven and earth? At a time when the רוח אלוקים rises develops and rises in the morning, i.e. at the time when the zodiac sign "scales" which is the zodiac sign pertaining to the רוח, "wind" hovers "above the face of the waters" which is close to the zodiac sign "scales," the sign pertaining to the waters. The reason why these respective zodiac signs are called "scales" and "scorpion" as well as the reason for the names of the remainder of the zodiac signs is because a cluster of stars form a shape reminiscent of such objects or animals in the sky. According to tradition, at the time the deluge occurred the constellations of the seven fixed stars was as follows: There was a cluster of stars resembling the shape of a lamb; there was a similar cluster of stars resembling the shape of an ox; the same was the case with the zodiac signs "twins," both of whom resembled human beings. There was a constellation resembling a lobster (cancer), a constellation resembling "scales," a constellation resembling a scorpion, a constellation resembling a bucket, i.e. a human being drawing water; All these horoscopes or zodiac signs were named after their appearance in the sky at the time of the deluge. It may be true that the reason these signs appeared in that fashion in the sky at the time of the deluge was meant to remind man of Divine supervision of his fate by his recalling the names of the horoscopes. Our sages in Pessikta Rabbati 2,9 as well as in Tanchuma have explained this in the manner we have outlined.

It is important to understand that the very name Zevulun alludes to what is called the קו האמצאי, the “middle line,” i.e. the line that forms the connection between the terrestrial and celestial world. This is why he is described as residing (being at home) לחוף הימים, at the beach of the seas. The wordימים appears in Genesis 1,10 ולמקוה המים קרא ימים, “and the accumulation of water he called seas, or oceans.” The word חוף is connected to חופה, the wedding canopy. Zevulun is viewed as the groom who emerges from his wedding canopy when he engages in commerce to supply his brother Issachar with the necessary funds to study Torah. No wonder then that he enjoys precedence over his older brother.

Archelaus Makes A Funeral Feast For The People, On The Account Of Herod. After Which A Great Tumult Is Raised By The Multitude And He Sends The Soldiers Out Upon Them, Who Destroy About Three Thousand Of Them. 1. Now the necessity which Archelaus was under of taking a journey to Rome was the occasion of new disturbances; for when he had mourned for his father seven days, (Hear Dean Aldrich's note on this place: "The law or Custom of the Jews (says he) requires seven days' mourning for the dead, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 8. sect. 4; whence the author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus, ch. 22:12, assigns seven days as the proper time of mourning for the dead, and, ch. 38:17, enjoins men to mourn for the dead, that they may not be evil spoken of; for, as Josephus says presently, if any one omits this mourning [funeral feast], he is not esteemed a holy person. How it is certain that such a seven days' mourning has been customary from times of the greatest antiquity, Genesis 1:10. Funeral feasts are also mentioned as of considerable antiquity, Ezekiel 24:17; Jeremiah 16:7; Prey. 31:6; Deuteronomy 26:14; Josephus, Of the War B. III. ch. 9. sect. 5.) and had given a very expensive funeral feast to the multitude, (which custom is the occasion of poverty to many of the Jews, because they are forced to feast the multitude; for if any one omits it, he is not esteemed a holy person,) he put on a white garment, and went up to the temple, where the people accosted him with various acclamations. He also spake kindly to the multitude from an elevated seat and a throne of gold, and returned them thanks for the zeal they had shown about his father's funeral, and the submission they had made to him, as if he were already settled in the kingdom; but he told them withal, that he would not at present take upon him either the authority of a king, or the names thereto belonging, until Caesar, who is made lord of this whole affair by the testament, confirm the succession; for that when the soldiers would have set the diadem on his head at Jericho, he would not accept of it; but that he would make abundant requitals, not to the soldiers only, but to the people, for their alacrity and good-will to him, when the superior lords [the Romans] should have given him a complete title to the kingdom; for that it should be his study to appear in all things better than his father.

The colleagues in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages that if a drink is stinking from the start it is impure. But did we not state (Mishnah Ṭahorot 9:3, speaking of the sap of olives which is not oil but fruit juice. Even though it does not smell badly, it is useless and we see that R. Eliezer declares useless fruit sap to be impure. In the Mishnah, R. Simeon disagrees with the anonymous Tanna and holds that R. Eliezer declares olive sap pure. Since the Yerushalmi lacks this statement, it seems to reject the statements of R. Simeon and the colleagues.) : “The fluid oozing out from them Rebbi Eliezer declares pure but the Sages impure”? Rebbi Ila in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages about the waters of the ocean; even if they are stinking the Torah calls them water (Gen. 1:10): “The collection of water He called oceans.” Rebbi Jacob bar Zavdi in the name of Rebbi Abbahu: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages that beet juice (תרד (Hebrew) and שׂלק (Arabic) are the same; cf. Kilaim Chapter 1, Note 64.) does not prepare.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This is not difficult, because this baraita, which permits bathing in the Great Sea, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who deems all seas equal. That baraita, which prohibits bathing there, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, who holds that the Great Sea is unlike other seas. As we learned in a mishna: All seas purify like a ritual bath [mikve], as it is stated: “And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters [mikve] He called seas” (Genesis 1:10); this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: Only the Great Sea purifies like a ritual bath, and the verse states seas only because there are many seas in the Great Sea, not because all seas purify.

But the Israelites had marched through the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth,

Elohim called the dryness, earth, and the gathering of the waters, He called seas, and Elohim saw that it was good.

So Allah named the dry land "Earth", and the place of the water He named "Seas". Then Allah knew that this [was] good

And the Lord called the dry (land) the Earth, and the place of the assemblage of waters called He the Seas; and the Lord saw that it was good.

And He humbled you, and caused you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not . . . that He make known to you that not by bread alone does the man live, but by every word that leaves the mouth of G-d the man lives.” (Ibid. 8:3) There is a problem [with this verse.] The words “the,” which appear twice in the words “the man,” (In Hebrew, the prefix hey – ha-adam.) are unnecessary. It should have said: “a man does not live by bread alone.” This can be explained with a statement in Likutey Torah by the Arizal, that scientists once questioned the source of the soul’s vitality. To say that the soul’s life force comes from bread and physical food makes no sense. On the other hand, the soul cannot be said to live without food, like an angel. If so, why does a person die from hunger if he does not eat for several days? Death is the separation of the soul from the body. Still, why does the soul depart for lack of food, since it does not derive benefit from it? They became very confused over this issue. The Arizal explained that they were fools, and did not understand the root of creation. Our Sages have said: “G-d created the world with ten utterances” (Pirkei Avos 5.) – meaning, everything came into existence by means of the utterances themselves, for the utterance of G-d is lofty and holy. As soon as G-d said, “Let there be a firmament,” the firmament came into existence, as it is says: “With the word of G-d the heavens were made” (Psalms 33:6). That utterance entered into the inner vitality of the firmament to enliven it, so that it should remain for as long as the world exists, as it says: “Forever, O G-d, Your word stands in the heavens” (Psalms 119:99). (The R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains that the letters of G-d’s speech descend from the spiritual realm, undergoing countless permutations, until they become concretized in the objects of the physical world. See Sha’ar HaYichud v’HaEmunah, chapter 1, printed together with Sefer HaTanya.) Likewise, when He said, “Let the earth put forth grass and fruit trees,” or “Let the earth put forth living creatures” (Genesis 1:11, 24). Those utterances brought them all into existence, and the utterance itself is their inner vitality.

This is alluded to in, “… tzvi latzaddik… razi li, razi li.” The words tzvi latzaddik refers to the holiness of marital relations, of which there are two razin: the upper unification and the lower unification. These correspond to Halakhah and Kabbalah, secrets and deep secrets. And this is what our Sages taught: “May God’s glory be forever” (Psalms 104:31) —the ministering angel of the world said this. When the Holy One commanded the trees [to yield fruit] after their own kind, the grasses drew an inference with regard to themselves: If the trees—which are large and do not [reproduce] in close proximity—were commanded by the Holy One “after its own kind” (Genesis 1:11), then all the more so we—who are small and do [reproduce] in close proximity—must bring forth [only] “after its own kind.” The ministering angel of the world spoke up and said, “May God’s glory be forever; [God shall rejoice in His works]” (Chullin 60a, cf. Rashi).

This is the constant and everlasting effect, throughout the earth, of the fiat “Let the earth bring forth herbs….” (Genesis 1:11.) —( (Brackets appear in the text.) in a mode of infinitude, and not during the six days of creation only [as is the case with the fiat “Let the waters bring forth an abundance of creeping things,” (Genesis 1:20.) and the fiat “Let the earth bring forth living being” (Ibid. 1:24.) —from the chochmah of the malchut of the malchut of Asiyah]. For during the Seven Days of the Beginning there shone in this world a radiation from the light of the En Sof in a mode of gratuitous chesed, without any (prior) elevation of mayin nukvin (Feminine waters—The initial stimulus of an appropriate act by man (see above, Epistle 4, note 46).) at all (See above, Epistle 5, and note 87, ad loc.) ).

An illustration for this could be the process of planting. The seed stimulates the power of growth within the soil, which is G–d’s command, “Let the earth sprout forth…fruit trees…” (Genesis 1:11.) through elevation of mayin nukvin to its source. In this manner the parchment and etrog arouse until the loftiest heights, meaning the Name of ס“ג,8 which is above the shattering of the vessels,65 (See note 49.) which is the very essence of the Lights in Adam Kadmon, (See On Learning Chassidus, p. 15 ff.) and not merely a radiance,25 as is the Name of מ“ה,8 which issues from the “forehead.”

תדשא הארץ, “let the earth sprout vegetation;” at this point the Torah begins with its report of G-d’s creative activity on the third “day”. The major result was that the surface of the earth became covered with different categories of vegetation including trees, in anticipation of G-d’s placing the luminaries in the sky on the fourth day. A different exegesis: the waters had already completed the process of contracting on the second day as part of that day’s activity, aided by the רקיע, horizon/atmosphere blowing itself up on the second day; for if the (upper) waters had not contracted, how could the earth beneath have become visible and already be covered with vegetation including trees?.

עץ פרי , “edible trees;” the earth did not carry out this part of G-d’s instructions, producing only trees with edible fruit instead. On the other hand, it produced more species of herbs than it had been instructed to. Bearing this in mind, we can deduce that the “earth’s” intention in doing so was not to countermand G-d, but was well intentioned. It reasoned that if the trunks were edible it would not take long before many such species of trees would die out, as the creatures on earth would consume both the fruit and the trunks. In spite of the earth’s, i.e. nature’s good intentions, when G-d cursed man as a result of his sin, the earth’s non compliance with the directive of its Creator was remembered and it was cursed also. This was in keeping with the principle expressed in B’rachot 10, that when Chiskiyah said to G-d that he had not married as he foresaw that his children would become renegades, G-d asked him if that was a reason to refuse to carry out His command? [In other words, “never mind your good intentions, you must not countermand My orders to be fruitful and to multiply.” G-d did not need his advice about how to achieve His goals. Ed.].

פרי , “fruit(s) of;” this is one of numerous words in classical Hebrew which always appear in the singular mode; others are: שמש, sun, טף, children, שכר, reward, wages, כר,cushion, בצק, dough, to mention just a few.

Grass: It is a species, the entire purpose of which is the herb and not the seed. And if so, its main purpose is that the leaf be more distinguishable, and this is the understanding of 'grass' as I have explained in the song of Ha'azinu.

Herbs, that give off seed: The purpose of which is the seed, whether small or large. And behold, it doesn't state now, “according to its specie,” as it states by the fruit of the tree; [meaning] and with it, since it [nonetheless] states in the adjacent verse, “and the earth brought forth grass, herbs that give off seed, according to its specie.” And also [noteworthy] is that the main point of the adjacent verse seems unnecessary. Firstly, we must explain the meaning of, “according to its specie,” or [what it means] when “according to its specie,” is written concerning what grows on the ground or the creations with living souls. And [the Torah need to say this] because there is almost no species, within which are not included several sub-species. As with wheat, we find in Eichah Rabbah, …................?. And so [too,] there are many in each species. And at the time of the creation, only one wheat plant came, which was the best of that strain, but within it was the potential for several types. And about this, [the Sages] said in (Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11), “all creatures were created with their varieties.” And the main [meaning] here is, as written in Tosefot, that “varieties” [tsivionan] is related to the phrase [tsvi ha'arets,], which means with the greatest possible beauty. But it is not like the Tosefot wrote - that 'they are completely finished' is the meaning of the phrase [that is also] there: “they were [all] created in their stature;” but rather, 'in the most praiseworthy manner,' is its correct meaning. And also included in the meaning of “in their varieties,” is that every fruit has different times as to when its beauty is most apparent. And with the fruit of the ground, the main beauty is at the time where it has not finished its growth and [at which time] the leaf appears green; which is not the case, when it is completely finished, behold [at that time] the herb withers and is not in its [greatest] beauty. But with a tree, it is not like this – even when the tree is completely finished [for that year], the leaf stays in its beauty; and is included in the understanding of 'varieties' at the time when they appear most beautiful. From here, it follows that it is not relevant to say, “according to its species” then, since, behold in the first coming forth, there was nothing but leaves. And [so] all of the types were the same in [any particular] strain. For this reason, “according to its species” is not written in the proclamation. Which is not the case with the trees, about which it is written, “according to its species;” since at the time that it first came out, many types were included in it, and all of them were one specie; and for this reason [with trees,] there is no [prohibition] of mixing species (kelayim), as is known [from] the Chapter, “Elu Terefot,”

Fruit tree: The nature of the tree is different then the seeds, which only grow from planting [them] and not from [placing them] in its trunk; which is not the case with a tree – we can graft a branch and it grows [into] a tree. And this is [the meaning] of 'fruit tree;' within its tree is included the potential for the fruit.

That makes a fruit, the seed of which is in it. Which means the pit, which is the seed that is located in the fruit. And also within in [and not just the tree] is the potential of the tree.

And it was so: That they were formed, like at the time when they are in all their varieties/beauty. And [only] afterward And the earth brought forth, etc.: The [herbs] were [now] completed, such that it would [now] be relevant to say also about them, "according to their species." And since also with the species that are not eaten, there is a seed, [the eventual emergence of their seed differentiated each sub-specie with them as well] (as is found in Bava Metzia 105a concerning weeds, once a seed falls, it falls.) For this reason [in this verse], it is also written with the herbs, "according to its species;" and a second sprouting forth [besides the implied sprouting forth of the previous verse].

AND GOD SAID. Scripture states, Let the earth put forth grass (Gen. 1:11); Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures (Gen. 1:20); Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind (Gen. 1:24). This teaches that God placed in the earth and in the water the power to bring forth these things at God’s command. These are the generations (offspring) of the heaven and the earth (Gen. 2:4). (Filwarg. For an alternate interpretation see Krinsky.)

[LET THE EARTH PUT FORTH GRASS.] Tadshe means let it put forth.

WHEREIN IS THE SEED THEREOF. Wherein the seed is in the fruit and each one produces its own kind.

Fruit tree, making fruit according to its species: [The verse refers to all trees as fruit trees] since all trees are called fruit trees and all trees make fruit, some for food and some for medicine. And that which is stated, "making fruit according to its species," appears to be explained, in that 'man is [like] the tree of the field' and [a tree] is similar to him, whether as a result of its stature or whether as a result of its enduring remnant, like man, as it is stated (Job 14:7), "Since there is hope for a tree." And all of the grasses relate to the other animals, whether because of their being of lowly stature or whether because they don't have roots and branches, but rather (Job 14:7), "like a flower, comes out and withers." And the Holy One, blessed be He, created all types of food, such that [each food] should be appropriate to the constitution of the eater; and combined every 'type [of food] to its type' [of eater], as it is stated (Psalms 145:16), "and He satiates the will of all life," which means to say [He feeds it with] something that is its will, from the angle that it is close to its nature and its constitution. And that is why it states, "And to all the living on the earth, etc... all of the green grass to eat." Since grass is not specifically appropriate except for the species of physical life that do not speak. But for man, He said, "Behold, I have given all grass, etc. and all trees etc.," since from the physical aspect of man, the grass is also appropriate for him, and from the aspect of the spiritual mixture within him, the fruit of the tree is appropriate for him. And then every 'specie will go with it specie;' and that is why it says [here], "according to its species," [meaning] to the one who is its specie, which is man. And [with] grass that give off seed, the phrase, "according to its species," is not mentioned, since it is also for man [as well as animals], even though it is not completely its specie. But when [the grass] is [actually] made, [the Torah] does mention "according to its species," from the angle that [man] is, in one aspect, its species, which is the physical side of man.

And the Rabbis, of blessed memory, stated (Bereshit Rabbah 5:9), that the earth sinned in this because the Holy One, blessed be He, said "fruit tree," [meaning] that the taste of the tree be like the taste of the fruit, and [the earth] didn't do that; hence when man sinned, it, too, was remembered for its sin and cursed. And here, it is asked, why wasn't it cursed immediately. And it appears that this is not a question at all, given that the main curse was that the earth should give forth mosquitos and fleas, as Rashi explained on the verse (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed is the ground on your account." But all of these things are destructive to man, and [hence] so long as man didn't sin, the ground was not cursed to bring up cursed things; since even if the earth sinned, nonetheless what was man's sin, that fleas and mosquitos should run after him; but once man also sinned, both of them were fitting for this curse. And later, in Parshat Achrei Mot, on the verse (Vayikra 18:25), "And the land shall be defiled and I will remember its iniquity upon it," it will be explained, with God's help, that the will of the Power, may He be blessed, was to give a clear and fine consistency to his creations, but [instead] He gave them a coarse and thick consistency. And had He given them a clear and fine consistency, the taste of the tree would have been as the taste of the fruit; and also man would not have a tendency for the most physical and he would not have come to sin. Nonetheless, from the angle that [the earth] sinned and gave a coarse consistency, it also caused the tree to make fruit and not [be a] fruit-tree; and this thing also caused man to sin, since this is the reason that man inclined to physicality and he fell to the sin. Therefore, with all of man's sins, the earth is punished and 'its iniquity is remembered upon it,' as will be explained later on, with God's help.

And it appears that another correct reason can be given in this matter: since the snake saw that the earth changed the will of its Creator and, nonetheless, did not get punished; hence the snake found room to say to the woman, "you will not surely die," even if she go against the will of her Creator, in the [same] way as the earth did not get punished for that which it did not bring out trees, the taste of which was like the taste of the fruit. And so the snake said, [you will not die] even if God said, "don't eat from every tree of the garden;" that is to say, is the tree fitting to be eaten, that He should command you not to eat even from the tree [itself]? And the woman said, "from the fruit of the garden may we eat;" [meaning] I agree with your words, that only the fruit of the trees in the garden are fitting to eat and not the tree, hence there was no reason for Him to command us except on the fruit of the tree that is in the garden, and not on the tree [itself]. And the snake said, you will not die, since behold, don't you agree with this: the earth changed [what was commanded of it] and nonetheless was not punished; so too you will not die, you too [just like the earth].

And God said, "let the grass be put forth, etc.": The rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Chullin 60a) that even if the Creator said "according to its specie" only to the trees, the grasses brought up an a fortiori argument (kal vechomer), etc. [that they too should spring forth according to their own specie]. And [this] is difficult, since in the order of the verse, God had His words to the grasses precede [those to the trees]; and, if so, why did they delay from coming out immediately [and] exactly adjacent to the statement of God, until [after] God finished saying to bring forth trees, from which they raised the a fortiori argument? And according to what I have explained on the verse, "In the beginning" - that in every place that He speaks of a matter of strength with the name Elohim, He speaks the whole statement in one word; if so - there was no precedence [of the words] to the grasses before the tree.

“Let the earth be covered with herbs.” The earth was directed to become material fit for vegetation and living creatures. However, the earth aborted part of G’d’s directive as it should have produced fruit-bearing trees with edible trunks. The Torah continues by reporting that —

ויאמר אלוקים תדשא הארץ דשא, on the third “day”. G’d commanded the earth to produce vegetation, in other words, He equipped the earth with the ability, potential, to grow plants of different kinds. This was the second instance in which elements were amalgamated, i.e. employed in conjunction with one another, the product comprising more than one of the basic elements. (compare verse 9) The purpose of these various plants was to serve as food for the land-based living creatures which had not yet been created. The living creatures created on the fifth and sixth day respectively, formed the third stage of employing different elements in conjunction with one another, i.e. in a still more sophisticated manner. The meaning of the word תדשא is equivalent to תוציא דשא, “bring forth herbs.” This דשא must be viewed as a relatively primitive form of grass, a forerunner of the eventual grass, so that a special verb is used to describe this process. The prophet Yoel 2,22 uses the word in that sense when describing primitive plants growing in the desert. Both the words צמח and דשא describe either primitive plants, or plants which have not yet grown to their full extent. The activities of the luminaries on the third day were relatively weak, not comparable to the power assigned to them on the fourth day, as we already mentioned in our commentary on verse 3. Only on the fourth day did their power increase sufficiently to materially influence the atmosphere covering the surface of the globe. As a result, plants of an advanced calibre were then produced by the earth, the trees growing to their full height, etc. This is what is meant by the words spoken by G’d on the fourth day: להאיר על הארץ, i.e. to make their impact felt all over the surface of the earth. This is also what Moses referred to in Deuteronomy 33,14 וממגד תבואות שמש, וממגד גרש ירחים. The meaning of the word להאיר, usually understood only as “to provide illumination,” is in fact twofold. It means “to give light,” as well as “to carry out its assigned tasks.”

דשא, עשב. “deshe” which would develop into “eyssev.” Once it had attained maturity, it would grow seed by means of which to perpetuate itself. Other commentators (Nachmanides) view דשא as a primitive herb which does not produce seed, whereas עשב is a superior kind of herb producing seed.

Both in the expressions מזריע זרע and תדשא דשא the noun follows the verb, seeing that it is based on the verb. This is meant either to further define the activity represented by the verb, or to lend more importance to it. We find several examples of such constructions in Samuel Ii 12,15 ויצם דוד צום, “David observed a fast;” another example is found in Isaiah 42,17 יבשו בשת, “being utterly shamed.” Still other examples are: Ezekiel 22,27 and Isaiah 5,6.

עץ פרי, the verb תדשא also includes the command to the earth to produce fruit-bearing trees. The meaning of the expression עושה פרי is that when this tree emerges from the bowels of the earth it is not to be masculine [like certain strains of palms, Ed.] but is to directly produce fruit, much as a woman produces children. The trunk does not need to be fertilised by a feminine counterpart. The tree therefore bears a name which includes its masculine and feminine components. Similarly, what the tree produces is known as פרי. As for the Torah sometimes speaking of פרי אדמתך, “the fruit of your soil,” (Deut. 28,4) when we would have expected פרי עציך, “the fruit of your trees,” this formulation is justified seeing that it is only the fruit which is edible and not the trunk, i.e. the tree itself. Therefore the word פרי appears in a construct form, belonging to אדמתך, i.e. the source which also brought forth the tree itself. We find a similar construction in Hoseah 8,7 צמח בלי יעשה קמח, “a plant yielding no flour. Perhaps the best known such construction is להוציא לחם מן הארץ, (Psalms 104,14) or, as we say in our daily benediction before eating bread: המוציא לחם מן הארץ, “Who brings forth bread from the earth.” Bread does not come forth from the earth but is baked by man; nonetheless its origin is in the stalks growing out of the earth. It is possible, on the other hand, to understand in the term עץ not only the trunk, but the foliage, seeing the leaves and the peel also grow and act as protective covers, shields [שומרים in halachic parlance, Ed.] Even though these leaves do not serve as food for human beings, they do serve as food for the birds. For these various reasons the expression עץ פרי as opposed to פרי העץ can be justified, i.e. even the parts of the tree which are not, strictly speaking, its fruit, may be described as if they were. There is a popular saying quoted in Chulin 92,יבעון איתכליא רחמי על עליא דאלמלי עליא לא מתקיימין איתכליא, “let the grapes pray for the leaves for without the leaves the grapes would not exist.” [a parable comparing the scholars to the ignorant people, reminding the former that but for the latter there would be no point to their own existence. Ed.] As to the fact that the leaves are also part of the trees, the same applies to trees that do not bear fruit. If it were not so, the Torah would have made separate mention of that category of tree when reporting what had been created on the third day. Consider the fact that David listed the sequence of what G’d had created during these 6 days in Psalm 104. When he referred to the birds in verse 12, mentioning that they sing in the foliage of the trees, he went on in verse 16 to mention the cedars of Lebanon as the place where some of these birds make their nests. These cedars are not fruit-bearing trees, but are referred to as trees which G’d planted. In other words, the non fruit-bearing trees are singled out by David as having been made by G’d for the benefit of the birds. (compare author’s commentary on that Psalm in detail) Moreover, each of those trees is also useful for man who makes all kinds of tools and furnishings out of these non fruit-bearing trees.

למינו, each species should cleave to its own kind. The word למינה applies also to the different herbs just as to the trees; this is why it is mentioned at the end, i.e. to all the foregoing. The same is true in verse 12 when the Torah reports that earth indeed produced each category of plant so that it could preserve its respective species. Our sages both in Rosh Hashanah 11, as well as in Chulin 60 also display another approach to these verses. Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa explained Psalm 104,31 יהי כבוד ה' לעולם ישמח ה' במעשיו, “let the glory of the Lord endure forever, let Him derive joy from His creatures.” This verse was supposedly said by the angel in charge of running the universe on behalf of G’d. At the time when G’d commanded the trees to be careful not to lose their individuality but to preserve the peculiarities of their respective genes, the herbs said to themselves that “if G’d had been interested in different plants intermingling with one another, why would He have cautioned the trees against doing this? They reasoned further that if G’d said this to the trees which are very distinct from one another by nature, then surely He is interested in their (herbs) maintaining their own individuality, seeing that they are in so much greater danger of losing it through growing so closely to other species of herbs!” As a result, they were careful to emerge on the surface of the earth, each category according to its species. When the angel in charge of running the universe on G’d’s behalf saw this, he spontaneously broke out in the words יהי כבוד ה' וגו'.

אשר זרעו בו, which contained seed of its own kind as part of it. Both the herbs and the fruit contain their seed within themselves. The meaning is that they are equipped with the means to reproduce themselves, to perpetuate their existence on earth as a species. The herbs contain their seeds within pods or peels, the pods acting as protection against these seeds being destroyed. In the case of fruit-bearing trees, the seeds are contained within the fruit. Only the outer part of the actual fruit is eaten, the seeds being discarded. Even figs, which are eaten together with their seeds, can reproduce from the edible seeds within them. The interior of these little grainy particles we eat contain the basic seed needed for them to reproduce. This is the meaning of the words אשר זרעו בו, “whose seed is contained within it.”

על הארץ. What is meant is that when such seed falls onto the earth it will develop into a plant of the same kind as the one it had fallen from. Compare the Jerusalem Targum on this translation.

ויהי כן, it came forth exactly as G’d had directed.

AND G-D SAID: ‘LET THE EARTH PUT FORTH GRASS.’ He decreed that there be among the products of the earth a force which grows and bears seed so that the species should exist forever. It is possible that the name “earth” mentioned in the first verse already contains a hint that a force which causes things to grow should spring up from the earth, and it was from this force that the foundations of all vegetations according to their kinds emanated. From them sprang the grass and trees in the garden of Eden, and from them came those in the world. This is what the Rabbis have said: (The source is not definite. See Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 3.) “On the third day He created three creations: trees, grass, and the garden of Eden.” They have also said: (Bereshith Rabbah 10:7.) “There is not a single blade of grass below [that does not have] a constellation in heaven that smites it and says to it, ‘Grow.’ It is this which Scripture says, Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish ‘mishtaro’ (the dominion thereof) in the earth? (Job 38:33.) — [mishtaro being derived from the root] shoter (executive officer).” And He said that all this vegetation should be after its kind. This is the basis of the prohibition of sowing mixed kinds of seeds, (Leviticus 19:19.) since he who sows them works contrary to the power of the work of creation. I will yet explain this (Leviticus 19:19.) with the help of G-d. Now Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] wrote: “Deshe essev (grass, herb). Deshe does not mean the same as esev and esev does not mean the same as deshe, for by deshe is meant that which forms the covering of the ground when it is filled with vegetation, and it is not linguistically correct to say ‘this or that deshe.’ Each by itself is called this or that esev.” This interpretation of Rashi is not correct. For if it were so, the word deshe (Chullin 60a.) could have no plural, and yet we find the Sages saying, “If a person grafted together two kinds of deshaim, what should the law be?” (Chullin 60a.) And the Rabbi himself (Rashi. The title Harav (the Rabbi, the Master) without specification of the name is used by Ramban only with reference to Rashi or Rambam. It is the highest mark of respect. Precedent for it is found in the Talmud where just the title Rabbi meant Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, redactor of the Mishnah, and the title Rav was a reference to Abba Arucha, founder of the Babylonian Academy of Sura.) mentions deshaim. (That is, when Rashi writes, “For the species of deshaim are different; each by itself called this or that esev.”) Rather, deshe is the young growing plant, and esev is the mature product which produces seeds. This is why Scripture says, ‘tadshei ha’aretz’ (let the earth put forth) ‘deshe’ (young plants), and it would not be correct usage to say ta’asiv [for the word esev applies to mature products which produce seeds]. And every young thing that grows from the earth is called deshe, even trees. Therefore tadshei ha’aretz in the verse extends also to the expression etz pri (the fruit-tree). [This interpretation is necessary] since He did not say, “Let the earth put forth deshe esev and let it bring forth the fruit-tree.” The word deshe thus has the same meaning as tz’michah (growing). Similarly we find: For the pasture of the wilderness ‘dash’u’ (do spring), for the tree beareth its fruit. (Joel 2:22.) I wonder why Scripture did not mention the creation of fruitless trees, and how is it that He commanded only concerning fruit-trees? Perhaps this is what induced our Rabbis to say, (Bereshith Rabbah 5:9.) “Even the presently barren trees at first bore fruit.” If so, we must say that since the imprecation [which was visited upon Adam for his sin] — Cursed be the ground for thy sake (Genesis 3:17.) — barren trees came into existence. But it is possible that the explanation of the verse before us is as follows: “Let the earth bring forth growing things, and herbs which yield seed and trees which bear fruit.” Thus He decreed at first the creation of barren herbs and barren trees in general, and then He specified herbs which yield seed and trees which bear fruit. From what He said later on — bearing fruit… wherein is the seed thereof — we may derive that all trees were to grow from their seed although it is the custom with some trees to be propagated by planting a branch.

דשא, every kind of herb collectively is known as דשא whereas every individual type of herb is known as עשב.

עושה פרי למינו, according to the plain meaning of the text the word למינו here refers to the herbs. When the word occurs again in connection with the trees, it includes the עשב which the text had defined as carrying within it its own seed.

עושה פרי למינו, an apple tree would produce apples, not dates.

אשר זרעו בו, the seed would be within the fruit, not within the trunk. This would enable man to plant this kind of tree as well as others, each of their respective species.

תדשא הארץ דשא עשב THE EARTH SHALL SPROUT FORTH SPROUTS, HERB — דשא does not mean the same as עשב nor does עשב mean the same as דשא so that it is not a correct expression in Biblical Hebrew to say תעשיב הארץ, for the species of דשא are all different, each by itself being called this or that עשב, and it would not be linguistically correct for a speaker to say this or that דשא, for by דשא is meant that which forms the covering of the ground when it is filled with herbage.

תדשא הארץ THE EARTH SHALL SPROUT FORTH [SPROUTS] — Let it be filled and covered with a garment of different grasses. In old French דשא is called herbaries; English herbage, meaning all species of herbs growing together collectively whilst each root by itself is called an עשב.

— מזריע זרע YIELDING SEED — that its seed should grow within itself, so that some of it may be sown in another spot.

עץ פרי FRUIT TREE — that the taste of the tree be exactly the same as that of the fruit. It did not, however, do this, but (v. 12) “the earth brought forth a tree yielding fruit” and the tree itself was not a fruit; therefore when Adam was cursed on account of his sin, it (the earth) was also visited (because of its sin) and was cursed also (Genesis Rabbah 5:9).

אשר זרעו בו WHOSE SEED IS IN ITSELF — This refers to the kernels of each kind of fruit from which the tree grows when they are planted.

(11-13) Mit diesem elften Verse treten wir in den Kreis des organischen Lebens. Es wird uns דשא, die der Erde entsproßte Pflanzenwelt gezeigt, das Samen säende Kraut, der Frucht schaffende Fruchtbaum, und sie alle, alle diese zahllosen, mannigfach gestalteten Wesen von dem einen großen Gesetze: למינהו ,למינו, beherrscht, das jegliches nur für seine Gattung arbeiten und nur in dem seiner Gattung angewiesenen engen Kreis sich entfalten lässt; und es wird uns das große, diese Welt deutende Wort gesprochen: ויאמר א׳ תרשא הארץ, es war Gott, auf dessen Geheiß die Erde diese Welt von Pflanzen erzeugt, Gott, der das große כלמינו-Gesetz, das große, jedes Pflänzchen bis in das Innerste seines Wesens und in jeder Faser seiner Form beherrschende Gattungsgesetz ausgesprochen, und dessen Gesetzeswort noch jetzt fort und fort in jeder Pflanze und in jedem Keime allmächtig gebietend fortwirkt und offenbar ist.

Sehen wir uns die Begriffs-Ausdrücke an, unter welchen uns die Erscheinungen der Pflanzenwelt vergegenwärtigt werden. Wir haben ihre Etymologie bereits im Jeschurun (VIII. S. 433f.) versucht. Wir haben דשא (verwandt mit דוש wie זרא und זור usw. davon auch דשא chald. die Türe): die aus dem Erdinnern hervorgetriebene Pflanzenwelt im allgemeinen und die untere Stufe der Kryptogamen — es erscheint bei ihnen nicht זרע im besondern —; die schon selbständigere Kräuterflur: עשב (verwandt mit עזב, loslassen und selbständig hinstellen, festigen), die, nicht perennierend, ganz aufgeht in den Zweck להזריע זרע, Samen hinauszustreuen, nach der Samenbildung abstirbt und immer neu aus der Erde hervorwachsen muss, und endlich: עץ (einerseits von עוץ, verwandt mit ץוא, drängen, eilen, anderseits von עצה, schließen), der Baum, in welchem der Pflanzenorganismus seine höchste, vom Erdkörper freigewordene Selbständigkeit erringt, die perennierenden Pflanzen, in welchen eine festgedrängte Verbindung von Gefäßen und Kanälen, עץ, den Stamm bildet, in welchem alles einem Ziele, der Fruchtbildung — עושה פרי — zuarbeitet, und der עושה פרי ist, der nur einmal der Erde entwachsen, fortan aber sich zur Frucht wie der Erdboden zu den niedern Pflanzengeschlechtern verhält, die alle samt ihrem Samen פרי האדמה sind, die sie immer aufs neue erzeugen muss, während die Baumfrüchte als פרי העץ dastehen; und: זרע (verwandt mit זרח ,זרה.von sich werfen, hinausstrahlen), der völlig von dem Erdkörper losgelöste Samen, den die Pflanze aus sich hinaus und neben sich hinstreut; und: פרי (von פרח, verwandt mit פרח, פרע, ברח, ברה, ברא) die höchste Vollendung dieser frei gewordenen Pflanzenkeime — in allen diesen Erscheinungen sehen wir die zu immer größerer Freiheit sich entfaltende Pflanzen-Individualität.

Allein es ist eine Freiheit ohne Willkür. In ganz bestimmten Grenzen und für eine ganz bestimmte, vorgezeichnete Form streben alle Stoffe und Kräfte und gestalten sich die Bildungen einer jeden Pflanze, und dieses große Gesetz, das für unser Auge in der großen Mannigfaltigkeit der Pflanzen-Organismen so deutlich hervortritt, das den kleinsten Keim und die kleinste Faser wie die himmelanstrebenden Pflanzenriesen allmächtig, alldurchdringend und allumfassend beherrscht und jedem Pflanzen-Individunm nur innerhalb der gesetzten Grenze die freieste Entwickelung gestattet, dieses allmächtige von dem Grashalm wie von der Ceder laut verkündete Gottesgesetz heißt: "למינו! Seiner Gat- tung!" — מין von מון, wovon תמונה (vielleicht auch verwandt mit מנה, zuzählen, zuerteilen), ist der Komplex derjenigen wesentlichen Merkmale, wodurch sich eine Wesengruppe von der andern dergestalt sondert, daß sie, sich selbst überlassen, sich nicht mit der andern verbindet. Dieses Besondersein der Gattung findet seinen Ausdruck in תמונה, in der Gattungsform. תמונה ist nicht die individuelle, das eine Individuum von dem andern derselben Gattung sondernde Gestalt, dafür haben wir andere Namen, תבנית ,תואר; -ist die Gattungsform, in welcher die wesentlichen Merkmale zum Ausdruck ge תמונה langen, die allen Individuen derselben Gattung gemein sind und eben das Band ihrer Einigung bilden. תמונה ist somit der Grundriss, der uns den Gattungsbegriff eines Wesens vergegenwärtigt. Daher selbst von der göttlichen Erscheinung. Die ׳כבוד ד, die dem Propheten die besondere Gegenwart Gottes zum Bewusstsein bringt, heißt תמונה, ihr habt :לא ראיתם כל תמונה .die Andeutung, Ankündigung Gottes ,תמונת ד׳ יביט nicht einmal die Andeutung einer körperlichen Gestalt geschaut, nichts זולתי קול, und so ist das Verbot לא תעשה לך כל תמונה noch viel umfassender als לא תעשה לך פסל. Auf dieses, die ganze organische Welt sichtbar beherrschende Gottesgesetz schaut nach der Lehre der Weisen das Gottesgesetz für Israel zurück wenn es spricht: את חקתי תשמרו בהמתד לא תרביע כלאים שדך לא תזרע כלאים ובגד כלאים שעטנו לא יעלה עליך את הקתי תשמרו חקים שחקקתי לך כבר meine Gesetze beobachtet, d.i. meine Gesetze, die ich dir bereits bei der Weltschöpfung ausgesprochen. Indem nämlich hier das Objekt חקתי vor dem die Beachtung gebietenden Zeitwort vorangeht, nicht wie sonst: ושמרתם את חקתי so handle es sich hier nicht um Gesetze, die erst jetzt neuerdings gegeben worden, sondern die schon längst vorhanden waren, und hinsichtlich deren nur jetzt das Gebot der שמירה hinzutritt. Nur noch einmal spricht sich das Gesetz in derselben Konstruktion aus: 16,4 .2.3. B. M. את משפטי תעשו ואת חקתי תשמרו. Das ist aber eben wieder bei Gesetzen, die in tief innerem Zusammenhange mit diesem כלאים-Gesetze stehen, bei עריות nämlich, die ebenfalls bereits vor der sinaitischen Gesetzgebung sanktioniert waren. Durch jenes, die organischen Wesen beherrschende Gottesgesetz sind je zwei verschiedene Gattungen כלאים gegenseitig, sind einander כלואים, gesperrt, geschlossen, vereinigen sich nicht, gatten sich nicht. Vielmehr wahrt jedes seine geschlechtlichen Kräfte nur למינו, seiner Gattung, und nur die Willkür des Menschen zwingt sie zu widernatürlicher, das heißt zu widergesetzlicher Vereinigung. Sich selbst überlassen, gehört noch heute jeder organische Keim so ausschließlich seiner Gattung an wie sein erster Urahn, über den und dessen Nachkommen einst der Schöpfer sein Gesetzeswort: למינו ausgesprochen. Es muss aber dieses Schauen des Weltgesetzgebers in dem organischen Leben der Natur dem göttlichen Worte eine Bedeutsamkeit ersten Ranges für unsern menschlichen und jüdischen Beruf haben; denn es hat den Hinblick auf Ihn mit unserm ganzen Leben verwebt. Nicht nur verbietet es uns wirkliche Störungen dieses Gesetzes, indem es uns in כלאי בהמה und הרכבת אילן das widernatürliche Gatten natürlich geschiedener Gattungen von Pflanzen und Tieren untersagt, sondern bei unserem ganzen Umgang mit der organischen Welt, beim Säen und Pflanzen, beim Gebrauch der Tiere zur Arbeit, beim Bekleiden mit dem Pflanzen- und Tierreich entnommenen Stoffen, bei der Nahrung, lehrt es uns in כלאי זרעים וכלאי כרם, in חרישה בשור וחמור, in שעטנו und בשר בחלב eine solche Ordnung beachten, die uns immer wieder und wieder das große Gattungsgesetz und seinen Gesetzgeber vor die Augen führt. Diese steten Erinnerungen halten in uns die Mahnung wach, in Gott auch den Gesetzgeber für unsere Gattung zu verehren, sein uns gegebenes Gesetz auch alle unsere Kräfte und Triebe beherrschen zu lassen und es in all unserm Tun und Lassen zur Verwirklichung zu bringen. Haben wir gleich Kräfte und Triebe und Entwicklungsphasen mit Tier und Pflanze gemein, werden geboren, nähren uns, wachsen, altern und sterben gleich Pflanze und Tier, so hat doch Gott auch uns zu einem besondern, und zwar höhern מין als Menschen geschaffen, und uns unter den Menschen zu einem besondern מין als Juden berufen, und dem Menschen und Juden das Gesetz seiner Lebensentfaltung geschrieben. Nicht erst mit dem Juden und für den Juden beginnt das Gottesgesetz. Schon als organische Wesen unterstehen wir dem Gottesgesetze, können unsere besondere, von ihm auch uns erteilte Bestimmung nur innerhalb der von Ihm uns gezogenen Schranken erreichen, können auch, wie alle Wesen, unsere höchste individuelle Selbständigkeit und Freiheit nur in der Umschränkung des göttlichen Gesetzes entfalten. Die ganze תורה ist nichts als das למינו für den jüdischen Menschen. Das Gesetz, das für alle unfreien Wesen sich in ihnen ausspricht und sie willenlos beherrscht, das ist für den Menschen und den jüdischen Menschen an diese ausgesprochen, damit sie es frei in sich aufnehmen, von ihm alle ihre Kräfte und Triebe, Kraft- und Willensäußerungen frei beherrschen lassen, und eben in dieser freien Unterordnung unter das Gottesgesetz ihr höheres מין, ihre höhere Gattungsbestimmung rein und voll zur Verwirllichung bringen. Wie Gott den Grashalm und die Zeder, die Kornähre und den Weinstock in seinem Weltenhaushalte braucht und jedem sein Gesetz erteilt, in dessen treuer Erfüllung jegliches froh seines Daseins lebt, unbekümmert darum, warum es Grashalm und nicht Zeder, warum es Ähre und nicht Weinstock, warum Weinstock und nicht Ähre, warum Zeder und nicht Grashalm geworden, Gott den Weltenplan überlassend, froh und glücklich seines Teils seinen Beitrag treu und voll zum Ganzen zu liefern —: so braucht Gott auch in seinem Menschenreiche Menschen und Juden, hat jedem seine Bestimmung und sein Gesetz erteilt, und der große Gotteszweck wird nur dann erreicht, wenn jeder, froh und munter, rein und wahr, treu und voll die Bestimmung löst und das Gesetz erfüllt, das Gott ihm erteilt, und in dieser Erfüllung den Beitrag zum Heile des Ganzen bringt, den Gott von ihm erwartet.

Unter diesen, die Menschenkräfte und Triebe zu regeln und zu leiten bestimmten Gesetzen stehen aber die über עריות, über das geschlechtliche Leben, oben an. Von ihrer Beachtung ist ganz vorzüglich die Rein- und Edelerhaltung des spezifisch geistigen und sittlichen Menschencharakters in der Menschengattung, und des Juden in der jüdischen Menschenfamilie bedingt. Und je höher die Gattung steigt, um so umschriebener wird das geschlechtliche Leben, um so enger die Grenzen, innerhalb deren sich das Geschlecht fortpflanzen kann und soll. Auch בני נח haben עריות, aber שאר אחוה ונדה ist ihnen gestattet. Dem ׳שראל ist das geschlechtliche Leben schon auch durch diese איסורי כרת enger geheiligt, den כהנים durch איסורי לאו דכהונה, und dem כה"ג, in welchem die Blüte der jüdischen Individualität gipfeln soll, selbst durch כי אם בתולה ,חייבי עשה מעמיו יקח אשה, die Grenze noch enger gezogen. So erblüht das geistig und sittlich Höchste nur aus präzis umschränktem sittlichen Gattungsleben, und keusche Sittlichkeit ist der Boden, in dem allein die göttlich hohe Blüte der Menschengattung gedeiht.

Dieser innige Zusammenhang der reinen Fortdauer der Gattung mit dem unverbrüchlichen Gehorsam, den das Individuum den göttlichen Gattungsgesetzen zollt, dürfte in unserem Vers noch eine tiefe Andeutung finden. In den anordnenden Gottesworten ist das למינו-Gesetz für Gräser und Kräuter nicht ausgesprochen. Es heißt für diese nur: תדשא הארץ דשא עשב מזריע זרע. Gleichwohl lautet die Erfüllung: ותוצא הארץ דשא עשב מזריע זרע למינהו. Es war somit das Gattungsgesetz למינו als stillschweigende, selbstverständliche Voraussetzung schon in dem Geheiße: תדשא וגו׳ עשב מזריע זרע gegeben; die Forterhaltung der Gattung ist somit wesentlich durch die Reinhaltung der Geschlechter bedingt, und jede Nichtachtung der göttlichen Gattungsgesetze gräbt ein Grab für die Gattung. Geschlechtliche Ausschweifungen begraben Individuen und Völker, und die Beachtung der durch die איסורי ביאה für die Menschen und die jüdischen Menschen von Gott gezogenen Schranken des geschlechtlichen Lebens ist die Grundbedingung des geistigen und sittlichen Adels der Menschen- und Juden-Geschlechter. Liegt doch der Ernst dieser Gattungsgesetze in der Unfruchtbarkeit der Bastardtiere zu Tage, und wenn die von Tacitus und Plinius bewahrten Berichte der römischen Soldaten über die nicht genug anzustaunende Fülle und Vollkommenheit der Früchte in dem ihren Legionen zur Beute gefallenen Judäa die im jüdischen Schrifttum enthaltenen Überlieferungen in diesem Punkte auch dem schwierigsten Skeptiker bestätigen, so liegt doch hierin mindestens der Beweis,daß auch für die Boden- und Baumkultur die willkürliche, natur- d. h. gesetzwidrige Kreuzung der Gattungen nicht die Veredlung der Früchte bedingt, und die Tatsache, daß es kaum noch gelingt, einen kräftigen Fruchtbaum aus dem Samen zu erzielen, dürfte die Frage sehr nahe legen, ob die sogenannte Veredlung der Früchte nicht in der Tat eine Degenerierung der Baumgeschlechter bewirkt. Jenes in dem Geheiß מזריע זרע implizit gegebene U^-Gesetz dürfte dann auch der Sinn des von den Weisen den Kräutern in den Mund gelegten קל וחומר sein, und uns den Ausruf des Weltgenius, des שר העולם verstehen lehren, der, nach dem tiefen Spruch des ר׳ הנינא בר פפא, als die Kräuter zuerst ohne ausdrückliches Geheiß von dem כלמינו-Gesetz beherrscht hervorgetreten, die einstige Herrlichkeit Gottes auf Erden und die Gestaltung aller irdischen Dinge zum göttlichen Wohlgefallen über die Schöpfüng hin ausgerufen: ׳יהי כבוד ד לעולם ישמח ד׳ במעשיו! (Chulin 60a.). Es ist dies der Hinblick auf jene Zeit, in welcher die Menschen von jedem Grashalm gelernt haben werden, sich freudig dem Gottesgesetze unterzuordnen, in welcher sie zum Bewusstsein gekommen sein werden, daß die Beachtung des Sittengesetzes nicht Laune und nicht Luxus sei, daß es vielmehr also die wahre Existenz und die reine Blüte des Menschengeschlechts bedinge, wie daßelbe Gesetz das Fortdasein und die Blüte aller andern Wesen bedingt. Das wird die Zeit sein, wo das את חקתי תשמרו eine Wahrheit auf Erden wird, das die Zeit, wo ׳ישמח ד במעשין! — Diese Bedeutung des dritten Tages für die organische Reinheit des vege- tabilischen Menschenlebens, für die sittengesetzliche Reinheit des genießenden und geschlechtlichen Lebens, dürfte auch bei der ׳הזאה בג׳ וז für die Rückkehr aus der טומאה zur טהרה dem ׳יום ג seine Bedeutung vindizieren. Er ist für das vegetabilische Leben des Menschen, was der siebente für das animalische. Wie der siebente die Weihe des Geistes durch die Gotteserkenntnis ist und die Menschentat Gott unterordnet, so ist der dritte die Weihe des Leibes in den sittlichen Schranken des Gottesgesetzes. Es kann die Weihe des Geistes nicht erlangt werden ohne die Weihe des Leibes, so wenig, daß, an welchem Tage auch die erste הזאה geschieht, diese immer als am dritten geschehen betrachtet wird, und von da an erst vier Tage zurückgelegt werden müssen, damit die הזאה des siebenten geschehen könne.

Bedeutsam steht auch hier bei der Anordnung des למינו für die Bäume nicht beim זרע, sondern bei der Frucht: עץ פרי עושה פרי למינו אשר זרעו בו. Es hat nämlich der Baum die doppelte Beziehung, als Fruchtbaum für den Menschen und durch den von der Frucht geborgenen Samen für die Gattung, und eben um Früchte nach seiner Willkür zu erzielen, setzt der Mensch die Rücksicht auf die Gattung außer Augen. Darum warnt dies Gesetz: wenn der Fruchtbaum auch deinem Genusse dient, vergiss nicht, daß er die Frucht auch für seine Gattung schafft, daß die Saat für die Gattung in der Frucht liegt, und lasse dich die Lüsternheit nach der Frucht nicht zu einer Degenerierung des Baumes für seine Gattung verleiten.

Es heißt ferner: אשר זרעו בו על הארץ, Fruchtbaum, der Frucht für seine Gattung schafft, in welcher sein (oder ihr, der Gattung) Same ist über der Erde. Der erste Baum war Erzeugnis der Erde, die Keime der künftigen Bäume sind der Erde entnommen, werden über der Erde gezeitigt, und fortan muß die Erde selbst erst den Keim empfangen, um ihn in ihrem Schoß zu entwickeln und zu spenden. So war das Wasser zuerst über die Erde verbreitet, ward dann über die Erde gehoben, um aus der Höhe wieder der Erde zu werden. So wird auch das zuerst über die ganze Erde verbreitete Licht der Erde genommen und an Lichtträger in der Höhe gebunden, von denen es erst die Erde wieder zu empfangen hat. So auch der Samen und die Erde. Dieses gegenseitige Empfangen und Spenden ist der Typus, zu welchem das Schöpfungswerk die ganze Erdschöpfung leitet. Alles Scheiden und Auseinanderlegen erzeugt jenen Wechsel und Austausch, der das ganze Erdenleben ausmacht. Eins ist auf das Andere angewiesen, nicht nur zu empfangen, sondern auch zu spenden. Der Baum bedarf der Erde, aber auch die Erde des Baumes. Alles empfängt um zu spenden, und alles Gespendete kehrt, vervielfältigt, veredelt, zu neuer Segensspende zu ihm wieder.

אונקלוס übersetzt למינהו immer: לזנוהי für seine Arten, also wie למיניו im Plural und diese Lesart mit ו (nicht mit י, das Singular wäre,) ist durchaus korrekt. Siehe ס׳ יאר. Diese Auffassung der Pronominalform הו ist auffallend.

דשא, herbs fit for consumption by animals. We find this expression used in this sense in Yoel 2,22כי דשאו נאות מדבר, “for its herbs (the ones for the beasts) are found in the pastures of the wilderness.”

עשב מזריע זרע, for consumption by human beings.

עץ פרי עושה פרי למינו, if it were a mixture of more than one species it would not be able to reproduce itself.

ויהי כן, it endured, in its original format, not becoming adulterated nor shedding any of its individuality. Had it absorbed parts of competing species it could not have procreated itself.

"Let the earth bring forth (tadshe) grass (deshe):" The correct [understanding] is that deshe is small, soft grass, in which the seed is not recognizable (and therefore it does not say "grass that gives off seed") and the esev (herbs) is bigger than it. And Rabbi Ovadia Sforno says, that deshe is animal food and esev is food for people. But what the commentator on Netivot Shalom wrote - that deshe also includes trees - is not possible, since behold, we find [this word] in many places adjacent to herbs and vegetables (for example II Kings 19:26; Isaiah 15:6; 37:27) and not even once adjacent to trees. And nonetheless, [when used as a verb here in the phrase], "Let the earth bring forth (tadshe)," [it] includes the trees also, since the trees also are small and soft at the beginning of their sprouting (My student, our teacher, Rabbi Avraham Chai Meinster). And behold, "tadshe" is like, "let sprout" and afterwards [the verse] explains [what should sprout]: the deshe which is the smallest, and afterwards, it adds esev that gives off seed - which is bigger than deshe, and afterwards, it adds fruit trees. And therefore the cantillation sign, ravia, which is on top of the word, grass, is correct, since it creates less of a pause than the sign, zakef, which is on top of the word, seed; as grass and herbs [that bear seed] are one matter and fruit trees are another matter. And the sign, pashta over the [word,] earth, creates more of a pause than the ravia after it, as is the way of any ravia that comes after a pashta since it is [only there] so as not to repeat the pashta three times, as [is also the case in] "Behold, I have made him a lord over you, and all of his brothers have I given to him as slaves" (Genesis 27:37). And it is known that the sign, yetiv under the [word,] herb, is only to take the place of a pashta, since the word is [too] short [for it]. However, there is no doubt that the versions that have the word, grass, with a zakef are mistaken. And the 'trustworthy witness' [to this] is in the verse after it, "and the land brought forth grass;" wherein 'grass' is not with a zakef but with a tilsha gedola sign; and the words, "and the land brought forth" are with the signs, kadma and azla, which would not be possible if grass had been with a zakef. And the error in the first [of these two verses] came about because it is easy to mix up a ravia with a zakef, besides [the fact] that there is a pashta in front of it, and it is its way to come in front of a zakef; while no error in the second verse came about because it is unlikely to mix up a tilsha with a zakef, besides [the fact] that there is no pashta in front of it there.

"That bears (mazria) seed:" That has seed in it. And this is one of the functions of the causative (hifil) structure, as in "makrin, mafris" (Psalms 69:32), [means respectively] that it has horns and it has hooves; "marbeh raglayim" (Leviticus 11:42), is that it has many feet.

"Fruit trees that make fruit according to its specie:" All the commentators that I have seen explained that "according to its species" refers back to "that make fruit," but the author of the cantillation marks saw better than all of them, and connected "according to its species" with "fruit trees. And [hence] "that make fruit" is a parenthetical statement, as it is only an additional explanation about the fruit trees. And the word, lemino (according to its specie) and lemineihu (according to its species) is a poetic phrase of the Holy language and its sense is, of many types, of all the types that there are; as in "all of the raven of all of its type,... and the hawk of all of its types,... the heron of all of its type,... and the locust of all of its type;" (Leviticus 11:15-22), the sense of which is the raven and the hawk, etc. of all the types that there are. And so [too] below (verse 21), "and all of the crawling living souls that the waters swarmed of their types and all flying fowl of its types;" and so [too] (verse 24) "and let the earth bring forth living souls of their type, beasts and crawling animals and wild animals of the land, of their types;" and so [too] (Genesis 6:20) "From the fowl of their types and from the beasts of their type, from all that crawl upon the earth of its types." 'And the father of all of them' (the clearest example) is (Ezekiel 47:10) "of its type will be their fish, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many;" the intention being that the fish will be numerous and will be of all the types, and so [too is it expalined] in the Talmud Yerushalmi Shekalim 6:2, "'of its type will be their fish;' types of types will be their fish." I wrote this explanation in the year 5596 in my book Prolegomeni, page 191; and at the end of ten years, I acquired the book, Harecasim Lebikaah, and I found that he also explains it thus (and see below 13:3).

"That has seed in it:" [This] refers back to trees; that the trees should have everything they need for the preservation of their specie on the earth.

is not synonymous with... Rashi is answering the question: Why did it not say: תדשא הארץ דשא מזריע זרע [omitting עשב], or תעשיב הארץ עשבים [omitting דשא]?

That its seed is grown within it. Rashi is answering the question: Is מזריע not a transitive verb that indicates an ongoing action?

So that it can be resown elsewhere. Meaning, the person’s ability to sow the seed in another place is the verb’s ongoing action.

However, it [the earth] did not do this. Maharshal asked: Why did the earth disobey? The answer is: Hashem commanded it to bring forth fruit trees in a way similar to herbs, whose stalks and leaves are similar. Thus the earth understood that the fruit trees too should be this way, i.e., the wood should be edible like the fruit. But the earth reasoned as follows: Herbs have stalks and leaves that are naturally similar, yet the stalks are inedible without some preparation. However, the wood and fruit of trees are naturally dissimilar, and rightly so. Thus, even if they were to be made similar, the wood will need a lot of changing and preparation to become edible. Thus, the earth did not do this. This explains why in Hashem’s command, it says למינו once for herbs and trees together, but in the earth’s action it is written למינהו for each one separately. For when Hashem commanded the herbs and the trees to be the same, למינו applied equally to both. But when the earth disobeyed [and made them different], it is written למינהו twice.

It, too, was punished for its sin. [You might ask:] Rashi later comments as follows on the earth’s curse (3:17): “This is comparable to one who adopts evil ways and people curse the breasts at which he was suckled.” Does this not imply that the earth was not punished for its own sin, [but for Adam’s]? The answer is: Both sins caused the punishment. Perforce Chazal said there, “This is comparable to one who adopts evil ways...” because in that verse it says, “The soil will be cursed because of you [Adam],” which implies: it was not cursed for its own sin. (Re’m) [Furthermore,] if the earth was cursed for its sin alone, why was it not cursed immediately, but only when Adam sinned? And if it was cursed only because of Adam, the curse should be in what affects man alone, such as emitting flies and mosquitoes — not by changing the earth’s own nature, to grow thorns and thistles. (Nachalas Yaakov) How is the earth’s sin connected to Adam’s? It seems that the earth’s sin caused Adam to sin, as Adam ate from the esrog tree, whose wood and fruit have the same taste. This quality was unique, thus he desired to eat from it. But if the earth had not sinned, the wood and fruit of every tree would be this way, and man would not have desired the esrog tree, through which he sinned. Therefore, the earth was punished together with Adam. (Divrei Dovid)

These are the kernels... Rashi is answering the question: Why is it written אשר זרעו בו concerning the trees, but מזריע זרע concerning the herbs? Thus Rashi explains, “These are the kernels...” meaning that new trees are grown mainly through grafting or planting a branch from another tree, [although the kernels, too, may be planted]. Thus it says here אשר זרעו בו, [omitting מזריע זרע], since the fruit’s kernels are not its [primary] means of planting. But herbs are planted only by their seeds, thus it says מזריע concerning them. (Devek Tov)

From an outsider’s perspective, the exposure of dry land, with its tall mountains, plains, and ravines, would have seemed a most dramatic event. However, on the very same day there was another creation, even more significant for humanity: God said: Let the earth sprout grasses. The earth was commanded to bring forth various types of vegetation. If until now the Torah dealt with metaphysics and physics, the third day introduced the concept of biology. The novelty of this creation was not in the actual growth or spread of the grass; such processes occur even in a puddle of water or a mound of earth. Rather, the sprouting of the grass was unique in that it contained within it a novelty known in classical philosophy as the vegetative soul. The grass was the basis for all higher life forms that would be created later, not only because the latter depend upon vegetation in order to survive, but because they are themselves more advanced forms of things that grow. The creation of biology includes not only growth but also proliferation: Vegetation yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit in its kind, in which there is its seed, upon the earth. The definition of the biological system according to a process in which a cell or group of cells start to grow, and indeed to propagate, is not new. Although this phenomenon of growth and reproduction runs counter to all considerations of physics, as it violates the laws of entropy, it is nevertheless the very definition of life. And it was so.

תדשא הארץ דשא, “let the earth become capable of producing herbs.” Some commentators believe that the word דשא is equivalent to עשב, small thin grass, i.e. grass which has not yet produced seed. The word עשב when used in the Torah would then describe grass that has grown high enough to produce seed capable of reproducing itself. Rashi does not accept this interpretation but believes that the word דשא is a collective term for green vegetation of a primitive nature covering the surface of the earth. Hence, the word דשא does not need an adjective to define it more closely. Nachmanides queries Rashi’s statement, saying that if he were right the word דשא would never appear in the plural mode, whereas our sages speak of combinations of several kinds of .דשאים. Therefore we must accept the view that the word דשא describes grass that has not fully grown. Any plant that has not developed to the stage of reproducing itself, i.e. having produced its own seed, is called דשא. This is also reflected in the word תדשא, a directive to continue to develop eventually into fruit-bearing trees, why else would the Torah not write תוצא הארץ דשא ותוציא עץ פרי, “let the earth produce herbs, and let it produce a fruit-bearing tree?” Clearly, the tree is merely a continuation of a growth process that commenced as דשא. Nachmanides queries further why the Torah does not mention עצי סרק, trees which do not produce edible fruit, saying “why does the Torah not mention non fruit bearing trees and why was the earth commanded to produce only fruit-bearing trees?” He answers that actually the wording of the Torah alerted the sages to say that the so-called עצי סרק also produce fruit; however, after the earth was cursed as a result of the original sin, the fruit of these trees was cursed also and became inedible or poisonous. Nachmanides goes on to explain that the verse may be understood in the following sequence: first the earth was commanded to produce primitive plants. Once the earth had been able to comply with this part of G’d’s directive, He directed earth to produce more sophisticated vegetation, such as fruit-bearing trees, the trunks of which were also edible. Nachmanides adds that the reason the Torah did not assign a specific day as being the one on which the earth carried out this directive was that earth will forever continue to produce vegetation. This was not a one-time event, such as the establishment of a horizon, oceans, etc. Moreover, the earth is a permanent phenomenon in this universe regardless of the fact that certain parts of the earth produce vegetation and other parts do not.

(Alef) The Psalmist said in Ps. 50:18, 20, “When you see a thief, you fall in with him, and throw in your lot with adulterers. You are busy maligning your brother, defaming the son of your mother.” It appears to me [that this can be explained] according to that which is written in Netsach Israel, chapter 25: (Maharal, Netsach Yisrael, pp. 126-127 in London edition.) We were asked, “How is it that Israelites are constantly yearning to [do] bad, etc.? As he seeks evil for the one who is his compatriot in Torah and in the commandments. And [yet] the Torah states (Lev. 19:18), ‘and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” And I answered him, etc. However this trait is not in Israel from the angle of ‘an evil soul desires evil.’ As from the angle of their essence, this holy people is deserving of all the importance and status, etc. And the one who is important based on his own nature will [naturally] seek status (and this is what causes the Jews to hurt each other). As you will not find a villager jealous of a great minister, but rather a sage of another sage, a wealthy man of a wealthy man and a strong man of a strong man, etc. Rather this thing comes from [their appropriate] sense of importance. And the proof to this is that it is perfectly obvious that when one of them is in distress, all of them step forward like ‘a brother for adversity.’ And that is because Israel is one nation, etc. And it is not like the traits of licentiousness, etc., as that thing would show great lowliness, etc. And they are stiff-necked from repenting, etc. Because they are far from physicality, they are not [easily] impacted, but rather hold on to their traits, etc. [See there.] And for this reason, he said, “When you see a thief, you fall in with him, and throw in your lot with adulterers” – and that is from the side of crass physicality and it is lowliness. But, “You are busy maligning your brother, etc.,” is from the side of an elevated form, and as is written in Netsach Yisrael. And they are two opposites of one issue. And ‘there should not be [lowliness] like this in Israel’ – the holy people that comes from a good nature. And that which is in Parashat Netzaivm (Deut. 29:21-26) is elucidated by this: And later generations will ask—the children who succeed you, and foreigners who come from distant lands and see the plagues and diseases that the Lord has inflicted upon that land. All its soil burnt by sulfur and salt, etc. And all the nations will say, “Why did the Lord do thus to this land; wherefore that awful wrath?” And they will be told, “Because they forsook the covenant that the Lord, etc. And they turned to the service of other gods and worshiped them – gods whom they had not known and whom He had not allotted to them. So the Lord was incensed at that land, etc.” And Rashi explained [the phrase], “whom they had not known,” [as] they had not known the strength of divinity in them. And Onkelos translated [it as, these gods] did not do good to them – as the one they selected for a god did not give them any inheritance or portion. See there. And at first glance, [this needs] precision – as had it given them an inheritance and a portion, the ‘prohibition [against worshiping it] would still stand in its place. [It is] as we expound in the Gemara, (See Bamidbar Rabbah 20:9.) “He exalts (masgi, which can also be read as fools) nations, then destroys them” (Job 12:23); such that it appears to them that they are healed by idolatry, etc. And see that with the generation of the flood it is written (Gen. 6:13), “and behold I will destroy them with the earth.” And the Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, expounded [it as] (Bereishit Rabbah 31:7), “with the land” – three handbreadths of the depth of a plow were despoiled. And the sin of the land was that the Lord said (Gen. 1:11) that the land should give forth “trees of fruit” – that the taste of the tree be like the fruit; but it made “trees that made fruit” (Gen. 1:12). (Bereishit Rabbah 5:9.) [It did this] because [its] material was coarse; and this caused man to incline towards physicality. And [so] the Lord said (Gen. 3:17), “Cursed is the earth for the sake of man” – as the damage was evident in man. And for this reason, [people] in the generation of the flood also sinned in physicality – violent theft, sexual immorality and murder; and this was because of the sin of the land. And therefore it was punished. And in the Guide (Guide for the Perplexed 1:36.) , [Rambam] wrote that we only find [the terms], awful wrath and jealousy [attributed to God] with idolatry, [since it is understandable that] the Lord has awful wrath about this. See there. But the sin of idolatry is from the angle of the form (the spiritual side) – and that it is the loss of the intellect, as it is written in Gur Aryeh. (Perhaps the reference is to Gur Aryeh on Exodus 22:30.) That is why the verse stated, “And all the nations will say, ‘Why did the Lord do thus to this land’” – since if their sin was from the spiritual side, the land did not sin. But if we say that the sin was from the side of physicality; you would still ask, “‘wherefore that awful wrath,’” as this is only with idolatry – as is written in the Guide – and that is from the angle of the intellect. “And they will be told, ‘Because they forsook, etc. and worshiped other gods’” – and the awful wrath was for that. And “whom they had not known and whom He had not allotted to them” – meaning that they did not apportion them any good and they did not know them [to be] with divine powers, and this was not from a confused intellect, such that ‘He fools the nations.’ Rather it was from the side of crass physicality that [such] anarchy was pleasing to them. And that was the sin of the land, and hence, “all its soil was burnt.” However, if people do righteous deeds, ‘the desolate land will be worked.’

One should not engage in conversation after the cup of blessing, and one should not say the blessing over a “cup of tribulations.” What is a “cup of tribulations”? A second cup. The reason for this is that pairs are bad luck. As they taught in a baraita, “Whoever drinks double – that is, a pair of cups – should not say the blessing, because of the verse “Be proper to meet your God, O Israel.” (Am 4:12: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (JSB), but this midrashic use of the verse picks up on the connotation of nakhon – being proper or correct – from the root of the imperative verb hikon “prepare.”) And the reason for prohibiting pairs is because of witchcraft and beings composed of two who rule over anyone who eats and drinking something in pairs. And another reason to distance oneself from “twos” is that that are separated from the power of One, for pairs come from the power of “twos.” So in order to fix one’s heart on unity and distance oneself from dualistic faith, like what is alluded to in Scripture, “Do not mix with shonim,” (Pr 24:21: “Do not mix with dissenters” (JSB). However, R. Bahya is clearly playing on the connection between “shonim” – literally, “those who differ” and shnayim – “two. In other words, he reads the verse as, “Do not mix with dualists.” The Talmudic prohibitions on pairs probably had something to do with their Babylonian cultural context, i.e., the dualistic Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid Persian empire.) those who believe in twos or more. Therefore they prohibited pairs even for things eaten and drunk, for it is appropriate for natural matters to be a sign and symbol of appropriate practices and beliefs, (Literally, “appropriate matters.” But some mss. of R. Bahya’s text read “intellectual and spiritual matters,” making his point clearer.) in that you already knew that true beliefs thus require actions. And you see that in the story of Creation, it was not said, “that it was good” on the second day. (That expression ki tov, which appears after the descriptions of what was created on the other five days in Genesis 1, is conspicuously absent at the end of the account of day two.) For we follow what they said in Genesis Rabbah, that on it dissent and Gehennah were created, and without a doubt, with things like these created on it, it is a dangerous day, on which it is prohibited to begin any work, as our rabbis z”l said, “One does not begin things on the second day, because whoever adds something to one, there’s no good in him [or it], and thus it was called yom sheni – “day two,” which is from the expression shinui – “change.” For in One there is no change, which is what is written: “For I am the Lord, I have not changed.” (Mal 3:6.) But the second day was the beginning of change, and from then on, change in what was created is desirable, and on the rest of the days after it we have found basis for an accusation against all of them, e.g., on the third day God said, “Let the earth bring forth fruit trees,” but it actually brought forth only “trees bearing fruit.” (Gen 1:11,12. R. Bahya picks up on the slightly different phrasing: “fruit tree bearing fruit” (1:11) vs. “tree bearing, to imply that the earth did not do exactly as God commanded.) Similarly on the fourth day the moon made an accusation saying, “It isn’t fair for two kings to use one crown.” (B. Hullin 60b. This is the midrash told there: And God made the two great lights? but later it says: “the great light and the small light”! The moon said before the Holy One: Master of the world, is it possible for two kings to use one crown? God said to her: Go and diminish yourself! She said before God: Because I asked a good question, I should diminish myself? God said: Go and rule both in day and in night. She said: What advantage is that? A candle in the daylight is useless. God said: Go and let Israel count their days and years by you. She said: They use the daylight [of the sun] to count seasonal cycles as well…Seeing that she was not appeased, the Holy One said: Bring a (sacrificial) atonement for me that I diminished the moon! This is what R. Shimon ben Lakish said: What is different about the ram of the new moon that it is offered “for God” (And one ram of the flock for a sin offering for God…Numbers 28:14). Said the Holy One: This ram shall be an atonement for me that I diminished the moon.) And likewise on the fifth day, God killed the male Leviathan, (Though in his commentary to the Torah on Gen 1:4, R. Bahya uses the version of this midrash found in b. Bava Batra 74b: God castrated the male Leviathan and killed the female Leviathan. For had they mated with one another, they would have destroyed the world.) which can be interpreted as He hid the heavenly light. And likewise on the sixth day, Adam sinned and changed the will of Ha-Shem, and about this it is said, “altering his face, you sent him out.” (Job 14:20, which R. Bahya interprets as “you (Adam)– changed God’s face, and so ‘made” Him (God) send you out of the Garden of Eden.”) See how the second day is the cause behind all of this, because all of these things come from its power and follow it. To the extent it said “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel,” (Am 4:12.) who is one, and it added “O Israel,” who is the one singular nation of the one God, as it is said, “And who is like Your people, one nation on earth,” (I Chr 17:21.) you should prepare and direct yourself to meet the One. So you should not eat or drink things in pairs, so that you will not think dualistic things in your heart.

Locusts corresponded to "Let the earth sprout... fruit trees producing fruit," for the locusts were a destruction of this statement specifically, for locusts are more capable than any other insect in destroying fruit as is written (Devarim 28:38), "The field will produce much seed, but you will gather little for the locusts will consume it," and it also says, "All your trees and fruit of your land will be inherited by locusts." From here you see that Locust are specific in their ability to destroy tree and fruit. Even though the hail also struck the trees of the field, it wasn't specific to the trees of the field for it also struck animals and people. But the locusts were specific to the trees and fruit.

10. The Rabbi: It runs parallel with the history of creation. The words: 'He who covereth Himself with light' (Psalms 104:2), correspond to 'Let there be light, and there was light' (Genesis 1:3). The words: 'He stretcheth out the heavens like a carpet' run parallel to 'Let there be a firmament'; the words: 'He who layette the beams' to 'the water above the firmament' (Psalms 104:3). He then describes the atmospheric phenomena, clouds, winds, fires, lightnings, and thunder, which all stand under God's guidance, as it is written: 'For by them judgeth He the people' (Job 36:31). In the psalm this is described in the words: 'He who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the winds, who maketh the winds His messengers, and His ministers a flaming fire' (Psalms 104:3-4). This means that He dispatches them whither and on what errand He desires. Thus far the phenomena of the atmosphere. The psalm, then, passes on to 'let the waters . . . be gathered . . . and the dry land appear' (Psalms 104:9), which is parallel to: 'He founded the earth on its bases.' According to its nature water would close up above the earth, covering it completely, hills and dales, like a garment, as the psalm hath it: 'With the flood, as with a robe, Thou coveredst it; waters stand above the mountains.' Divine Providence, however, obviated its natural inclination, and sent it down to the ocean's deep, to let animals arise and God's wisdom appear. The words: 'At Thy rebuke they flee,' describe the retirement of the water in the seas and underneath the earth. The same condition is alluded to in the words: 'To Him that spread out the earth above the water' (Psalms 136:6), a sentence which seemingly contradicts the other: 'With the flood as with a robe Thou coveredst it,' the latter corresponding to the nature of the water, whilst the former describes God's wisdom and omnipotence. Then the psalm continues: 'Thou didst appoint a bound, that they might not pass over, nor turn again to cover the earth' (Psalms 104:9). All this is intended for the benefit of mankind. By means of certain clever works and dykes man keeps off the floods of rivers, utilising only so much water as is required for mills and irrigation. The psalm now says: 'He sends forth springs into the valleys' (Psalms 104:10), that they should 'give drink to every beast of the plain' (Psalms 104:11), as soon as the wild beasts were created. The words: 'Upon them dwell the birds of the heaven' (Psalms 104:12) refer to the creation of the birds. The psalm, then, passes on to 'Let the earth bring forth' (Genesis 1:11) in the words: 'To the mountains He gives drink from His upper chambers' (Psalms 104:13). This is only another expression for: 'But there went up a mist from the earth' (Genesis 2:16) likewise for the benefit of Adam and his posterity. The psalm says: 'He causes grass to spring up for the cattle' (Psalms 104:14), lest the grass be despised, since it is of service for the domestic animals, oxen, sheep, and horses. This is described in the words: 'Service of man,' (ibid.), viz. agriculture, by means of which he produces corn for himself, as is expressed in the words: 'To bring forth bread from the earth.' This is parallel to the verse: 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, viz. the corn for man, and the chaff for the rest of creatures' (Genesis 1:29), as it is said: 'And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven . . . every green herb for meat' (Genesis 1:30). The psalm then mentions the three foods gained from the soil, viz. corn, wine and oil, which are comprised in the term leḥem, and their usages as follows: 'Wine which gladdens man's heart, to make his face shine more than oil,' 'and bread,'--viz. the loaf--sustains man's heart' (Psalms 104:15). Then he mentions the importance of rain for the trees in the words: 'The trees of the Lord have their fill' (Psalms 104:16). These high trees have a use for some animals, as is expressed in the words: 'Wherein the birds make their nests' (Psalms 104:17), just as the high mountains serve other animals, viz. 'The high mountains are for the wild goats, the crags a refuge for the coneys.' Thus far the description of the dry land. The psalm then discusses the Biblical words: 'Let there be lights' as follows: 'The moon He made to measure time,' (Psalms 104:19). After this is mentioned the utility of the night which is not the work of accident, but of intention. There is no trifling in His work, nor even in the accidental consequences of the same. The night is but the time of the absence of sunlight, yet instituted for a purpose. This is expressed in the words: 'Thou makest darkness, and it is night' (Psalms 104:20). This is followed by the description of beasts dangerous to man, which go forth at night and hide by day, whilst man and domestic animals sleep at night and walk abroad during the day. 'Man goes forth to his work and to his labour until the evening' (Psalms 104:23). Having thus included all terrestrial animals in the discussion of the rivers and heavenly lights, and having also mentioned man, there only remain the animals which live in water, the life of which is very little known to us, because Divine Wisdom lavished on them is not so manifest to us as in the former. Speaking of the wisdom which is visible, the psalmist breaks out in praise and says: 'How manifold are Thy works, O Lord!' (Psalms 104:24). He then resumes the subject of the ocean and what is therein, concluding with the words: 'Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever; let the Lord rejoice in His works' (Psalms 104:31). This is a rendering of the words: 'And God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good' (Genesis 1:31). At the same time it is an allusion to the seventh day in the words: 'He rested,' 'He blessed,' 'He sanctified,' because it marked the completion of the works of nature, which had a time limit, and placed man on a par with angels, which, being spirits, are above natural impulses, and not bound by time in their works. Intellect can, as we see, picture heaven and earth in one moment. This is the world of celestial life and bliss where the soul finds ease at the moment when it reaches it. The Sabbath is, therefore, called 'a taste of the world to come.'--Let us now resume the discussion on the opinion held by philosophers that the elements having entered various combinations relative to the variety of climes, atmosphere, and constellations, received a variety of forms from the Giver of forms. All minerals are, therefore, but the sum total of the specific powers and faculties. Others assert that the powers and qualities of minerals are the product of combination only, and consequently do not require forms of divine origin. The latter are only necessary for plants and animals to which a soul is attributed. The finer this mixture is, the nobler is the form proper for it in which the divine wisdom manifests itself in a higher degree. It becomes a plant which is possessed of some feeling and perception, penetrates the earth, and derives nourishment from good, moist soil and sweet water, avoiding the contrast. Thus it grows, until it comes to a stand-still, having given life to another like it and produced seed. This seed, then, according to a wisdom implanted in it, pursues a similar course. Philosophers call this nature, or rather powers which guard the preservation of the species, since the essence of the individual cannot be preserved, it being composed of various component parts. A thing which possesses these powers of growth, propagation and nourishment, is devoid of the power of motion, and is, in the opinion of philosophers, guided by nature. As a matter of fact, it is God who controls it in a certain condition. Call this condition what thou wilt, nature, soul, power, or angel. If the mixture is still finer, and fit to be impressed by the divine wisdom, it is favoured with a higher form than the bare physical power. It is able to bring its food from a distance, and is possessed of organs subject to it, which cannot move except by its desire. It has more control over its parts than the plant with which the wind plays, which cannot ward off damage, nor obtain what is useful to it. The animal has limbs to move about from place to place. The form allotted to it above its physical life is called soul. The souls vary greatly according to the preponderance of one or the other of the four elements. The wisdom of Providence has also constituted each living being for the benefit of the whole world. We may not be aware of the use of most of them, any more than we know of the use of ships' implements, and consider them therefore useless, whilst the master and builder of the ship knows it. We would not know the purpose of many of our bones and other organs if they lay detached before us, and so we are in ignorance of the purpose of every bone and limb, although we use it, and are convinced that if we lacked one, our actions would be impaired, and we could not do without it. All atoms of the world are known to, and mustered by, their Creator, and nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken away from it. It is necessary that souls should differ from each other, and that the organs of each soul should be suitable to it. For this reason He endowed the lion with organs for seizing its prey, such as teeth and claws, in addition to courage; but to the hart He gave the means of flight as compensation for its timidity. Every soul instinctively uses its faculties according to their nature, but nature does not reach perfection in any part of animal life, and consequently has no desire to obtain a form higher than the living soul. This, however, is possible in man, in whom it strives for a higher form. The Divine Influence grudges nothing. It bestows on him a higher form, called material or passive intellect. Men differ from each other, because most of them are physically of different constitutions, and the intellect follows the latter. If his gall be yellowish, he is quick and alert; if blackish, he is quiet and sedate. The temperament follows the mixture of humours. If an individual is found of evenly balanced humour, which controls his contrasting dispositions (like the two scales of a balance in the hand of the person who weighs and regulates them by adding or subtracting at his will), such a person possesses without doubt a heart which is free from strong passions. He covets a degree of divine character above his own. He is perplexed, not knowing which inclination should have preponderance. He does not give way either to anger, or to lust, or to any other passion, but controls himself, and seeks divine inspiration to walk the right path. This is the person on whom the divine and prophetic spirit is poured out, if he is fit for prophecy, but if he stands below that degree, he is only endowed with inspiration. In the latter case he is a pious man, but no prophet. There is no niggardliness with God, who allows every one his due. Philosophers call the giver of this degree Active Intellect, and regard it as an angel below God. If a man's intellect is in conjunction with the former, this is called his paradise and lasting life.

Explanation for the Tikkun of Fruit (The first ever published seder for Tu biShvat — Pri Ets Hadar (The Fruit of the Majestic Tree) — can be found in a kabbalistic text, first published as a pamphlet in Venice in 1728. (See Friedberg, Beyt ‘Eqed Sefarim, vol. 3, p.851, no.777.) Written by an unknown author, Pri Ets Hadar was included in the Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim by R’ Yisrael Yakov Ben Yom Tov Algazi (1680-1756) (the Rosh Yeshiva of Beit El in Yerushalayim, a friend of the Ḥida, and father of the Maharit Algazi). One of the great mekubalim of his time, R’ Algazi’s name added greatly to the credibility of Ḥemdat Yamim despite its attribution by Rabbi Yaakov Emden to Natan Binyamin Ghazzati (1643-1680) the 17th century mystic who greatly encouraged the aspiring messiah, Shabbtai Tzvi. Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim remains a major source of kabbalistic minhagim (customs) still practiced by followers of the Ari z”l’s school of Jewish mysticism in Jewish communities all over the world.) Although the 15th of Shevat occurs during the “days of the Shovavim,” (The six weeks during which the first six portions of the book of Exodus are read are considered a period of repentance. This is suggested by the fact that the first letter of the Hebrew name for each of these six portions spells shovavim, “wayward,” which alludes to the verse, “Return wayward children.” (Jer. 3:14).) it is not a fast day, since it is the New Year’s Day for the fruit of the tree. Through the tikkun that is performed on this day with fruit, the sefirah,”Tsaddik, Life of the Worlds,” is aroused. (According to Zoharic Kabbalah, earthly arts that are performed with theurgic intention may positively affect the ten inner aspects of the Godhead called sefirot. In this case, the religious acts concerning fruit that are performed on the 15th of Shevat are said to effect the ninth sefirah, Yesod, or “foundation.” The sefirah represents the male generative principle within the divine world called Tsaddik, or “righteous one.” The sefirah is often anthropomorphically represented as a phallus.) This mystery is mentioned in the Zohar, Bereshit, (Zohar. v. 1. 33a. Also see Zohar v.3. p.87a. The meaning is that the production of fruit depends on the union of both male and female elements. Although the female tree bears the fruit, it depends on the male for fertilization.) “on the third day, the earth made fruit from the potency of that [supernal] Tsaddik. As it is written, ‘And God said, let the earth bring forth… fruit trees that produce fruit…‘ (Gen 1:11) ‘Fruit trees‘ refers to ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil‘ that bears fruit. (I.e., the tenth sefirah, Malkhut, which is female.) ‘That produce fruit‘ alludes to Tsaddik, the foundation of the world….” (I.e., the ninth sefirah, Yesod, the male.)

“The fruit yielded a harvest,” (Paraphrase of Ps. 107:37.) every “fruit tree producing fruit according to its kind.“ (Gen. 1:11.)

“Its fruit is food and its leaves a source of healing.“ (Ezek. 47:12.) So on this day, the beginning of Your deeds concerning [the trees’] budding and renewal, “a person will earn with its fruit…,” (Song of Songs 8:11.) “producing fruit after its kind.“ (Gen. 1:11.) For so the days of budding will be full for the fruit of the supernal tree, “the tree of life which is in the midst of the garden“ (Gen. 2:9.) and it makes fruit above.

In the Tikkunei Zohar it says (43rd Correction): “5. WE SHOULD further EXPLAIN. A fruit tree is the Central Column, TIFERET; yielding fruit is the Righteous, YESOD, “whose seed was in itself” (Genesis 1:11); “upon the earth” is the Shechinah, MALCHUT, in which all seeds are included. ZEIR ANPIN PRODUCES SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS VIA YESOD THAT TRANSMITS THE SOULS TO MALCHUT, WHO IS IMPREGNATED THROUGH RECEIVING THE PLENTY OF ALL THE TEN SFIROT THAT IS DRAWN TO HER VIA YESOD, TO BEAR NEFESH, RUACH AND NESHAMAH FROM ALL THE LEVELS. And here IS ALLUDED TO the precept of being fruitful and multiplying, WHICH IS to produce fruit and seeds, THAT IS, TO BEGET RIGHTEOUS CHILDREN. This is the meaning of, “He did not create it a waste land, He formed it to be inhabited” (Yeshayah 45:18). Whoever neglects multiplying and being fruitful IS CONSIDERED as if he returned that earth, THAT IS, MALCHUT, CALLED EARTH WHEN IT RECEIVES ABUNDANCE, TO THE LEVEL OF dry land, FOR SHE IS DRY FROM LIGHT, and withholds blessings from it. HE EXPLAINS THAT each one FLAWS according to his own level, FOR whoever flaws below, flaws above, in the place where his soul was hewn FROM. IF THE ROOT OF HIS SOUL IS FROM A HIGH PLACE AND HE CREATES A FLAW THERE, HIS PUNISHMENT IS GREAT. THEREFORE THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, IS STRICT WITH HIS PIOUS ONES, BECAUSE THE ROOT OF THEIR SOULS IS HIGH IN HEAVENS, AND HIS PUNISHMENT IS GREATER THAN OF A MAN OF A LOW LEVEL.” If he already damaged and cannot correct himself at the proper time, then if the Creator will give him the merit of bearing a son he should make an effort to marry him off to a woman before he comes to sin. And in this generation one should distance his son and protect him from anything that can lead him to a negative thought before he marries a woman.

And nevertheless, the more accepted thing for the correction of the relations of Talmidei Chachamim is from Shabbat to Shabbat. Similarly it says in the Tikkunei Zohar (Sixth Correction): 10. “In any tree” (Devarim 22.6) refers to the Tree of Life, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN, FROM THE CHEST AND UP. About it is said, “She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her” (Mishlei 3:18). And about it, ZEIR ANPIN, CALLED MAN, IS SAID, “For is the tree of the field a man” (Devarim 20:19). “in any tree” could also BE EXPLAINED AS referring to the Righteous, MEANING YESOD, FROM THE CHEST AND BELOW, of which is said, “And fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind” (Beresheet 1:11). This is the Shabbat day, when the mating of the Shechinah with the Holy One, blessed be He, takes place, then she has rest. 11. And about it YESOD, THE RIGHTEOUS, is said, “And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season” (Tehilim 1:3). This is the righteous people’s time to perform marital duty, the night of Shabbat. Since from the Righteous, THAT IS YESOD, CALLED THE SIXTH DAY, new souls bloom in Yisrael on the eve of the Shabbat, referred to as ‘new faces.’

Let me further awaken you to the explanation of this mystery, as follows: I have already informed you that the Essential Root of the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה, the Ikar Shechinah, is in the earth. The verse by which to remember this is, (Isaiah 66:1) “the earth is My footrest.” Thus, when the Indwelling Presence of HaShem-יהו״ה (Shechinah) receives beneficence from the blessings that are above, it is called (Genesis 1:10) The gathering of the waters-Mikveh HaMayim -מקוה המים. In contrast, when it does not receive blessings, it is called, Dry land-Yabashah-יבשה. (Genesis 1:9) The verse by which to remember this is, (Genesis 1:10) “God called the dry land-Yabashah-יבשה earth-ארץ and the gathering of waters-Mikveh HaMayim-מקוה המים He called, Seas-ימים.’” Thus, when this quality is dry-Yeveishah-יבשה and lacking, the Jewish people are in a state of hunger and thirst, naked and lacking everything, and they are shed (Neshurim-נשורים) of it. For, the Jewish people are like the leaves, whereas this quality is like the body of the tree.

Now, the term sea-Yam-ים refers to the seabed that contains the water, as the verse states, (Isaiah 11:9) “As the waters cover the seabed-Yam-ים.” It also states, (Genesis 1:11) “And He called the ingathering of the waters, seas-Yamim-ימים. Clearly, the receptacle of the waters is called the sea-Yam-ים. From within this sea-Yam-ים many camps of angels were created and many different species that the waters within it swarmed with, all of which are supernal chariots and encampments.

13. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם said ‘Let the earth sprout’” (Genesis 1:11)

And furthermore: (Deut. 22:6) ... in any tree... – this is the Righteous-One, Who is: (Gen. 1:11) ... a tree making fruit of its kind... And this is the Sabbath day, for it is there that is the coupling of the Shekhinah with the blessed Holy One. And there, She has [Var. He has] relief, and upon that is stated: (Ps. 1:3) And it shall be as a tree planted by rivulets of water, that will give its fruit in its season... This is ‘the time of the Righteous-One’, which is Sabbath eve. For from the Righteous-One fly-forth new souls in Israel – on the Sabbath eve – which are called [Var. therefore, they are called], ‘new faces’.

And the Shekhinah is the earth, in which trees grow and flourish, about which it is stated: (Jer. 23:5) ... a righteous sprout... which is: (Gen. 1:11) a fruit tree.

(Gen. 2:9) And Y”Y ELQYM caused to sprout, from the ground, every pleasant-looking tree... etc. – this is a righteous person, he is (Gen. 1:11) ... a fruit tree making fruit to its kind... And in this place, it is Her love, in the joining and unity with Her Husband, and because of this She says: (Song. 2:5) ... for I am love-sick.

It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:10) And ELQYM called the dry land earth’, to make vegetation and fruits, which are the Holy Land of Israel below. It is this that is written: (Gen. 1:11) And ELQYM said: let the earth sprout vegetation...

Six directions are included in the letter Vav (ו) (6) , which is: (Gen. 1:11) ... a fruit tree making fruit... What is its fruit? The letter Yod (י) . For the letter Vav (ו) is a branch of a tree, which separates into six branches, and from six, to branches without number. Yod (י) is the fruit upon each-and-every branch, which is Vav (ו) .

After this, [the name "Elohim"] is written again in the text. And why is it mentioned again? In order to bring out the five rigid leaves that surround a rose. And these five represent the five gates of salvation. And this secret is written about in the verse, "I will raise the cup of salvation" (Psalms 116:13) This is the cup of benediction which is raised after a meal. The cup of benediction must rest on five fingers, and no more, just as a rose rests on five rigid leaves. And this Rose is the cup of benediction. From the second to the third mention of the name Elohim [in the Torah], there are five words. From this point the Ohr [light] was created [hence "Let there be Light."] and concealed and enclosed within that covenant that entered the rose and fructified it. This is referred to as a "fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof." [Genesis 1:11] This seed is the Covenant.

(Genesis 1:11) "And God said: 'Let the earth cause to shoot forth young grass, herb yielding seed, fruit trees etc.", corresponding to what is written: (Leviticus 23:32) "And you shall humble your souls on the ninth of the month in the evening." (At this time) (Deuteronomy 3:24) "Adonai HaShem, you have begun to show your servant your greatness". יהוה complete in His aspects. And here in this movement of the earth, not complete.

You uncovered the surface of the earth, (Bereishis 1:11—12. The phraseology is based upon Tehillim 88:13, Shir Hashirim 6:11.)

[3] Another interpretation: And she vowed a vow, and said, "If you will see me, then you will see that I am barren, and Zion is barren, as it is said, "Sing, O barren one" (Isaiah 54:1). If you see me, then you will also see Zion, and remember me, for me, and do not forget your truth, for Zion. There are seven barren ones corresponding to the seven days of creation. The first is Sarah, as it is written, "And Sarai was barren" (Genesis 11:30), corresponding to the first day. And what was created on the first day? Heaven and Earth, which belong to this purchase by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, "Blessed is Avram to G-d on High, Possessor of heaven and earth" [Rashi: having acquired them by creating them] (Genesis 14:19). The second is Rebecca, as it is said, "And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren" (Genesis 25:21), corresponding to the second day. And what was created on the second day? The firmament, as it is said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between water and water" (Genesis 1:6). Rebecca also gave birth to two sons, Jacob and Esau, as it is said, "And I will separate you from the peoples" (Leviticus 20:26). The third is Leah, as it is said, "And the Lord saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb" (Genesis 29:31), corresponding to the third day. And what was created on the third day? Vegetation, as it is said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation" (Genesis 1:11). And Reuben, the son of Leah, built, as it is said, "And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest" (Genesis 30:14). The fourth is Rachel, corresponding to the fourth day. And what was created on the fourth day? The sun, moon, stars, and constellations, as it is said, "And God said, 'Let there be lights'" (Genesis 1:14). And Joseph, the son of Rachel, stood as her offspring, and they bowed down to him, as it is said, "And behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me" (Genesis 37:9). The fifth corresponds to Thursday, and what was created on Thursday? Birds that fly in the air (Genesis 1:20). And so was Samuel, the son of Hannah, like a bird flying from place to place and from country to country, and eventually returning to his nest. And so was Samuel involved in the affairs of Israel, going to all places, as it is said, "And he used to go yearly on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places" And his return was to Ramah, for there was his home. (1 Samuel 7:16-17) The sixth corresponds to the Hazzelelponith, the mother of Samson, as it is written: "And their sister (Hazzelelponith) [Hazzelelponi]"(1 Chronicles 4:3) . What was created on the sixth day? Man, and what happened to man? He died by the hand of his wife, as it is written: "And to Adam He said... for from the tree... you shall surely die" (Genesis 3:17), and Samson, too, died at the hands of his wife, as it is written: "And he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah" (Judges 16:4). The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes (Judges 16:21). The seventh corresponds to Zion, as it is written: "And on the seventh day He rested" (Exodus 20:11). And Zion is my resting place forever (Psalm 132:14). Therefore, Isaiah said: "Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear" (Isaiah 54:1).

“It was on the day that [Moses] concluded” – that is what is written: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin [from the timber of Lebanon]” (Song of Songs 3:9) – this is the world, which is made like a type of palanquin. “King Solomon [Shelomo]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, who instituted peace [shalom] between fire and water, combined one with the other, and crafted the firmament, as it is stated: “God called the firmament heaven [shamayim]” (Genesis 1:8), as it is fire [esh] and water [mayim]. “From the timber of Lebanon” – as it was constructed from the place of the Temple. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: Why is it called the foundation stone? (This is the stone that is located in the inner sanctum in the Temple.) It is because the world was founded upon it. That is what is written: “From Zion, the epitome of beauty, God appeared” (Psalms 50:2). “He crafted its pillars of silver, [its cushioning of gold, its seat of purple wool; its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the firmament, just as it says: “The pillars of the heavens will sag” (Job 26:11). Why does it call them silver [kesef]? It is because it puts the act of Creation to shame [mekhasef]. Likewise it says: “The heavens relate [the glory of God]” (Psalms 19:2). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the earth, which produces the fruit of the land and the fruit of the trees, which are similar to gold. Just as gold, there are different types and different shades, so too the fruits of the land; some of them are green and some of them are red. “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool [argaman]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the sun, which is placed above, rides on a chariot [bemerkava], and illuminates the world, just as it says: “It (The reference is to the sun that is mentioned in the previous verse.) is like a bridegroom leaving his bridal chamber…” (Psalms 19:6). By the power of the sun rain falls, and by the power of the sun the land produces fruit. That is why it calls it argaman, as the Holy One blessed be He created it in order to weave man for the creatures. Man is nothing other than fruit and food, just as it says: “The king allotted [vayman] for them [a daily portion from the king’s food]” (Daniel 1:5). “Its interior is inlaid with love” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as after all the act of Creation, He created Adam and Eve to rule over them all. (The phrase is being interpreted as meaning that the world was inlaid with what God loved, namely, Adam and Eve.) Likewise it says: “She has sent out her young women; she will call” (Proverbs 9:3). (This is expounded as referring to Adam and Eve (see Vayikra Rabba 11:1).) That is, “from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – that all the creations would fear them and be assigned to them, just as it says: “Fear of you and dread of you will be [upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, and upon all that crawls on the ground, and upon all fish of the sea; into your hand they are given]” (Genesis 9:2). Another matter: “Palanquin (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the world. Why is it called “palanquin [apiryon]”? It is because it was created only for procreation [lifriya]. Likewise it says: “He did not create it for emptiness; He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made for himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the Holy One blessed be He created it only so there would be peace [shalom] between the creations, as it is stated: “Who forms the light and creates darkness, makes peace…” (Isaiah 45:7). “From the timber [me’atzei] of Lebanon [halevanon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as by the counsel [shebaatzat] of the Torah, whose matters are clear [melubenet], God created the world. Likewise it says: “Counsel [etza] and resourcefulness are mine” (Proverbs 8:14). (The word “mine” refers to wisdom.) From where is it derived that the matters of Torah are clear? It is as indeed it is written: “Then He saw and quantified it, prepared it, and also investigated it. He said to man: [Behold, the fear of the Lord, it is wisdom, and turning away from evil is understanding]” (Job 28:27–28). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is a genealogy. Likewise it says: “The righteous one is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25). “Silver” is nothing other than refining the genealogy, just as it says: “He will sit like one refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them [like gold and like silver]” (Malachi 3:3). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Torah, in whose regard it is written: “They are more desirable than gold, than much fine gold” (Psalms 19:11), and the Holy One blessed be He gave it to study it only to one who preserves his genealogy. Likewise, it says: “To the wicked one God said: What have you to do with My book of statutes, and you invoke My covenant” (Psalms 50:16)? Why is it so? “When you see a thief, you run with him; you join in with adulterers” (Psalms 50:18). And it says: “Render to the Lord, you families of the peoples; render to the Lord honor and might” (Psalms 96:7). (The fact that it says “families of peoples” and not just “peoples,” underscores the importance of genealogy.) “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “Who rides [rokhev] the heavens to assist you” (Deuteronomy 33:26). And He weaves the world so that all of them will emerge according to their species and they will not intermingle one species with another, just as it says: “Let the earth sprout vegetation” (Genesis 1:11). (In the following verse it says: “Vegetation yielding seed in its kind” (Genesis 1:12).) He rests His Divine Presence only upon those of pure lineage in Israel. Likewise it says: “To be a God for you and for your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). When your offspring are identifiable as being after you, the Holy One blessed be He is God to them, but when his offspring are not identifiable as being after him, as they are intermingled with the offspring of their counterparts, He is not God to them. “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yudan says: This is the merit of the Torah, as it is stated in its regard: “A loving doe” (Proverbs 5:19), and the merit of the righteous, as it is stated: “And I loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: This is the Divine Presence, just as it says: “You shall love the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Another matter: “Palanquin [apiryon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the eternal Temple. Why is it called apiryon? It is because all the golden forms would produce after its kind. (It expounds the word apiryon as producing fruit [peri].) “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – just as it says: “And we will cut timber from Lebanon…[and you will take it up to Jerusalem]” (II Chronicles 2:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “He erected the pillars before the Sanctuary, one to the right [and one to the left]” (II Chronicles 3:17). Was it of silver? Was it not of bronze? (As stated in I Kings 7:15–21.) It was, rather, of refined bronze whose value equaled that of silver. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – it is taught: The entire Temple was overlaid with gold, except for behind the doors (Midot 4:1). Rabbi Aivu said: The mishna is referring to the second Temple; however, in the first Temple it was even behind the doors. There are seven types of gold: Fine gold, pure gold, beaten gold, chased gold, glittering gold, refined gold, parvayim gold. Fine gold, in its plain sense, just as you say: “The gold of that land was fine” (Genesis 2:12). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is fine when he is in the house, and it is fine when it is accompanying him. Pure gold, they place it in the crucible and it lacks nothing. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Solomon placed one thousand gold talents into the furnace one thousand times until there remained only one talent. Was it not taught: Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Yehuda said: It happened that the candelabrum in the Temple was one Gordian dinar greater than the candelabrum of the wilderness, and he placed it in the furnace eighty times until it diminished? Rather, initially the dross diminished by a large amount; from this point forward it diminished by only a minimal amount. Beaten gold is spun like a thread and drawn like wax. Hadrian had the weight of an egg [of beaten gold]. Diocletian had the weight of a Gordian dinar. (The egg-bulk is significantly larger.) This kingdom (Their Roman successors.) has none of that. Chased gold [sagur] – that would cause all the owners of gold to close [soger]. (The gold was of such high quality that all other gold dealers would close their shops until the chased gold was sold, since everyone would buy the high quality gold.) But is it not written: “And seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses” (I Chronicles 29:4)? Was it silver? Was it not gold, as it is written: “The great Temple he overlaid with juniper wood, which he overlaid with fine gold” (II Chronicles 3:5)? Why do they call it silver [kesef]? It is because it would put to shame [makhsif] all the owners of gold. And all the vessels were crafted from it, the basins, the pots, the shovels, the forks, the spoons, and the firepans, [were of] chased gold. There it is written: “And the potot for the doors of the Temple” (I Kings 7:50). What are potot? Rabbi Yitzḥak of Migdal said: It is the cup under the hinge. (The hinge extended into a hole in the ground. A "cup" was placed in the hole, and the hinge extended into the cup.) Rabbi Simai said: These are the teeth of the keys, to teach you that the Temple was not lacking even insignificant matters. Glittering [mufaz] gold – Rabbi Patriki, brother of Rabbi Derosai, says in the name of Rabbi Aivu Abba: It is like this sulfur enflamed in fire. Rabbi Avin said: It is after the name of its country, Me’ufaz. Refined gold – the school of Reish Lakish says: They would cut it like olives, feed it to ostriches, and it emerges refined. Parvayim gold – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: It is red and similar to the blood of a bull [par]; and some say that it produces fruits [perot]. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: When Menashe placed an idol in the Sanctuary, all those fruits dried. That is what is written: “The flower of Lebanon withers” (Nahum 1:4). However, in the future, everything will be restored, as it is written: “It will blossom and will rejoice…” (Isaiah 35:2). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “he crafted the curtain of sky-blue, purple, and crimson wool, and fine linen” (II Chronicles 3:14). Because the purple wool is the most important of them all, as it is a royal garment, just as it says: “He will don purple wool” (Daniel 5:7), that is why he mentioned it. Similarly, “eaters of the flesh of swine, detestable creatures, and mice” (Isaiah 66:17) – what prohibition is there that is greater regarding swine than the rest of the non-kosher animals, and mice from the other creeping animals? Rather, it mentioned swine, and the same is true regarding all non-kosher animals and beasts, and it mentioned mice, and the same is true of all creeping animals in the world. Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Ark. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rav Ilai said: This is analogous to a king who had a fine, praiseworthy, and appealing daughter. The king said to his servants: Craft a chair for her with a cover. It is preferable that they see the beauty of my daughter from behind the cover. So, the Torah is fine, praiseworthy, and appealing. The Holy One blessed be He said: Craft an Ark for it, so its beauty will be seen from within the Ark. “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the king that peace [shalom] is His. He rendered the entire Torah that way, as it is stated: “All its ways are peace” (Proverbs 3:17). “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft an Ark of acacia wood” (Exodus 25:10). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – these are the two pillars that stood before it like a type of portico. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall plate it with pure gold” (Exodus 25:11). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Tanḥuma said: This is the Ark cover, which is similar to purple, and it is written in its regard: “You shall place the Ark cover upon the Ark from above” (Exodus 25:21). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: This is the merit of the Torah, this is the merit of the righteous who engage in its study. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22), etc. (This is a reference to the interpretation given later in this section.) Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Tabernacle. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: To what is this matter comparable? It is to a king of flesh and blood who had a daughter and he loved her excessively. As long as his daughter was a minor, he would speak to her in public. When he would see her in the courtyard, he would speak with her. When she grew older and displayed signs of puberty, the king said: It is not in keeping with my daughter’s honor that I will speak to her in public. Instead, craft a partition for her so that when I wish to speak with my daughter, I will speak with her behind the partition. So, when the Holy One blessed be He saw Israel in Egypt, they were lads, as it is stated: “When Israel was a lad, I loved him, and from Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:1). He saw them at the sea, and He would speak to them, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to Me? [Speak to the children of Israel]” (Exodus 14:15). He saw them at Sinai and would speak with them, as it is stated: “Face-to-face the Lord spoke with you” (Deuteronomy 5:4). Once they received the Torah and became a complete nation for Him, they said: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). The Holy One blessed be He said: It is not in keeping with my children’s honor that I will speak to them in public. Rather, craft for Me a Tabernacle, and when I need to speak with them, I will speak with them from the Tabernacle. That is what is written: “When Moses would come into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, [he heard the Voice speaking to him from above the Ark cover that was upon the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubs, and He spoke to him]” (Numbers 7:89). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, that peace [shalom] is His, as He makes peace with Israel after the contention that He had with them due to the act of the calf. “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall make the boards for the Tabernacle [of acacia wood]” (Exodus 26:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver” (Exodus 27:11). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall overlay the boards with gold” (Exodus 26:29). “Its seat is of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft a curtain of sky-blue, purple, [and crimson wool]” (Exodus 26:31), and it is written: “You shall screen the Ark with the curtain…” (Exodus 40:3). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Yudan said: This is the merit of the Torah, and this is the merit of the righteous. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “Moses was unable to enter [the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle]” (Exodus 40:35). To what is this matter comparable? It is to a cave that is located on the seashore. The sea raged and the cave became filled with water, but the sea lacked nothing. So, the Tent of Meeting was filled with the radiance of the Divine Presence, but the world lacked nothing. That is, “its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22) – it is to teach you that even what is behind the Ark cover is not unoccupied by the Divine Presence. A certain idolater asked Rabban Gamliel: Why did the Holy One blessed be He appear to Moses from the midst of the bush? He said to him: Had he appeared on a certain carob tree or on a certain fig tree would you have asked me this? To dismiss you with nothing is not possible. It is to teach you that there is no place on earth that is unoccupied by the Divine Presence, as even from the bush He would speak would speak to Moses. Another matter: “Palanquin…” (Song of Songs 3:10) – what is written just before it? “Behold the bed of Solomon: [There are sixty valiant men around it, from the valiant of Israel, all armed with a sword, trained in war; each man, a sword on his thigh, from fear in the nights]” (Song of Songs 3:7–8). This is the Priestly Benediction, as we stated previously. (See Bemidbar Rabba 11:3.) It is to teach you that Solomon came only to explain the Torah and based his statements on the order of the Torah. Just as just before the portion of the Tabernacle, the portion of the Priestly Benediction is written, so too, Solomon did the same: First he mentioned the Priestly Benediction, and then he spoke of the Tabernacle: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10). Why did he do so? Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said: To what is the matter comparable? It is to a king who betrothed his daughter. He made an elaborate betrothal celebration, and the evil eye affected them. When the king came to marry off his daughter, what did he do? He gave her an amulet. He said to her: Let this amulet be upon you so the evil eye will not affect you. The Holy One blessed be He did so as well. When He came to give the Torah to Israel, He made an elaborate public celebration, as it is written: “All the people were seeing the thunder” (Exodus 20:15). That was only betrothal [kidushim], as it is written: “Go to the people and sanctify them [vekidashtam] today and tomorrow” (Exodus 19:10), but the evil eye affected them and the tablets were shattered, just as it says: “He shattered them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). When they came to craft the Tabernacle, He did not do so. The Holy One blessed be He gave them the blessing first, so that the evil eye would not affect them. That is why it is first written: “May the Lord bless you and protect you” (Numbers 6:24) from the evil eye, and then: “It was on the day that [Moses] concluded…”

Everything that you see is an outgrowth of either the heavens or the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). On the second day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6). On the third day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the earth sprout grass” (Genesis 1:11). On the fourth day, He created things out of the heavenly realm: “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). On the fifth day, He created things out of the earthly realm: “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). On the sixth day, He came to create man. He said: ‘If I create him from the heavenly realm, the heavenly will outnumber the earthly by one creation and there will not be peace [equilibrium] in the world. If I create him from the earthly realm, the earthly will outnumber the heavenly by one creation and there will not be peace in the world. Rather, I will create him from both the heavenly and the earthly realms for the sake of peace.’ That is what is written: “And the Lord God created man…” (Genesis 2:7) – “Out of dust from the ground” (Genesis 2:7), from the earthly, “and He blew into his nostrils a living spirit” (Genesis 2:7), from the heavenly. This is as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “Dominion and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His heights” (Job 25:2). “Dominion” – this is Gabriel; “and fear” – this is Mikhael. (The angels Mikhael and Gabriel represent opposite spiritual forces, and God creates a balance (“peace”) between them, as he did with all of creation.)

“The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper for him alongside him” (Genesis 2:18). “The Lord God said: It is not good that [the man] should be” – we learned: The world was created with ten [divine] utterances. (Avot 5:1.) These are: “In the beginning [God created the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1); (Although the words “God said” are not written here, it was through God’s command that the heavens and earth were created (see Psalms 33:6).) “the wind (The Midrash interprets the word ruaḥ to mean wind, unlike the more common translation, “spirit.”) of God hovered [over the surface of the water]” (Genesis 1:2); (Here too, although the words “God said” are not written, it was through God’s command that the wind came about.) “God said: Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3); “God said: Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:6); “God said: “Let the water be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “God said: Let the earth sprout [grass]” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14). “God said: Let the water swarm” (Genesis 1:20). “God said: “Let the earth produce” (Genesis 1:24). “God said: Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26). Menaḥem bar Yosei removes: “The wind of God hovered,” and inserts: “The Lord God said: It is not good that the man should be.” Rabbi Yaakov ben Kurshai said: A special utterance was devoted specifically to the wind. (Rabbi Yaakov concurs with the original count of the ten utterances.)

“God said: Let the earth sprout grass, vegetation yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in their kind, in which there is its seed, upon the earth, and it was so” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let the earth sprout grass” – it is taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: There were three who were brought to judgment, but there were four who emerged liable. They are as follows: Adam, Eve, and the serpent were brought to judgment, and the ground was cursed along with them, as it is stated: “Cursed is the ground on your account” (Genesis 3:17) – it will produce for you cursed items, such as gnats, flies, and fleas. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Even these are beneficial. (Even bugs serve a purpose in the world. Thus, the earth’s curse had a silver lining. See Bereshit Rabba 20:8.) Why was it cursed? Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom and Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom said: Because it violated its command, as the Holy One blessed be He said to it: “Let the earth sprout grass, [vegetation yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in their kind]” – just as the fruit is edible, so should the tree be edible. But, it [the earth] did not do so, but rather, “The earth produced grass…[and trees bearing fruit]” (Genesis 1:12) – the fruit is edible but the tree is not edible. Rabbi Pinḥas said: [On the contrary,] it did even more than it was commanded, taking the initiative in fulfilling the will of its Creator. “Trees bearing fruit” – even the non-fruit trees produced fruit. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shimon, all is well, but according to Rabbi Pinḥas, why was it [the earth] cursed? The explanation is that it is like a person who says [when cursing someone]: Cursed be the breasts from which this person nursed. (The earth was the provider of sustenance for mankind, so it was cursed as part of their curse.)

R. Chanina b. Papa lectured: Concerning the passage (Ps. 104, 31) May the glory of the Lord endure forever. This passage was recited by the Angel who supervised the Universe; for, when the Holy One, praised be He! had said (Gen. 1, 11) After its kind, in connection with the trees, the herbs inferred an a fortiori concerning themselves, saying: "If the Holy One, praised be He! wanted a motley growth, why did He say after its kind, with regard to the trees? Furthermore, is it not an a fortiori; if concerning trees which are not usually growing a motley growth, yet the Holy One, praised be He! said after its kind, how much more so ought we, that are usually growing a motley growth, come forth after its kind! Immediately thereupon each one went forth after its kind. The Angel that supervises the Universe [observing this] said the passage, May the glory of the Lord endure forever."

(Fol. 10b) We have been taught that R. Eliezer says: "In the month of Tishri the world was created; in the month of Tishri the Patriarchs [Abraham and Jacob], were born, and in Tishri they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited [with the blessing of children]; on New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison; (Fol. 11) on New Year's Day the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased; in Nissan, however, they were redeemed [from Egypt], and in Tishri we shall again be redeemed." R. Joshua says: "The world was created in Nissan; in the same month the patriarchs were born, and in Nissan they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited with children. On New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison, and the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased on New Year's Day. In Nissan our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt, and in the same month we shall again be redeemed." We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Tishri? It is said (Gen. 1, 11) And God said. Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, etc. In what month does the earth bring forth grass, and the trees at the same time are full of fruit? We must say it was in the month of Tishri; and [again it appears that] it was at the time of autumn, when the rain descended and the fruits flourished, as it is said (Ib. 2, 6) But there went up a mist from the earth," etc. R. Joshua says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Nissan? It is said (Ib. 1, 12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs yielding seed, and trees yielding fruit, etc. In which month does the earth bring forth grass [and, at the same time, in which do] the trees bring forth fruit? We must say it was in the month of Nissan, at which time animals, domestic and wild, as well as birds, mate; as it is said (Ps. 65, 14) The meadows are clothed with flocks," etc. But how are the other Rabbis, who make other inferences, going to explain the following passage (Gen. 1, 12) And herbs yielding seed, etc. [which refers to Nissan]? This is written merely as a blessing for the coming generations. And, how are those that contend that the world was created in Nissan to explain the passage (Ib. ib.) And a tree of fruit [which proves that it was in the month of Tishri]? This refers to what R. Joshua b. Levi said; for R. Joshua b. Levi said: "All the works of creation were brought to being in full-grown stature, by their consent, by their own choice as to their shape, as it is said (Ib. 2, 1) Thus were finished the heavens and the earth and all their host. Do not read Tzeba'am (their host), but read it Tzib'yonam (their taste)." R. Eliezer said further: "Whence do we know that the patriarchs were born in the month of Tishri? It is said (I Kings 8, 2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim (strong; i.e., the month in which (Ethanim), the strong ones of the earth (the patriarchs), were born." How do we know that the expression ethan means strong? It is written (Num. 24, 21) Strong (Ethan) is thy dwelling-place; and it is also written (Micah 6, 2) Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations, (v'ha'ethanim), etc. And it is also said (Songs 2, 8), Leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills [implying that they were] leaping over the mountains for the sake of the patriarchs; skipping over the hills for the sake of our mothers [Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah].

(3) (Fol. 10b) We have been taught that R. Eliezer says: "In the month of Tishri the world was created; in the month of Tishri the Patriarchs [Abraham and Jacob], were born, and in Tishri they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited [with the blessing of children]; on New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison; (Fol. 11) on New Year's Day the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased; in Nissan, however, they were redeemed [from Egypt], and in Tishri we shall again be redeemed." R. Joshua says: "The world was created in Nissan; in the same month the patriarchs were born, and in Nissan they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited with children. On New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison, and the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased on New Year's Day. In Nissan our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt, and in the same month we shall again be redeemed." We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Tishri? It is said (Gen. 1, 11) And God said. Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, etc. In what month does the earth bring forth grass, and the trees at the same time are full of fruit? We must say it was in the month of Tishri; and [again it appears that] it was at the time of autumn, when the rain descended and the fruits flourished, as it is said (Ib. 2, 6) But there went up a mist from the earth," etc. R. Joshua says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Nissan? It is said (Ib. 1, 12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs yielding seed, and trees yielding fruit, etc. In which month does the earth bring forth grass [and, at the same time, in which do] the trees bring forth fruit? We must say it was in the month of Nissan, at which time animals, domestic and wild, as well as birds, mate; as it is said (Ps. 65, 14) The meadows are clothed with flocks," etc. But how are the other Rabbis, who make other inferences, going to explain the following passage (Gen. 1, 12) And herbs yielding seed, etc. [which refers to Nissan]? This is written merely as a blessing for the coming generations. And, how are those that contend that the world was created in Nissan to explain the passage (Ib. ib.) And a tree of fruit [which proves that it was in the month of Tishri]? This refers to what R. Joshua b. Levi said; for R. Joshua b. Levi said: "All the works of creation were brought to being in full-grown stature, by their consent, by their own choice as to their shape, as it is said (Ib. 2, 1) Thus were finished the heavens and the earth and all their host. Do not read Tzeba'am (their host), but read it Tzib'yonam (their taste)." R. Eliezer said further: "Whence do we know that the patriarchs were born in the month of Tishri? It is said (I Kings 8, 2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim (strong; i.e., the month in which (Ethanim), the strong ones of the earth (the patriarchs), were born." How do we know that the expression ethan means strong? It is written (Num. 24, 21) Strong (Ethan) is thy dwelling-place; and it is also written (Micah 6, 2) Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations, (v'ha'ethanim), etc. And it is also said (Songs 2, 8), Leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills [implying that they were] leaping over the mountains for the sake of the patriarchs; skipping over the hills for the sake of our mothers [Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah].

(Lev. 19:23:) NOW WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND AND PLANT ANY TREE FOR FOOD. This text is related (to Zech. 8:11–12): BUT NOW < I WILL NOT TREAT THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE > AS IN THE FORMER DAYS…; FOR AS THE SEED OF PEACE, THE VINE SHALL YIELD ITS FRUIT, THE EARTH SHALL YIELD ITS HARVEST…. What is the meaning of NOT… AS IN THE FORMER DAYS? When Israel went forth from Egypt and was walking in the desert, he brought down manna for them, brought over quails for them, and raised up the well for them. (The well in question is the well of Numb. 21:16–20, which according to traditional interpretations was movable and followed the children of Israel during the forty-year wanderings. See below, Numb. 1:2; 6:35, 47–50; Tanh., Numb. 1:2; Numb. R. 1:2; 9:14; 13:20; 19:26; Seder ‘Olam Rabbah 5, 9–10; TSuk. 3:11–13; Pseudo-Philo 10:7; 11:15; also TSot. 11:1; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 6; Sifre Deut. 32:14(305); Shab. 35a; Ta‘an. 9a; Eccl. R. 1:2; M. Prov. 14; the various targums to Numb. 21:16–20; and I Corinthians 10:4.) Then each and every tribe made itself a conduit for water, which [drew < the water > from the well and] brought it in to them. Moreover, [each and every one] planted fig trees, vines, and pomegranates, which yielded fruit on the same day, just as it was from the beginning at the creation of the world (according to Gen. 1:11): FRUIT TREE BEARING FRUIT ACCORDING TO ITS KIND. If the children of Adam had been worthy, it would have remained so until now. A person would plant a tree, and it would bear fruit immediately. When Adam sinned, the ground was cursed (according to Gen. 3:17): CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU. From now on (ibid., cont.:) IN TOIL YOU SHALL YOU EAT OF IT ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE. He sowed wheat and it sprouted thistles, as stated (in vs. 18): THORNS AND THISTLES SHALL IT SPROUT FOR YOU. When they went forth from Egypt, [the Holy One] raised up the well for them. Then they made plantings beside its water, and the trees bore fruit on the same day. When the well disappeared, [all the bounty disappeared.] What is written there (in Numb. 20:5)? A PLACE WITH NO SEEDS, FIGS, VINES, OR POMEGRANATES. The Holy One said to Moses: Say to these Israelites: When you enter the land of Israel, I am restoring all the bounty to you, as stated (in Deut. 8:7–9): FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS BRINGING YOU UNTO A GOOD LAND, < A LAND WITH STREAMS OF WATER >…; A LAND OF WHEAT AND BARLEY, OF VINES, FIGS, AND POMEGRANATES…; A LAND < IN > WHICH < YOU SHALL EAT BREAD > WITHOUT STINT. When they came into the land of Israel they began sinning (rt.: HT'), as stated (in Jer. 2:7): BUT YOU CAME AND DEFILED (rt.: HT') MY LAND. So it did not bear fruits as was appropriate. They planted much and brought in little, as stated (in Hag. 1:6): YOU HAVE SOWN MUCH AND BROUGHT IN LITTLE. (Above, Exod. 8:10.) Why? Because they ceased < offering > the firstfruits. (Ibid., cont.:) YOU HAVE EATEN WITHOUT HAVING ENOUGH, after {the first fruits} [the shewbread] ceased. (Ibid., cont.:) YOU HAVE DRUNK WITHOUT HAVING ENOUGH, after the libation of wine ceased. (Ibid., cont.:) YOU HAVE PUT ON CLOTHES, WITHOUT BEING WARM, after the vestments of priesthood were abolished. (Ibid., cont.:) THE WAGE EARNER HAS EARNED WAGES FOR A BAG WITH HOLES, after almsgiving ceased. (Zech. 8:10:) A PERSON HAD NO EARNINGS, after pilgrims (going up to Jerusalem) ceased. (Ibid., cont.:) AND THE CATTLE EARNED NOTHING, after the offerings ceased. But in the age to come, the Holy One will not act so. Thus it is stated (in Zech. 8:11–12): BUT NOW I WILL NOT TREAT THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE AS IN THE FORMER DAYS, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS; FOR AS THE SEED OF PEACE, THE VINE SHALL YIELD ITS FRUIT, THE EARTH SHALL YIELD ITS HARVEST, THE HEAVENS SHALL YIELD THEIR DEW, AND I WILL BEQUEATH ALL THESE THINGS TO THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE….

(Lev. 19:23:) “Now when you come into the land and plant any tree for food.” This text is related (to Zech. 8:11-12), “But now [I will not treat the remnant of this people] as in the former days…. For as the seed of peace, the vine shall yield its fruit, the earth shall yield its harvest […].” What is the meaning of “not as in the former days?” When Israel went forth from Egypt and was walking in the desert, He brought down manna for them, brought over quails for them, and raised up the well for them. (The well in question is the well of Numb. 21:16-20, which according to traditional interpretations was movable and followed the Children of Israel during the forty-year wanderings. See below, Numb. 1:2; 6:35, 47–50; Tanh., Numb. 1:2; Numb. R. 1:2; 9:14; 13:20; 19:26; Seder ‘Olam Rabbah 5, 9-10; TSuk. 3:11-13; Pseudo-Philo 10:7; 11:15; also TSot. 11:1; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 6; Sifre Deut. 32:14 (305); Shab. 35a; Ta‘an. 9a; Eccl. R. 1:2; M. Prov. 14; the various targums to Numb. 21:16-20.) Then each and every tribe made itself a conduit for water, which [drew [the water] from the well and brought it in to them. Moreover, [each and every one] planted fig trees, vines, and pomegranates, which yielded fruit on the same day, just as it was from the beginning at the creation of the world (according to Gen. 1:11), “fruit tree bearing fruit according to its kind.” When Adam sinned, he sowed wheat and it sprouted thorns and thistles. When the well disappeared, [all the bounty disappeared.] What is written there (in Numb. 20:5)? “A place with no seeds, figs, vines, or pomegranates.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Say to these Israelites, ‘When you enter the Land of Israel, I am restoring all the bounty to you.’” This is as it is stated (in Deut. 8:7-9), “For the Lord your God is bringing you unto a good land, a land with streams of water […]. A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates […]. A land [in] which you shall eat bread without stint.” When they came into the Land of Israel they began sinning (rt.: ht'), as stated (in Jer. 2:7), “But you came and defiled (rt.: ht') My land.” So it did not bear fruits as was appropriate. They planted much wheat and brought in little, because they ceased [offering] the firstfruits.” But in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not act so. Thus it is stated (in Zech. 8:11), “But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days.” And it states (in Zech. 8:12), “For as the seed of peace, the vine shall yield its fruit, [the earth shall yield its harvest, the heavens shall yield their dew, and I will bequeath all these things to the remnant of this people].”

(Deut. 33:1:) “And this is the blessing.” This text is related (to Prov. 31:29), “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all.” This is the blessing of Moses, (PRK 31:11.) in respect to which you should note that in the case of the earlier generations each and every one blessed his generation, but there was none was like the blessing of Moses. Noah blessed his children, but it contained a divergence, as he blessed one and cursed another, as stated (Gen. 9:27,) “May God enlarge (ypt) Japheth (ypt) [...]; and let Canaan be a slave to them.” Isaac blessed Jacob, but there was strife in it. It is so stated (in Gen. 28:4), “May He give you the blessing of Abraham, but he said to Esau (in Gen. 27:35), “Your brother came with deceit”; and it is stated (in vs. 41), “Then Esau hated Jacob […, and Esau said in his heart, ‘Let the days of mourning for my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob’].” Jacob blessed the tribes, but there was strife among them, in that he rebuked Reuben, as stated (in Gen. 49:4), “Unstable as water”; and similarly (in vs. 5), “Simeon and Levi [are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords].” And from where did each and every one of the patriarchs learn to bless his generation? [They learned it] from the Holy One, blessed be He. When he created Adam, He blessed him, as stated (in Gen. 1:27-28), “male and female. Then [God] blessed them.” And the world was maintained by that blessing, until the generation of the flood came, and they cancelled it out, as stated (in Gen. 6:7), “And the Lord said, “I will blot out the humanity which I created.” When Noah left the ark, the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that this blessing had passed from them. He blessed Noah and his children anew, as stated (in Gen. 9:1), “Then God blessed Noah and his children.” The world was maintained by this blessing, until Abraham came into the world, and He added blessing, as stated (in Gen. 12:2), “For I will make you into a great nation.” Once Abraham came, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “It is not honorable for Me, that I should be obliged to bless My creatures. Rather take note! I am handing over the blessings to Abraham and to his seed, so that for all who they issue a blessing, I am placing my seal upon [those blessings], as stated (in vs. 2, cont.), ‘[I will bless you and magnify your name] and so become a blessing.’” (Vs. 3:) “I will bless those who bless you….” What is the meaning of “I will bless?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Take note. I am handing over the blessings to all whom you bless, and I am sealing [them] through you.” But if from then on the blessings were [handed over] to Abraham, why did he not bless Isaac? It was because Abraham saw that Esau would issue from him. He said, “If I bless Isaac, then Esau will be blessed, and Isaac will be found lacking.” A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To the head of a household that had a vineyard, (See Gen. R. 61:6; Numb. R. 11:2; M. Pss. 1:5.) [and] gave it to a tenant. And in that vineyard was a tree of life, but it had overgrown a tree having a deadly poison. Now he did not know what to do. He said, “If I cultivate that vineyard, then the tree having a deadly poison will flourish; but if I do not cultivate that vineyard, then the tree of life will die. So what shall I do? I will bear with that vineyard until the owner of the vineyard comes. Then he may do what he wants with his vineyard.” And so also did Abraham say, “If I bless Isaac, Esau will end up being blessed and Jacob will lose out. Rather look here. I will leave him alone until the Holy One, blessed be He, comes, when He will deal with what belongs to Him.” Jacob came and received five blessings: two from his father, one from Abraham, one from the angel, and one from the Holy One, blessed be He. (Cf. Gen. R. 94:5.) From his father, as stated (in Gen. 27:33), “Then Isaac trembled (when he realized he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau). Why “trembled?” R. Eliezer ben Pedat said, “[He did so] because he saw Gehinnom open in front of him. He wanted to say, ‘Cursed will be [Jacob.’ Instead,] he went back [on it], and added blessing [to it], when he said (ibid., end), ‘he also shall be blessed.’” Here is one [blessing]. A second (is in Gen. 28:1), “So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him.” The blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He, (is in Gen. 35:9), “Now God appeared unto Jacob [… and blessed him].” The blessing of Abraham (is in Gen. 28:4), “And may He grant you the blessing of Abraham.” And the blessing of an angel is (in Gen. 32:30), “and he (the angel) blessed him there.” When Jacob came to bless the tribes, he blessed them with the five blessings that he had in hand and added one blessing to them, as stated (in Gen. 49:28), “All these are the tribes of Israel, [twelve in number, and this is what their father spoke to them when he blessed them, each one with his own blessing is how he blessed them].” (The midrash notes that the words, HE BLESSED THEM, occur twice and interprets the verse to mean that one blessing, the fivefold blessing he had received, was for the tribes as a group while the other blessing was a specific blessing for each tribe.) When Moses came to bless Israel, he added a seventh blessing to them. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing.” [According to another interpretation, Moses made] an addition to the blessings with which Balaam had blessed Israel, (Cf. PRK 31(suppl. 1):4.) since it was fitting for him to bless them with seven blessings corresponding to the seven altars [he had built]; (On these altars, see Numb. 23:1, 14, 29.) but [Balaam] only blessed them with three, as stated (in Numb. 24:10), “but here you have even blessed them these three times.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “O wicked one, your eye is too jaundiced for you to bless them. Moreover, I am not putting the power in your hand to finish your blessing over Israel. Moses will come, whose eye is fair; then he will bless Israel.” And it is about him that Solomon has said (in Prov. 22:9), “He that has a benevolent eye shall be blessed (ybrk).” Do not read “ybrk [with vowels meaning] shall be blessed,” but [with vowels meaning] “shall bless.” This refers to Moses our master whose eyes were fair when he blessed Israel, such that he blessed them with [the other] four blessings: The first is (in Exod. 39:43), “When Moses saw all the work […] he blessed them.” The second is (in Lev. 9:23), “Then Moses and Aaron came unto the tent of meeting; and when they came out, they blessed the people….” The third is (in Deut. 1:11), “May the Lord God of your ancestors add [to your numbers a thousand times more than you are and bless you].” The fourth is (here in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing.” It is therefore stated (in Prov. 31:29), “Many daughters have done valiantly, but you surpass them all.”(Deut. 33:1:) And this is the blessing.” It was fitting for Moses to bless Israel because he had constantly risked his life for them. (PRK 31(suppl. 1):12.) For this reason, it is stated (in Deut. 33:1), “And this is the blessing [that Moses blessed... the Children of Israel].” (Deut. 33:1:) “The man of God (the Power).” If it says, “man,” why does it say, “God,” and if it says, “God,” why does it say, “man?” It is simply that at the time he fled from in front of Pharaoh, he was a man, but at the time he trounced [the Egyptians], he was a power. Another interpretation: At the time that he went up to the firmament, he was a man; in front of the angels that were all fire, he was a man. But at the time he came down, he was a power. Before he went up to the firmament, he was a man, as he would eat and drink. But all the time that he was there, he was a power, as stated (in Exod. 34:20), “and they were afraid to approach him.”

There (in the north) is the abode of the destroying spirits, earthquakes, winds, demons, lightnings and thunders; thence evil issues forth into the world, as it is said, "Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jer. 1:14). Some say by ten Sayings was the world created || and in three (Divine attributes) are these (ten Sayings) comprised, as it is said, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens, by his knowledge the depths were broken up" (Prov. 3:19, 20). By these three (attributes) was the Tabernacle made, as it is said, "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge" (Ex. 31:3). Likewise with these three (attributes) was the Temple made, as it is said, "He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and knowledge" (1 Kings 7:14). By these three attributes it will be rebuilt in the future, as it is said, "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge are the chambers filled" (Prov. 24:3, 4).

Before the waters were gathered together the depths were created. These are the depths which are beneath the earth; for the earth is spread upon the water like a ship which floats in the midst of the sea, so likewise is the earth spread out over the water, as it is said, "To him that spread forth the earth above the waters…" (Ps. 136:6). He opened an entrance to the Garden of Eden because thence were planted upon the face of all the earth all kinds of trees yielding fruit according to their kind, and all kinds of herbs and grass thereof, and in them (was seed), as it is said, "Wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth" (Gen. 1:11). He prepared a table for the creatures whilst as yet they were not created, as it is said, "Thou preparest a table before me" (Ps. 23:5). All the fountains arise from the depths to give water to all creatures.

3) "and the earth shall yield its produce": Not as it does now, but as it did in the days of Adam. And whence is it derived that the earth is destined to be sown and to give fruit on the same day? From (Tehillim 111:4) "A portent (in the days of Adam) He made for His (future) wonders," and (Bereshith 1:11) "Let the earth sprout vegetation, grass, etc." — whereby we are taught that on the same day that it was sown, it gave forth fruit.

“It was on the eighth day; Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel” (Leviticus 9:1). “It was on the eighth day.” Rav Ahava bar Kahana began: “Wisdom has built her house, [has hewed her seven pillars]; She has prepared her meat, [mixed her wine, also set her table]. She has sent her young women; [she will call upon the heights of the city]: Whoever is a simpleton, [let him turn from here; he who lacks heart, she speaks to him]” (Proverbs 9:1–4). Rabbi Yirmeya bar Ilai interpreted the verse regarding the creation of the world. “Wisdom has built her house,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom” (Proverbs 3:19). “Has hewed her seven pillars,” these are the seven days of Creation, as it is stated: “For in six days [the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in it, and He rested on the seventh day]” (Exodus 20:11), “God blessed the seventh day” (Genesis 2:3). “She has prepared her meat” – “God said: Let the earth produce [living creatures]” (Genesis 1:24). “Mixed her wine” – “God said: Let the water…be gathered” (Genesis 1:9). “Also set her table” – “God said: Let the earth sprout grass, vegetation-yielding seed” (Genesis 1:11). “She has sent her young women; she will call” – this is Adam and Eve. “Upon the heights of the city,” as the Holy One blessed be He elevated them and called them godlike. That is what is written: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). After all this praise, “whoever is a simpleton, let him turn from here,”– they forsook the will of the Holy One blessed be He and followed the will of the serpent. That is why: “He who lacks heart, she speaks to him” – “you are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19).

All other creatures on earth would have shared in a "higher" existence; there would not have been any trees that failed to produce edible fruit, for instance. When you look closely at the instruction issued by G–d to the Earth on the third day, you will find that the trees were meant to be edible themselves, i.e. the trunk, not just the fruit (Genesis 1,11). Earth did not comply with G–d's command completely, since it was aware that G–d would have to hide the Original Light due to the eventual emergence of wicked people. This prompted Earth to withhold some of its goodness also. The reason that the tree itself was to taste the same as its fruit is to elevate the קליפה, "peel," exterior, to the level of the essence, i.e. the fruit. When the level of spirituality is such that the קליפה has become insignificant, then the function of the tree of life has been fulfilled, i.e. every tree will be an עץ החיים.

Whereas someone who fails to procreate by not emitting his semen is considered כאלו שופך דמים, as if he had spilled blood, a person who emits semen for purposes other than procreation has actually spilled blood and is guilty of death. This is why the people of the generation of the deluge were condemned to die, as we have outlined elsewhere. The important thing is that even if a person is סור מרע, abstains from doing evil by not wasting his semen and merely not impregnating his wife who is of childbearing age, he is still considered as if he had spilled blood. The reason is that man is to act like the אדם העליון (a facet of G–d), whose very function is the unending dispensation of שפע, abundance, acts of generosity. If, due to our sins, we do not experience this generosity on earth i.e. in the sphere of מלכות, from the emanation תפארץ which channels such שפע to Israel, as hinted at by the words אשר זרעו בו על הארץ [G–d's first command to provide that שפע in Genesis 1,11. Ed.], such שפע is granted to חצונים, unworthy creatures, and results in ותשחת הארץ, corruption of the earth (Genesis 6,11). The word זרעו should be read as 6) ,זרע-ו) since the sixth emanation is תפארת.

ארורה האדמה, “the soil has become cursed;” the earth had been guilty on its own account, as G-d had commanded it in Genesis 1,11: תדשא הארץ עץ פרי עושה פרי, “to produce edible trees bearing edible fruit;” however the earth had failed to produce edible trees (compare 1,12) The curse on the earth lasted only as long as Adam would live on it, i.e. כל ימי חייך, “as long as you are alive.” If you will make a careful count, you will find that from the day Adam died until Noach was born, no one had been born, and with Noach’s birth the original blessing returned to the earth. Noach’s father, Lemech, was aware of this, this is why he exclaimed at the birth of his son (Genesis, 29) זה ינחמנו ממעשי ידינו ומעצבון ידינו מן האדמה אשר אררה ה'. “this one is destined to comfort us for the hard work we had to do and the disappointments we have experienced as the result of G-d having cursed the soil.”The Torah, after the deluge, testifies that Noach became an outstanding farmer, איש האדמה, who also planted a vineyard. (Genesis 9,20)

This refers to the Midrash, according to which it was originally intended that the earth would produce "the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind" (Genesis 1:11), such that the tree itself should have been edible as fruit, but the earth "willfully" misbehaved, creating trees "yielding fruit" (Genesis 1:12), on which only the fruit was edible, rather than the tree. Thus the earth's sin preceded human's sin, and the earth was punished together with the humans when they were banished from the garden: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake... Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee" (Genesis 3:17 - 18).

The vav of ve-tame’ah (then shall be unclean) is like the unaspirated vav in Arabic. (It does not always indicate the start of a new clause. See I.E. on Gen. 1:2 (Vol. 1, p. 30). In other words, ve-tame’ah is not to be rendered: and she shall be unclean, but, then she shall be unclean.) The reason that she is unclean for seven days is that she must wait until she completes (Literally, returns to.) a quarter of days. (The month is divided into quarters. According to the astrologers there is a change in nature and in fate at the end of each quarter. The same is true with each individual.) We find a similarity in the days of illness, for a change is seen at the end of the seven days. (In other words, the quarters do not apply only to lunar months but also to events in life.)

to work the ground from where he had been taken – It is not for naught that the verse mentions “from where he had been taken.” I also found written in the midrash (Shachar Tov Tehillim 92) that the first man (Adam HaRishon) settled himself on Mount Moriah, and from where did they learn this? I further found in the words of our Sages (Chullin 60a) that Adam HaRishon offered a young bull with horns and hooves, and where did they find support in the Torah for this? It appears to me that the source for these statements is the verse “from where he had been taken.” That is to say, from the place about which it says “an altar of earth you shall make for Me…” (Shemot 20:21) As the Sages said, ‘the Holy One created him from the place of his atonement, if only that it be an atonement for him!’ (Bereshit Rabbah 14:8) This refers to Mount Moriah to which Gd sent him to work the ground, build an earthen altar from it and offer upon it an offering of atonement; he was taken from that earth and it is the gate through which he passed, as it gave him his thick, coarse substance through whose agency he fell into sin - as is explained above on the verse “…a tree which makes fruit.” (Bereshit 1:11) Therefore in the place which caused his sin, his atonement will be found because that place – that is, that earth – caused him to sin and therefore that earth is obligated to help him to attain atonement through working it into an altar upon which to offer a bull with horns and hooves. This is a correct explanation of the commandment ‘“an altar of earth you shall make for Me,’ because the damage will be fixed through that which caused the sin. Even according to the opinion that Gd gathered dust for the first man from the whole earth this is still the explanation, because the place about which it says “an altar of earth you shall make for Me” is the location of the foundation stone, from which the world was founded. Dust taken from the center of the world is like dust gathered from the whole earth. Through this the difficulty presented by the verse “…the land upon which you are lying to you I will give it and to your seed” is resolved. (Bereshit 28:13) Rashi explains the verse that Gd folded the entire land underneath Ya’akov. According to my explanation we do not have to say this, rather we can say that he lay down on the spot which is the navel of the world and its center - therefore it was as if he lay down on all the land in its entirety.

Kabbalists use the term עקירה, “uprooting,” when they speak of something which experiences אצילות. The term “uprooting” is used in the sense of “transplanting” not in the sense of “destroying.” Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 15,1 speak of the verse in Psalms 104,16 “the trees of the Lord drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, His own planting.” According to the Midrash G’d uprooted the cedars and moved them to Gan Eden where He replanted them (i.e. in an even more ideal environment, thus adding to their stature, giving them אצילות) Rabbi Chaninah said that prior to being transplanted to Gan Eden these “cedars of the Lebanon were no taller than the feelers on certain types of grasshoppers. We must remember that vegetation on earth was the result of a directive from G’d to earth: “let the earth bring forth all manner of plants, etc.” (Genesis 1,11-12). When the psalmist speaks about G’d personally having planted these cedars there is obviously a question why G’d had to do this. Furthermore, when G’d is reported as having planted a garden in Eden (Genesis 2,8-9) the Torah does not say from where G’d took the plants for that garden. Solomon provided a partial answer to this question when he said that G’d planted these cedars in a place where G’d had done planting. Rabbi Yehudah describes the “promotion” of these cedars in the Lebanon as occurring in three stages, i.e. first according to the verse in Psalms “they drink their fill;” secondly, seeing that every plant requires irrigation, the trees enjoyed a sufficient amount of life-giving water; thirdly they were transplanted to near the source of life itself. At any rate we deal with a form of אצילות experienced by these trees.

Solomon informed us in this verse that a righteous person and a wicked person are absolute opposites of one another. Whereas words spoken by the righteous reflect his wisdom, the words spoken by the wicked person reflect the opposite. This is what is meant by Psalms 1,3: “he is like the tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose foliage never fades;” the tree produces leaf and fruit. This is a natural phenomenon, a law of nature which became part of trees alluded to already on the third day of creation when G’d gave the directive to earth: תדשא הארץ, “the earth is to produce vegetation, etc.” The leaf itself performs a useful function in that it protects the fruit against heat by the shade it provides. Nonetheless, the fruit is what counts. Similarly, the righteous is the person, the fruit who counts, he too has “leaves,” similar to the leaves on the tree. His everyday conversation dealing with mundane matters are described as his leaves, whereas his words of Torah are described as his fruit. Just as the leaves on a tree perform an important function, so does even the mundane conversation of the righteous. When our sages in Avodah Zarah 19 interpreted the words “and his leaves do not wither,” (Psalms 1,2) they said that it means that the casual conversations of the righteous are of similar value to the value of the leaves for the fruit of the tree, [for all the above reasons Solomon mentioned here that the mouth of the wise yields up wisdom]. The word ינוב is used in connection with agricultural produce such as in Isaiah 27,6 ומלאו פני תבל תנובה, “and the face of the world will be covered with fruit.” We also find that word in Lamentations 4,9 as referring to the produce of the field. This is also the subject under discussion in Isaiah 57,19 בורא ניב שפתים, “the One Who creates the fruit of the lips.” Speech may be perceived as the “fruit of the lips.” The righteous trains himself so carefully to utter only words of wisdom that wisdom becomes integral to his personality, he personifies it. It is similar to the fruit which represents the essence of the tree. The words: “the tongue of the perverted shall be cut off,” describe the wicked person who is the opposite of the righteous, something which is discernible first and foremost in the way he uses his tongue. Seeing that this wicked person indulges in so much slander, libel, etc., Solomon curses him saying that his tongue ought to be cut off. It is the way of the Torah to attach blessings to the righteous and curses to the wicked. This is why we have the famous saying זכר צדיק לברכה ושם רשעים רקב, “the memory of the righteous is a source of blessing, whereas the name of the wicked will rot.” (Proverbs 10,7) It is well known that the virtue of humility is associated with wisdom, whereas arrogance is a characteristic of the wicked. Just as wisdom is “the fruit” of the righteous, so arrogance is “the fruit“ of the wicked. This is why Solomon says (Proverbs 14,3) “in the mouth of the fools is a rod (branch) of pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.” The source of arrogance is in the heart of the fool and its branch becomes manifest in his mouth. The prophet Isaiah 11,10 illustrated this when he spoke of חוטר describing it as a “branch,” i.e. “a branch comes forth from the trunk of Yishai.” Branches cannot grow unless there is a trunk to support them. There is no point in describing the emergence of such a branch unless it is going to bear fruit. The fruit of such branches of the foolish, the wicked, are words of arrogance, scorn. David paraphrases the same sentiment in Psalms 123,4 הלעג השאננים, הבוז לגאיונים, “the scorn of the complacent, the contempt of the haughty.” In other words, the fool gets so used to being arrogant that arrogance becomes second nature to him. Seeing that he “branch” of arrogance is so often in his mouth, it is a foregone conclusion that it will bear fruit, i.e. that he cannot restrain himself from saying things which reveal his arrogance to all his listeners. On the other hand, the wise are protected by their very lips against their mouths saying things they should not say. Basically, the logic in all this is that the righteous is drawn to preoccupy himself with matters of the soul, matters which are of eternal value and meaning; the wicked, on the contrary, is preoccupied with transient values, matters which sooner or later cease to exist and have meaning. It is a well known fact that the very definition of the word “body” means that it is something “earthy,” will revert to dust, whereas the soul is something which came from heaven. As long as man is alive in this terrestrial life, he is drawn equally toward earth and heaven. He is drawn towards heaven due to his soul, and towards earthy matters due to his body. Therefore, when Moses cautioned the people to keep the Torah and its commandments, he used as witnesses heaven and earth, both of which are conceptually close to man. This is why he said:

Solomon compared wisdom which is a spiritual delight to honey which is a physical delight. This is a method Solomon employs in most of his parables in the Book of Proverbs. His purpose is to teach man to relate his spirit, his intellect, to his nature. Seeing that man is made up of a physical part and a spiritual, disembodied part, the only way he can relate the one to the other is by the use of the parable. Comparisons between the physical and the spiritual have to be illustrated for man in order for him to comprehend their validity. We know that the phenomena in this terrestrial world are comprised of four distinct categories, beginning with the lowest, most primitive form and culminating in the most sophisticated creature. The most primitive category of physical phenomena are the ones called דומם, inert objects such as stones, etc. Such objects do not possess any degree of mobility. The next higher category are plants; they are rooted in the earth but grow both vertically and horizontally. Next in terms of sophistication are all living, mobile creatures; finally the most sophisticated physical phenomenon is man inasmuch as only he can communicate his thoughts and feelings by means of language. Man’s advantage over other mammals is not his physical mobility but his intelligence. You will find the report in the Torah of the progress of creation of the universe in Genesis describe the creation of the inert, followed by the creation of vegetation, followed by the report of the emergence of a variety of more and more sophisticated forms of life, and only at the very end does the Torah describe the creation of man, G’d’s crowning handiwork. Only of man does the Torah report that he reflected part of the Creator Himself, was created “in His image” (Genesis 1,25). The report of the phenomena in the terrestrial world coming into existence follows the opposite pattern of the report of the phenomena of a celestial (extra-terrestrial) nature. When reporting on the creation of physical phenomena the Torah begins with the lowest, i.e. the mass of dry land becoming visible on the third day (Genesis 1,9), it continues with the report of the creation of vegetable matter (Genesis 1,11), etc., etc., whereas when it comes to describing phenomena in the celestial spheres (or at least in the world of the planets, the galaxies, a world between earth and heaven), the Torah begins with the creation of “light,” followed by the creation of a רקיע, “a firmament,” etc. The luminaries sun and moon, which were placed in orbit on the fourth day are another example of celestial phenomena being created in a descending order of their sophistication or lack of physicality.

כל רמש אשר הוא חי, the word אשר which follows the word רמש lacks the connecting letter ו. This is not something unique, seeing we find it in Chabakuk 3,11 שמש ירח, “sun and moon,” instead of שמש וירח, or in Exodus 1,1 ראובן שמעון, instead of ראובן ושמעון, and many other such examples. אשר הוא חי, these words refer to the fish. It is also possible to understand these words as if the letter ו had not been omitted at all, so that the word רמש would be a collective term for all living creatures (as in Genesis 1,21) so that the additional words אשר הוא חי, would compare living creatures now to vegetation in Genesis 1,30 when G’d permitted only ירק עשב, the higher ranking plants as food for the human species. The fruit of the trees in the Garden of Eden were also included in the term ירק עשב, seeing that man had been permitted to eat any plant that grew out of the earth. I explained the meaning of those words on Genesis 1,11

AND G-D SAW THE LIGHT, THAT IT WAS GOOD. Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] wrote: “Here too (A reference to Rashi’s similar comment on the first word of the Torah — bereshith (see above). The difficulty here in the text is twofold: (a) It is first written, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and then G—d said, Let there be light. Thus there already was a separation between light and darkness. Why then does Scripture continue by stating, and G—d divided the light from the darkness? (b) Concerning all other acts of creation, the expression “And G—d saw that it was good” is found at the completion of the act of creation, while here this phrase is written (in the beginning of Verse 4) before the completion. The Agadah, which Rashi quotes, answers: (a) vayavdel means here that He set apart the light for the righteous in the world to come. (b) ki tov (that it was good) could not have been written after the separation of the light for the righteous from the ordinary light, since the remaining light was no longer perfect. Therefore, ki tov is mentioned before the setting aside of the light.) we must depend on the words of the homiletic Agadah G-d saw that the wicked were unworthy of using the light, and so He set it aside for the righteous in the World to Come. But according to the plain meaning of the verse, explain it thus: He saw that the light was good, and that it was not seemly for it and the darkness to function in a confused manner. He therefore assigned the one’s sphere of activity to the daytime and the one’s sphere of activity to the nighttime.” And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “The word vayar (and He saw) has the same meaning here as in Vera’iti ani (And I saw), (Daniel 10:7.) which refers to the thought in the heart. And He divided refers to His giving them different names.” (Ibn Ezra’s opinion is thus that the division was not because it was unseemly that the light and darkness function in a confused manner, but it was for the purpose of assigning each one a separate name.) But the words of both Rashi and Ibn Ezra are incorrect for if they were, it would appear that there was on the part of G-d a change of mind and new counsel, as if to say that after G-d said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light, He saw that it was good, and therefore He divided between it and darkness just as a human being who does not know the nature of something until it comes into existence! Rather, the order followed in the process of creation is that the bringing forth of things into actual existence is called amirah (saying). Thus: And G-d said, ‘Let there be light;’ And G-d said, ‘Let there be a firmament;’ (Verse 6.) And G-d said, ‘Let the earth put forth grass.’ (Verse 11.) And the permanence of things called forth into existence is called re’iyah (seeing), as And I saw in Ecclesiastes, (2:13.) and similarly, And the woman saw that the tree was good for food. (Genesis 3:6.) In the language of the Rabbis we also find, “I see the words of Admon.” (Kethuboth 109a.) Likewise, And the king said unto Zadok the priest, ‘Seest thou? return into the city in peace.’ (II Samuel 15:27.) The purport of the word “seeing” is thus to indicate that their continuing existence is at His Will, and if that Will should for a second depart from them, they will turn into nought. Now just as Scripture says in connection with the work of each day, And G-d saw that it was good and on the sixth day when everything was completed it says, And G-d saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good, (Verse 31.) so does it say on the first day when light came into existence, And G-d saw … that it was good, meaning He desired its existence forever. The verse adds “the light” [And G-d saw ‘the light’ that it was good], because had it just said, “And G-d saw that it was good,” it would have referred to the creation of the heaven and the earth, and at that time He had not yet decreed for them permanence, as they did not remain as they were. Instead, from the substance created on the first day, the firmament was made on the second day, and on the third the waters and the dust were separated and the dry land — which He called “earth” — was formed. He then decreed for them permanence, and said concerning them, And G-d saw that it was good. (Verse 10.)

YE SHALL KEEP ‘CHUKOTHAI’ (MY STATUTES). “And these are they: thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind, etc. Chukim (statutes) are the decrees of the King for which there is no reason [given].” This is Rashi’s language. But our Rabbis have not mentioned that the reasons for the commandments [mentioned in this verse] are hidden from us, and that the evil inclination and the idolaters raise objections against them, except in [the case of the prohibition against] wearing a garment made of wool and linen, but not in the case of mating of animals of diverse kinds [for which there is a reason, as will be explained later on]. (And so why did Rashi mention this prohibition of mating diverse kinds of cattle, as an example of a “statute.” when the Rabbis never mentioned it as such?) And the intention of the Rabbis [in defining “statutes” as the laws of the King for which there is no reason] was not that these are decrees of the King of kings for which there are no reasons whatever, for every word of G-d is tried. (Proverbs 30:5.) [They meant] only that “statutes” are like the enactments which a king promulgates for his kingdom, without revealing their benefits to the people, and the people, not sensing these reasons, entertain questions about them in their hearts but they accept them nonetheless out of fear of the government. Similarly, “the statutes” of the Holy One, blessed be He, are His secrets in the Torah, which the people by means of their thinking do not grasp as they do in the case of mishpatim [“ordinances” — laws which conform to the human conception of justice], but yet they all have a proper reason and perfect benefit. Now the reason for [the prohibitions against] kilayim [“mixed kinds,” as will be explained further on], is that G-d has created in the world various species among all living things, both plants and moving creatures, and He gave them a power of reproduction enabling them to exist forever as long, as He blessed be He, will desire the existence of the world, and He further endowed them with a power to bring forth [only] after their kind, and that they should never be changed, as it is said with reference to all of them [at the time of Creation], after its kind. (Genesis 1:11, 21, 24.) This driving force in the normal mating of animals is for the sake of preserving the species, even as human beings engage in sexual activity for the sake of having children. Thus one who combines two different species, thereby changes and defies the work of Creation, as if he is thinking that the Holy One, blessed be He, has not completely perfected the world and he desires to help along in the creation of the world by adding to it new kinds of creatures. Moreover, the mating of diverse species of animals does not produce offspring, and even in the case of those that are by nature close to each other [such as the horse and the ass], from which offspring are born, such as mules, their seed is cut off, for they themselves [the mules] cannot produce offspring. Thus from the point of view of these two matters [i.e., the changing in the order of Creation and the sterility of the product, we see that] the act of combining different species is despicable and futile. Even when diverse species of vegetation are grafted together, their fruits do not reproduce afterwards, and they too are prohibited because of the two above-mentioned reasons [for the prohibition of mixing different species together]. This is the meaning of the prohibition [stated here in the verse], thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed, which in the opinion of our Rabbis (Kiddushin 39 a.) constitutes a prohibition against grafting [diverse kinds of trees, or trees and vegetables, and is not a prohibition against merely sowing together diverse kinds of seed]. (This interpretation is based upon the fact that Scripture states, thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind; thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed. By placing these two prohibitions together, Scripture is teaching that just as in the case of cattle, the verse refers to well-definable objects [cattle], so in the case of sowing the field, Scripture refers to well-definable objects — trees, vegetables, etc., — and is not a mere prohibition against sowing diverse kinds of seed [although that too is forbidden], since these are not yet distinguishable.) But He has prohibited also the mere sowing together of diverse kinds of seed, because their nature and form change when they derive nutrition from each other, and thus each kernel of it is as if it were grafted together from two kinds. Similarly, He has forbidden to plow with an ox and an ass together, (Deuteronomy 22:10.) because it is customary among tillers of the soil to bring their working animals into one cattle-shed, and there they might come to mate with a diverse kind. (This reason is also stated by Maimonides in the Guide of the Perplexed, III, 49 (p. 267 in Friedlander’s translation).) And one of our colleagues (This thought which appears in the following text is expressly mentioned in the commentary on the Songs of Songs ascribed to Ramban but actually authored by Rabbi Ezra, one of the chief Cabalists of the period (see my introduction to this book in Kithvei Haramban, Vol. II, p. 474). Ramban’s expression here “and one of our colleagues etc.” thus clearly indicates that there was a group of scholars in Gerona who were dedicated to the study of the Cabala; and Ramban was one of that group. — Several points worthy of note are to be made with this expression “one of our colleagues.” It indicates the reticence with which the study of Cabala was regarded at that time. For even when crediting the thought to another scholar Ramban avoids identifying him by name. The role of Rabbi Ezra as one of the leading Cabalists at that period is indeed an undefined one, although it is known for a certainty that his influence was far-reaching. Additionally, the term chaveireinu (our colleague) indicates the closeness with which the group kept together, so that anyone who was part of them was called a chaveir (a colleague). The expression “one of our colleagues” may perhaps also indicate that Rabbi Ezra and Ramban were regarded as equals, for otherwise he would have referred to him as a teacher or master.) adds to the reason for the prohibition against mixing seeds, that it is in order not to throw into disorder the primary forces which bring about the growth of the plants, when they derive nutrition from each other, (A sense of the importance of ecology, of maintaining a proper well-ordered relationship between the primary forces of nature, is clearly discerned here.) as is indicated in the saying of our Rabbis in Bereshith Rabbah: (Bereshith Rabbah 10:7. See Vol. I, pp. 40, 70-71, where the same text is quoted.) “Said Rabbi Simon: There is not a single kind of herb that does not have a constellation in heaven which smites it and says to it, ‘Grow.’ It is with reference to this that Scripture says, Knowest thou ‘chukoth shamayim’ (the statutes of heavens)? Canst thou establish ‘mishtaro’ (the dominion thereof) in the earth? (Job 38:33.) — [mishtaro being derived from the root shoter (executive officer)].” Now he who grafts diverse kinds of plants or sows seeds of diverse kinds with the intention that they derive nutrition from each other, thereby destroys ‘chukoth shamayim’ (the statutes of heavens). This is why He has said, Ye shall keep ‘chukothai’ (My statutes), as they are the statutes of the heavens. And so did Rabbi Chanina in the name of Rabbi Pinchas say, (Vayikra Rabbah 35:4.) that [the statutes mentioned here in the verse] are because of “the statutes with which I formed My world.” I have already written in the section of Bereshith (Genesis 2:8. Vol. I, p. 70.) that all plants have their foundations in higher [forces], and it is from there that the Eternal commanded them the blessing, even life forever. (Psalms 133:3.) Thus he who mixes different kinds of seeds, denies and throws into disorder the work of Creation.

בהמתך לא תרביע כלאים, according to accepted norms and even the view of the heretics, just as the Torah commanded the earth and the creatures to reproduce only their own species (Genesis 1,11 and 1,21 as well as 1,24) so the Torah commands us when pursuing the task of tilling the earth to follow the same principles. This is also required regarding not mixing flax and wool, seeing the former is a product of the earth whereas the latter is a product of the animal kingdom, a higher form of creation. To the heretics who deny this principle, questioning that if true why are only lambs’ wool and flax prohibited to be mixed, whereas other forms of animal based wool are allowed to be mixed with flax, I say that the prohibition is due to mixing natural coloured materials such as white and dyed materials. The Torah considers mixing coloured fabrics with fabrics in their natural state as forbidden, quoting lamb’s wool and flax (linen) as the most popular example of such mixes. The heretics I spoke with accepted my argument.

kinds of music Aram. זְנֵי זְמָרָא kinds of music. (Gen. 1:11) “After its kind,” Onkelos renders: לִזְנוֹהִי.

“I let you grow like the plants of the field.” (Ez. 16:7) One might explain this according to what the sages stated in Hullin 60a: It is stated ““after its kind” (Gen. 1:11), regarding trees; the grasses drew an a fortiori (kal Vachomer) inference with regard to themselves….” The commentators wrote that the spoils taken in Egypt were absolute proof that the Egyptians did not rule over the Israelite wives. Regarding Abraham and Sarah it is stated, “I herewith give your brother a thousand pieces of silver; this will serve you as vindication before all who are with you....” (Gen 20:16) Further, Ashkenazic sages wrote that the reason that Moses and Aaron brought about the Exodus rather than God was because when God performs a miracle (like the conquest of Jericho) then the booty would belong to God. God wanted Israel to take all the spoils from Egypt, therefore He sent Moses and Aaron to take the nation out. God was only responsible for the plague of the first born. God wanted to distinguish them… This is the explanation of “I let you grow like the plants of the field.” The verse hints the Israelites guarded themselves against unchastity just as the green plants of the field were separated each “into their own kind.” And if you ask, “What does this prove? The nations might question this by saying, “If the Egyptians ruled over the bodies of the Israelite men how much more so could they have ruled over their wives.” (See Rashi on Numbers 26:5) One could answer, “they became highly ornamented.” (Ez. 16:7) In other words, The Israelites merited the spoils in Egypt and at the sea which are called עדי עדיים (The exact meaning of this expression is not clear. See Rashi on Ezekiel 16:7 - Heb. בַּעֲדִי עֲדָיִם, [a form] expressing perfection. But Menachem explained בַּעֲדִי עֲדָיִם as related to the word עַד, eternity, as (Isa. 26:4): “Trust in the Lord forever (עֲדֵי עַד)”; enjusque a s(i)egle in Old French, to eternity . Dunash, however, interpreted it as a word for ornaments.) there were two spoils in order to fulfill His promise, “And afterwards they shall go forth with great wealth.” It should have been enough to give them just one source of spoils and to have fulfilled it at the sea. The spoils that were taken in Egypt were a sign that the Egyptians hadn’t taken advantage of their wives; this is referred to by the expression בעדי עדיים since there were two sources of spoil. It is because they guarded themselves from unchastity as we learn from the verse regarding Avimelech who gave a thousand silver coins to Sarah as a testimony to prove that he had not touched her. This is also the reason for the expression ,שדיך נכונו, “Your breasts become firm.” This is a reference to Moses and Aaron, since Moses and Aaron were prepared to take them out of Egypt rather than the Blessed One. This was so even though “Your hair grew;” they had reached the end, as the sages explain, if God had taken them out of Egypt by His own hand, all the spoil would have been Holy. Here it must be that they claimed the spoils for two reasons: because they were poor and lacking all good and the second reason, as testimony that the Egyptian had not molested their wives. “And she was naked and bare;” that is, this must mean that it be carried out by Moses and Aaron who are hinted at in the expression שדים נכונו. For two things have befallen you (Is 51;19): nakedness and in need of money. This is so even though the Magen Avraham (above) explained that the Israelites were wealthy both explanations have a basis according to those who interpreted it thus. And further, “And naked” is understood as the ones who ruled over their wives. But two spoke in the name of the God - is a reference to Moses and Aaron who helped to take them out… (?)

§ Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord rejoice in His works” (Psalms 104:31). This verse was stated by the minister of the world, i.e., the angel charged with overseeing the world. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind” (Genesis 1:11), the grasses drew an a fortiori inference with regard to themselves.

(Gen. rabba 1(21), Lev. rabba 36(1), Midrash Samuel 5[1]. The Midrashim seem to be the original source since they apply R. Eleazar ben R. Simeon’s final statement to other pairs of notions.) The House of Shammai are saying, heaven was created first and afterwards earth. But the House of Hillel are saying, earth was created first and afterwards heaven. These are bringing proof for their assertion, and those are bringing proof for their assertion. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1.) . {A parable} of a king who made a chair. After he had made it he made its footstool (Greek ‘υποπόδιον.) : the Heavens are My throne and the Earth My footstool (Is. 66:1.) . What is the reason of the House of Hillel? On the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven (Gen. 2:4.) {A parable} of a king who made a palace. After he built the foundations he built the upper structure: also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (Is. 48:13.) . Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi said, also the following supports the House of Hillel: in earlier times You founded the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands (Ps. 102:26.) . Rebbi Ḥanina said, from the place from where the House of Shammai prove their assertion, from there the House of Hillel remove them. What is the reason of the House of Shammai? In the Beginning God created heaven and earth. From there the House of Hillel remove them: and the earth was (Gen. 1:2.) , it already was. Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of the Sages: As for creation, the heaven preceded. As for perfecting, the earth preceded. As for creation, the heaven preceded, in the Beginning God created. As for perfecting, the earth preceded, on the day of the Eternal’s, God’s, making of earth and heaven. According to the House of Shammai, the heaven after the First waited three days, First, Second, Third, to have offspring. On the Fourth, there shall be lights (Gen. 1:14.) . According to the House of Shammai, the sea after the Second waited three days, Second, Third, Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem (Gen. 1:20.) . According to the House of Shammai, the earth after the Third waited three days, Third, Fourth, Fifth, to have offspring. On the Sixth, the earth shall produce (Gen. 1:24.) . According to the House of Hillel, the earth after the First waited two days, First and Second, to have offspring. On the Third, the earth shall be covered with grass. According to the House of Hillel, the sea after the Third waited two days, Third and Fourth, to have offspring. On the Fifth, the waters shall teem. Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai said, I am wondering how the fathers of the world could disagree about the creation of the world. Heaven and earth were only created like a pan (Greek λοπάς.) and its cover. What is the reason? Also My left hand founded the Earth and My right hand tended the Heavens (The argument is from the end of the verse, not quoted: I am calling to them, they shall stand together.) . Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon said, following this, my father’s opinion, sometimes heaven precedes earth, sometimes earth precedes heaven, which teaches that they are equivalent one to another.

It was stated in the name of Rebbi Eleazar (Tosephta Avodah Zarah 8:8.) : “The Gentile may sow and wear kilaim, but he may not mate his animals as kilaim or graft his tree kilaim.” Why? Because about these, it is written “by their kinds.” But is it not also written for grasses “by their kinds? (Why may one graft grasses; they are never mentioned in the Mishnah.) ” It is not written for the commandment, only at the realization. If this is so, why was Earth cursed (From here on, an expanded version is in Gen.rabba 5(9).) ? Rebbi Judan bar Shalom said, because it transgressed the orders of the Holy One, praise to Him! (Gen. 1:11) “The earth should produce lawns, grasses producing seed,” but it produced only (Gen. 1:12) “lawns, grasses producing seed by their kinds. (As explained in Gen.rabba, the difference is about trees, for which Earth was commanded to produce “fruit trees” but bore “trees producing fruit.” In the opinion of R. Yudan bar Shalom, this is disobedience since the entire tree should have been edible, not only the fruit. In the opinion of R. Phineas, Earth produced more than it was commanded, since all trees, even those which today do not grow edible fruit, did produce edible fruit before Adam’s sin. In all cases, only the first words of the verse are quoted, as is customary in both Talmudim. The inference is from the other parts of the verses.) ” Rebbi Phineas said, it enjoyed the commandment and added shade trees. In the opinion of Rebbi Yudan bar Shalom, Earth was justly cursed. In the opinion of Rebbi Phineas, why was Earth cursed? Like a man who said: The breastnipples should be cursed that this one (A criminal; in that case, Adam.) suckled from. This follows Rebbi Nathan: Three stood in judgment and four went out cursed, (Gen. 3:17) “Earth is cursed because of you.”

The colleagues in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages that if a drink is stinking from the start it is impure. But did we not state (Mishnah Ṭahorot 9:3, speaking of the sap of olives which is not oil but fruit juice. Even though it does not smell badly, it is useless and we see that R. Eliezer declares useless fruit sap to be impure. In the Mishnah, R. Simeon disagrees with the anonymous Tanna and holds that R. Eliezer declares olive sap pure. Since the Yerushalmi lacks this statement, it seems to reject the statements of R. Simeon and the colleagues.) : “The fluid oozing out from them Rebbi Eliezer declares pure but the Sages impure”? Rebbi Ila in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages about the waters of the ocean; even if they are stinking the Torah calls them water (Gen. 1:10): “The collection of water He called oceans.” Rebbi Jacob bar Zavdi in the name of Rebbi Abbahu: Rebbi Eliezer agrees with the Sages that beet juice (תרד (Hebrew) and שׂלק (Arabic) are the same; cf. Kilaim Chapter 1, Note 64.) does not prepare.

The Gemara explains these matters in detail: It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: From where is it derived that the world was created in the month of Tishrei? As it is stated: “And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind” (Genesis 1:11). Which is the month in which the earth brings forth grass and the trees are full of ripe fruit? You must say that this is Tishrei. And a further proof that the world was created in Tishrei is that when the world was first created, it needed rain so that the plants would grow, and the period beginning with Tishrei is a time of rain, and rain fell and the plants grew, as it is stated: “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:6).

Elohim said, Let the earth sprout grass, seed-yielding herbs, fruit trees bearing fruit of its own kind, with its seed within it, upon the earth. And it was so.

And Allah willed that the Earth would sprout vegetation, and grasses that contain grain, and trees that have fruit which produce fruit according to the species of what was planted in the Earth; and it was so.

And the Lord said, Let the earth increase the grassy herb whose seed seedeth, and the fruit-tree making fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so.

ועץ עושה פרי, “and fruit bearing trees.” If you were to argue that there are many trees that do not bear fruit, the answer is that what the Torah really meant was that the fruit that the trees mentioned, were to be fruit matching its species, i.e. למינהו. Seeing that this definition would not apply to non fruit bearing trees, it is clear that the Torah did not mean that aj] trees were to be of the fruitbearing kind.

כי טוב, “that it was good.” The reason why this word “good” appears twice in the report of G-d’s creative activity on the third “day,” is that on that day the garden in Eden was created (see pessikta zutrata 593)

And the earth brought forth grass, etc. according to its species: In Tractate Chullin 60a, it interprets midrashically, "that the grasses raised an a fortiori argument (kal ve'chomer) about themselves, etc., [and] the minister of the world opened and said, 'may the honor of God be forever.'" And it is difficult according to the opinion that holds that Chanoch is [the same as] Metatron and that Metatron is [the same as] the minister of the world, since behold, at that time, Chanoch had not yet been created. And some explain, that there were [actually] two ministers of the world [and that here it is the other one, not Chanoch]. And we can also answer that [the understanding that the minister of the world reacted to the grasses here] is not like the opinion that holds that Chanoch is Metatron. And nonetheless, even according to [that opinion,] we can say, that it is true that [Chanoch] was not created, but his soul or 'constellation' was nonetheless created, [and] it said [what it did] about this verse; as we find (Avodah Zarah 5a) concerning 'the Book of the Generations (descendants) of man,' that we interpret midrashically, that [the mention of such a book in Genesis 5:1] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed [Adam] each generation and its wise men - even though those generations were not [yet] created, nonetheless, He showed him their souls and their 'constellations.'

And trees that make fruit: Since there are trees that, even though they exist from year to year, nonetheless the [leaves of the] tree do not exist in the winter; and the root in the ground is only [acting upon] the trunk. And the beauty/variety of these species is like with the fruit of the ground, [in that] the leaves wither with the completion of the fruit. For this reason, [the verse] repeats the sprouting forth [with the trees also]. And it is worth knowing that [the phrase,] "according to its specie," includes many more sub-species than [the phrase,] "according to its species," as I have written in the Book of Leviticus 11:12, see there.

Mazria zera lemineihu (that gives off seed according to its species): forms the acronym, mazal ('constellation'); as there is no grass that does not have a 'constellation' above [governing] it.

And the earth brought forth, etc.: Since Scripture stated "and it was so," the whole [rest of] this verse was not needed, but rather the reason [for it] is to make us understand two novel things, one with the grasses and one with trees. The one with the grasses is that they made an a fortiori argument (kal vechomer) and came out according to their specie. And we need to know for what reason the verse needed to inform us that they didn't come out mixed up. And maybe it comes to inform us that we should not graft grasses one onto another, as Ravina asks in Tractate Chullin 60b, and these are their words, "If he grafts grasses one onto another, according to Rabbi Chaninah ben Papa, what is [the law]? Since it is not written about them, [the Divine decree of] 'according to their species' etc. or maybe since God agreed with them, it is similar to it being written, 'according to their species?' It stands [and is not resolved]" And Rashi explains (s.v. to Rabbi Chaninah) and these are his words, "who said that, from their own volition did they come out according to their species, and they weren't commanded about it." It is implied from his words, that the Talmud's [default] position is that it is likely that they were [also] commanded about this; and even if it is not mentioned explicitly adjacent to the grasses, when the verse states, "to its specie" at the end, it refers back to the trees and the grasses. And behold, according to the words of Rabbi Chaninah bar Papa, that God did not say, "according to their species" except to the trees, and [that] the grasses made an a fortiori argument, the verse, when it goes back to say "and the earth brought forth," comes to let us hear that the grasses made an a fortiori argument. And according to the Talmud's [default] position - if it weren't for the words of Rabbi Chaninah bar Papa - that its stating, "according to its specie" [in the previous verse] refers back also to the grasses, it appears that it comes to let us hear that the grasses understood the words of the verse correctly - [meaning] that what it stated, "according to its specie" [in the previous verse] is stated also about the grasses; and this was not understood to us from the first verse [before this one]. And even if it stated in the first verse "and it was so," nonetheless, it is not clear if its stating "according to its specie" refers back to everything mentioned in the verse. And the second verse comes and determines that its stating "according to its specie" refers back to everything mentioned in the verse. And from here you learn that in every place where God speaks in the order of the words that are spoken in this matter, that the understanding of his words is like that which the grasses did.

And the verse let us know that in the actions of the tree, the earth did not fulfill the proclamation of the Creator, since He said to it, "fruit-tree;" that the taste of the tree itself should have a taste like the taste of the fruit, and it brought out a "tree that makes fruit," and the tree was not like [the fruit].

And about this I [wonder], how can the earth rebel against the 'Rider of the earth?' And especially since it is has no evil instinct; as the Sages (Berakhot 61a) did not prove that it has an evil instinct, but rather only animals [are shown to an evil instinct], since they kick, etc. and we have explained this in its place (in the book, Chafets Hashem): from the angle that [an animal] requires the impetus of the impulse to mate, the Holy One, blessed be He, made for it an impulse that heats [it up]; but [regarding] the earth, we have not found that it has an evil impulse to incite it to rebel [and] transgress against the mouth of God.

Also to be investigated is that we do not find mentioned in the creation, that God said that the earth should bring forth fruitless trees for the use of their wood; and we see that this type of tree has grown [to the point that] there is no end to them in the world and they have outnumbered the fruit trees. To this, it is possible to say that before the curse of the earth - which God cursed - all the trees produced fruit; but after God cursed the earth, its strength was reduced, and not all of the trees would produce fruit, but rather 'thorns and brambles.'

In fact, the explanation of [these] things is that the earth was exacting about the wisdom of God with which He founded it, as it is written (Proverbs 3:19), "with wisdom did He found the earth." It was exact about the proclamation of God to it, that it should bring forth "a fruit tree, that makes fruit," [since] it can [be understood] in two different ways: the first is that the taste of the tree be like the taste of the fruit, hence the intention would be that the tree should be fruit and also make fruit. But from its stating, "that makes fruit," [the earth] explained it in a different way; that the intention would be in the following manner; 'the fruit tree' would be one thing and 'that makes fruit' would be another thing, the explanation [of which is] a tree that makes fruit that are different than the [tree] and they are two separate [things]; and the reason it did not state, "and that makes fruit" with a [conjunctive letter] vav, is so as not be understood that the tree itself be a fruit, as well as making fruit. There are also two ways of understanding fruit tree: the first is that the tree itself is a fruit; and the second is that it is fitting to make fruit but does not [actually] make fruit. And due to its great alacrity, the ground attempted to be wise and put out three [different] types [of tree] that can be understood from the words of God: the first are trees that make fruit and the taste of its tree is not like the taste of its fruit; the second are [trees] that make fruit and the taste of its tree is like the taste of its fruit, and that is the tree of knowledge of good and evil, about which they, of blessed memory, said (Bereishit Rabbah 15:7) that the taste of its tree was like the taste of its fruit; and the third is a tree that is similar to a fruit tree, and these are the fruitless trees. And behold, [the earth] responded with alacrity to do everything that [could be] understood [from the words of the verse]. And that is [why] the verse states, "And the earth brought forth grasses, etc. and a tree that makes fruit;" it was exact to state "and a tree" with the addition of a [conjunctive letter] vav for no [apparent] reason, which is how the adjacent verse [about the] words of God is expressed [without the vav] and did not [find a] need to state, "and a tree" with the addition of a vav. The verse intended to say that besides the other trees that it brought forth, it also brought forth another tree that makes fruit, and [with this] it included the fruit-tree, as they, of blessed memory said, that the taste of the tree of knowledge was like the taste of its fruit. And it is possible that it also included trees that do not make fruit that exist in the world, if we will say that they [existed] before the curse of the ground. And I will explain in its place, with the help of Heaven, the reason that God cursed the ground, according to the opinion that it was because it deviated [from His command].

ותוצא הארץ דשא "the earth produced דשא": it does not say that “G’d made every tree which bears fruit according to its category, etc.” The reason is that it was not appropriate to associate G’d’s name with the inferior categories of “life,” vegetation, something that is immobile. We find G’d’s name associated with the creative process again when the Torah reports the coming into existence of a variety of living creatures on earth on the fifth day (1,21) . The reason is that these creatures are useful tools of man in a variety of ways helping him to fulfill functions with his mind, not only with his body. Vegetable matter is of importance only for man’s physical existence, for his body. The soul does not need to grow. If you will pay careful attention to the text you will observe that the Torah mentions five distinct categories of vegetation: 1) תדשא הארץ דשא 2) עשב מזריע זרע 3) עץ פרי (a tree whose trunk should taste the same as its fruit) 4) עושה פרי, “fruit-bearing” 5)אשר זרעו בו למינהו i.e. the fruit itself the seed of which should correspond to its respective category. You should realise that the number 3 is peculiar in that it contains within it all the basic numerical units which are “one, two, or indivisible numbers.” The number 2 represents a pair, whereas the number 3 itself represents any number which is divisible only by itself or by the number 1. This number is ”distilled,” i.e. an emanation of the number “One.” Seeing it is part of that “One,” something which by very definition remains concealed, hence the word עולם, “something hidden, concealed,” we can understand why all the creations that came into existence up until that day had remains hidden, invisible. The light G’d created on the first day had remained hidden from the creatures (as we explained on the words יהי אור.) Also the firmament, רקיע which came into existence on the second day as well as the trees of Eden which were created on the third day were hidden from the creatures on earth (compare Bereshit Rabbah 16,4). Everything which was created up until the third day is called עולם. Anything created from the fourth day on is known as שנה,” (derivative of the word שנים=two.) The reason for this is that just as the number 3 is part of the concept “One,” so the number 4 is part of the concept שנים, “two.” After all, four is nothing except twice the number 2.

ותוצא הארץ, had the Torah written [in verbatim response to G’d’s directive]ותדשא הארץ , I would not have known that it was only one, as we explained on verse 11. The Torah wanted to make sure that we did not get the impression that the earth suddenly proliferated with a carpet of herbs. The remarkable thing was that although the earth produced only a single herb, ויהי כן, it endured, i.e. survived until it had many others added after the sun had become strong on the fourth day. Alternatively, the meaning of this formulation is that from this moment on the earth always produced all these kinds of plants in their unadulterated form, each true to its species. There never was an occasion when nature suddenly produced a tree combining the properties of two different species. This only happened when man deliberately introduced an additional species through grafting it onto a tree. This is the reason why G’d commanded man not to crossbreed plants or animals. Both Adam and Noach were commanded this as our sages (Sanhedrin 60) state in conjunction with the verseאת חקותי תשמרו בהמתך לא ים, שדך לא תזרע כלאים, “do not crossbreed animals, nor seed your field with a mixture of more than one seed (trees).” (Leviticus 19,19). This referred to statutes G’d had already promulgated prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai. Concerning the mixing of seeds of herbs, no such prohibition exists for gentiles. Concerning the uprooting of such hybrids gentiles are not commanded to do this, and even Israelites are only obliged to do this in the Land of Israel. The entire subject revolves around deliberately upsetting the way in which G’d created His universe.[in the Sefer Hachinuch the applicability of part of this legislation to gentiles is described as מפי הקבלה, “based on tradition.” Ed.] This is also why a scholar questioned what the halachah is according to Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa who had quoted the herbs arriving at the conclusion that they must maintain the purity of their species although the Torah had not written anything about למינו in connection with the herbs. The scholar wanted to know what the situation would be if someone had deliberately crossbred two species of herbs. According to the opinion of Ravina one could not hold such a person culpable for such an innovation. Alternatively, the question it that seeing that the herbs had voluntarily taken it upon themselves to maintain the same standards as did the trees and plants which carried their seed in them, would anyone violating that standard be held responsible for violating a law of nature which G’d had approved even though it was instigated by nature itself? The question was left open.

וירא אלוקים כי טוב, even though there are herbs which generate heat, they too are included in what is described here as “good,” seeing that they have therapeutic value and by being applied as bandages to injuries serve to cure such injuries.

AND G-D SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD. This affirms the existence of the various kinds forever. There was no special day assigned for this command for vegetation alone, since it is not a unique work. The earth, whether it brings forth anything or is salt land, is one.

ותוצא הארץ וגו AND THE EARTH BROUGHT FORTH etc. — Although the expression למינהו according to its kind, was not used when the various kinds of herbage were bidden to come forth, they heard that the trees were so commanded and they applied to themselves the argument à fortiore (ק"ו), as it is explained in an Aggadic passage in (Chullin 60a).

And the earth brought forth, etc.: Also in this verse, the author of the cantillation marks distanced the word "lemineihu" (of its species) from the words, "that has seed in it," and 'moved' it above; which is [as if] to say "And the earth brought forth trees of its species, and it makes fruit and its seed is also in it." And so [too] did he distance "of its species" from "that bears seed" and 'moved' it to [refer to] "grass" and to "herbs."

Though למינהו was not said... they applied a קל וחומר. [Their קל וחומר was:] Trees are large, with many large branches, and cannot stand close together. And even if they were to intermingle, their species are distinguishable from one another. Nevertheless, they must come forth each according to their kind. All the more should we herbs come forth each according to our kind. For we are small; and if we were to intermingle we would be indistinguishable from one another!

The earth produced grasses, vegetation yielding seed in its kind, and a tree bearing fruit in which there was its seed in its kind. The Torah does not classify the various species of vegetation; it does not even provide the criteria for categorizing them. The verse instead emphasizes that each of these creations was a species to itself; the creation of plant life was a deliberate, ordered process. And God saw that it was good. In addition to being the day on which the dry land was exposed, the third day was the day on which life was first brought forth. The significance of the emergence of life on the third day is expressed in the double appearance of the phrase “it was good” (see verse 10). Before the third day, the universe consisted only of inanimate entities; on the third day life began, even if it was not yet intelligent. Although vegetation does not share all the characteristics of more complex life forms, it possesses the foundation and source of life, namely, the ability to tend to its own survival, to grow, and to multiply.

ועץ עושה פרי, and fruit-bearing trees.” The earth violated the Creator’s commandment as it had been commanded to produce also edible trunks. It was afraid that if its trunk would taste as good as its fruit, both man and beast would eat both trunk and fruit and the species would die out.

From the roots of the commandment are that it is known that magic is a very bad thing and causes many mishaps to people. I do not have to write at length about it, as the things are well-known. And therefore we were commanded to put away from the world someone who makes efforts with this, as he is coming against the will of God, as He desires [the world’s] settlement and that everything should be administered in a natural way. As nature was at the beginning of creation and this one wants to change everything. And according to my opinion, the matter of magic is that at the beginning of creation, God, blessed be He, placed for each and every thing in the world a nature [through which] to accomplish its action well and straight, for the good of the creatures of the world that He created; and He commanded each one to act according to its species, as it is written about all the creatures, in Parashat Bereshit (Genesis 1:12), “according to its species.” And He also made a higher force govern each and every one from above, to compel it to perform its action; as they, may their memory be blessed, said (Bereshit Rabbah 1), “There is no [blade of] grass below that does not have a constellation above that tells it, ‘Grow!’” And besides the action that each and every one does according to its nature, there is another action that they have, by mixing one species with another. And in the craft of this mixing there are some angles that were not permitted for people to utilize, because God knows that the end result that will come out for people from these angles will be bad for them. And on account of this, He prevented them from them. And this is what they, may their memory be blessed, said more generally (Shabbat 67b), “Anything that has healing in it does not have the ‘ways of the Amorite’ in it”; meaning to say, it should not be forbidden from the perspective of magic — since there is a benefit to it that is found from true experience, it is not from the forbidden angles, as they are only forbidden because of the perspective of their damage. And there is another matter in these forbidden angles of mixture and machinations for which they were forbidden. [It is] because the power of this mixture is so strong that it negates the power of the constellations that are assigned upon the two species. And the illustration of this is that it is just like that which you see with the grafting of one species with a different one, that a new third species is created. It comes out that the grafting negates the power of both of them. And so we have been prevented from bringing up to our minds to switch the perfect acts of God, even if something that appears to be pleasing comes out in our hand.

(Alef) The Psalmist said in Ps. 50:18, 20, “When you see a thief, you fall in with him, and throw in your lot with adulterers. You are busy maligning your brother, defaming the son of your mother.” It appears to me [that this can be explained] according to that which is written in Netsach Israel, chapter 25: (Maharal, Netsach Yisrael, pp. 126-127 in London edition.) We were asked, “How is it that Israelites are constantly yearning to [do] bad, etc.? As he seeks evil for the one who is his compatriot in Torah and in the commandments. And [yet] the Torah states (Lev. 19:18), ‘and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” And I answered him, etc. However this trait is not in Israel from the angle of ‘an evil soul desires evil.’ As from the angle of their essence, this holy people is deserving of all the importance and status, etc. And the one who is important based on his own nature will [naturally] seek status (and this is what causes the Jews to hurt each other). As you will not find a villager jealous of a great minister, but rather a sage of another sage, a wealthy man of a wealthy man and a strong man of a strong man, etc. Rather this thing comes from [their appropriate] sense of importance. And the proof to this is that it is perfectly obvious that when one of them is in distress, all of them step forward like ‘a brother for adversity.’ And that is because Israel is one nation, etc. And it is not like the traits of licentiousness, etc., as that thing would show great lowliness, etc. And they are stiff-necked from repenting, etc. Because they are far from physicality, they are not [easily] impacted, but rather hold on to their traits, etc. [See there.] And for this reason, he said, “When you see a thief, you fall in with him, and throw in your lot with adulterers” – and that is from the side of crass physicality and it is lowliness. But, “You are busy maligning your brother, etc.,” is from the side of an elevated form, and as is written in Netsach Yisrael. And they are two opposites of one issue. And ‘there should not be [lowliness] like this in Israel’ – the holy people that comes from a good nature. And that which is in Parashat Netzaivm (Deut. 29:21-26) is elucidated by this: And later generations will ask—the children who succeed you, and foreigners who come from distant lands and see the plagues and diseases that the Lord has inflicted upon that land. All its soil burnt by sulfur and salt, etc. And all the nations will say, “Why did the Lord do thus to this land; wherefore that awful wrath?” And they will be told, “Because they forsook the covenant that the Lord, etc. And they turned to the service of other gods and worshiped them – gods whom they had not known and whom He had not allotted to them. So the Lord was incensed at that land, etc.” And Rashi explained [the phrase], “whom they had not known,” [as] they had not known the strength of divinity in them. And Onkelos translated [it as, these gods] did not do good to them – as the one they selected for a god did not give them any inheritance or portion. See there. And at first glance, [this needs] precision – as had it given them an inheritance and a portion, the ‘prohibition [against worshiping it] would still stand in its place. [It is] as we expound in the Gemara, (See Bamidbar Rabbah 20:9.) “He exalts (masgi, which can also be read as fools) nations, then destroys them” (Job 12:23); such that it appears to them that they are healed by idolatry, etc. And see that with the generation of the flood it is written (Gen. 6:13), “and behold I will destroy them with the earth.” And the Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, expounded [it as] (Bereishit Rabbah 31:7), “with the land” – three handbreadths of the depth of a plow were despoiled. And the sin of the land was that the Lord said (Gen. 1:11) that the land should give forth “trees of fruit” – that the taste of the tree be like the fruit; but it made “trees that made fruit” (Gen. 1:12). (Bereishit Rabbah 5:9.) [It did this] because [its] material was coarse; and this caused man to incline towards physicality. And [so] the Lord said (Gen. 3:17), “Cursed is the earth for the sake of man” – as the damage was evident in man. And for this reason, [people] in the generation of the flood also sinned in physicality – violent theft, sexual immorality and murder; and this was because of the sin of the land. And therefore it was punished. And in the Guide (Guide for the Perplexed 1:36.) , [Rambam] wrote that we only find [the terms], awful wrath and jealousy [attributed to God] with idolatry, [since it is understandable that] the Lord has awful wrath about this. See there. But the sin of idolatry is from the angle of the form (the spiritual side) – and that it is the loss of the intellect, as it is written in Gur Aryeh. (Perhaps the reference is to Gur Aryeh on Exodus 22:30.) That is why the verse stated, “And all the nations will say, ‘Why did the Lord do thus to this land’” – since if their sin was from the spiritual side, the land did not sin. But if we say that the sin was from the side of physicality; you would still ask, “‘wherefore that awful wrath,’” as this is only with idolatry – as is written in the Guide – and that is from the angle of the intellect. “And they will be told, ‘Because they forsook, etc. and worshiped other gods’” – and the awful wrath was for that. And “whom they had not known and whom He had not allotted to them” – meaning that they did not apportion them any good and they did not know them [to be] with divine powers, and this was not from a confused intellect, such that ‘He fools the nations.’ Rather it was from the side of crass physicality that [such] anarchy was pleasing to them. And that was the sin of the land, and hence, “all its soil was burnt.” However, if people do righteous deeds, ‘the desolate land will be worked.’

Judaism, with its realistic approach to man and his status within existence, understood that ‎evil ‎does not lend itself to being obscured and glossed over, and that every attempt to diminish ‎the ‎import of the contrast and cleavage in existence will not bring man to inner peace or ‎to ‎comprehension of the existential secret. Evil is a fact that cannot be denied. There is evil in ‎the ‎world. There are suffering and agony, and death pangs. He who would deceive himself by ‎ignoring ‎the split in existence and by romanticizing life is but a fool and a fabricator of illusions. It ‎is ‎impossible to conquer monstrous evil with philosophical-speculative thought. Thus, ‎Judaism ‎determined that man, submerged in the depths of a frozen fate, will in vain seek the ‎solution to ‎the problem of evil in the context of speculative thought, for he will never find it. ‎Certainly, the ‎testimony of the Torah regarding creation — that “it is very good” (Genesis 1:12) — is ‎true. ‎However, this is only stated from the unbounded perspective of the Creator. In man’s ‎finite, ‎limited view, the absolute good in creation is not apparent. The contrast is striking and ‎undeniable. ‎There is evil that is not susceptible to explanation and comprehension. Only by ‎comprehending the ‎world in its totality can man gain insight into the essence of suffering. ‎However, as long as man’s ‎perception is limited and fragmented, so that he sees only isolated ‎portions of the cosmic drama ‎and the mighty saga of history, he cannot delve into the recesses of ‎evil and the mystery of ‎suffering. To what might this situation be compared? To a person who ‎views a beautiful tapestry, ‎the work of a fine artisan, which contains, woven into it on its front, a ‎representation dazzling to ‎the eye. To our great sorrow, we see this image [i.e., the world] from ‎the obverse side. Can such a ‎sight become a sublime esthetic experience? Thus, we are incapable ‎of comprehending the ‎panorama of reality without which one cannot uncover God’s master plan ‎‎— the essence of the ‎works of the Holy One.‎

“A tanna teaches like R. Yosi bar R. Chanina – Avraham established the morning prayer, as it says ‘Avraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before G–d…’ (Bereshit 19:27) and there is no standing (amidah) other than prayer, as it says ‘ Pinchas stood up and prayed.’ (Tehillim 106:30) Yitzchak established the afternoon prayer, as it says ‘Yitzchak went out to converse (lasuach) in the field at evening time…’ (Bereshit 24:63) and there is no conversation (siach) other than prayer, as it says ‘A prayer of the afflicted, when he faints and pours out his complaint (sicho) before G–d.’ (Tehillim 102:1) Yaakov established the nighttime prayer, as it says ‘He encountered (va’yifgah) the place, and stayed the night there…’ (Bereshit 28:11) and there is no encounter other than prayer, as it says ‘Therefore pray you not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, nor make intercession (tifgah) to me…’ (Yermiyahu 7:16)” [Berachot 26b] These three expressions – standing, conversing and encounter, are aligned with three principle benefits that prayer brings to the service of G–d. The first act of prayer is to root firmly in the heart all the holy concepts and lofty images, the foundations of awe and morality which one has acquired in their soul, so that they will not falter under the storm winds which devastate morality and Divine service through desires of the heart and the passions of the time. The primary time for this rooting is the morning. That before one turn to the business of life and the inevitable feelings of bodily desire, they prepare a strong and well-founded moral posture for themselves which will standup under the oppositional trials of the waves of the times; therefore, the prayer which is oriented toward this activity is known as amidah, standing. To this end our father Avraham, first of the faithful, who withstood ten wondrous trials, and against all the multitude that opposed the path which rises in the light of G–d, who stormed in order to scatter and push him aside, was most fit; he fought to find a well-founded and enduring place to stand. Prayer is called sichah (See gemara Avodah Zarah 7b where siach is the language associated with personal prayer) (conversation), sharing a name with the plants and trees which are called sichim (See Bereshit 2:5 which in this light could be read as “before there was any conversation.” This fits the nature of the second story of creation, which in its opening verse (Bereshit 2:4) uses the form of the word creation הבראם (in their being created) in contrast to the form ברא (created) in the first verse of the Torah. In general one can explore these two story as the first representing a subject/object relationship between G–d and creation and the second a subject/subject relationship. Hence the appearance of conversation at the outset of the second story. See footnote 2.) , due to the blossoming of the soul with new powers, which branch out naturally through the excitation of the soul in the service of the heart. This is most fit to the time of the evening offering, (see Tehillim 141:2) when one is close to casting off their troubles. Then their soul can elevate her nature, and the natural holy emotions stored up in her, to join to the living G–d and overflow with His pure love and awe, increasing fertile fruit and sending out shoots and branches, taking the likeness of a mighty tree (It is this aspect of prayer which ties the disparate pieces of creation together into a whole, a conversation. Note that the in the first story of creation there are individual plants (see Bereshit 1:11-12) but there is no field. It will take the type of prayer conversation which emerges in the second story, the siach hasadeh (see Rashi on Bereshit 2:5), to bind the blades of grass, the pieces of creation, into a whole that could be named a field. See Orach Chaim 61:3 and the Rama’s statement about how the gematria of two names of G–d, that which represents essence and that which represents expression, combine to equal 91, which is also the gematria of ilan, tree. The Maharal Be’er HaGolah, be’er chamishi says – know, that this world is similar to a single tree (ilan) which stretches from the root to the end of the tree, and it has many branches, drawn one after the other. So too it is with the world which is drawn from the First Cause that is the root, which is what we mean when we call heresy ‘to deny the root principle.’Its parts descend one after another until the final descent of the pieces of existence.) - one of the sichim. (One of the pieces of creation, or ‘in the conversation.’) This natural blossoming from within the rightness of the soul is the root of the judgment which is passed upon the one who turns aside from the straight path of life. The attribute of judgment, in so far that it has a natural law, is exacting with one who changes its ways and strays from its path; and this is the attribute of Yitzchak, as it is written “Were it not that the G–d of my father, the G–d of Avraham and the Fear of Yitzchak, had been with me…” (Bereshit 31:42), as our Sages taught with thorough explanation. However, there is another great advantage to prayer, that she find her essential purpose in those of the highest level and value, the highest holy ones who draw near to G–d, who rise up in prayer and lift themselves to the level of prophecy, or near to it, as is written in Tur/Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 98; they encounter states well beyond the ways of nature, because they are lifted up far beyond the natural condition and cleave to the living G–d in purity of heart and soul. And the night is best suited for this, in its respite and solitude, as the chasid explained in The Duties of the Heart (R Bachya ibn Pakudah wrote Duties of the Heart in Arabic in 1040 under the title "Al Hidayah ila Faraid al-Ḳulub" (Guide to the Duties of the Heart), it was translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon under the title "Ḥobot ha-Lebabot. R’ Bachya was a court judge and philosopher in Saragossa Spain. This work is the first systematic presentation of Jewish ethics and drew heavily from contemporary Arab thinkers. It presents ethics and philosophical understandings as the duties of ‘the heart’ in opposition to those of ‘the limbs’ which are the outward observance of the Law) (Gate of Love of G–d, ch. 6) on the advantage of nighttime prayer, which also facilitates visitation of sacred lofty visions and awesome intellectual fruits, that cannot be apprehended in the company of the physical senses. Things grasped from beyond the conceptual processes embedded in nature come not according to the natural gradual order of simple to profound, or through individual analytic pathways gathered together into a framework. Rather the great light of the sweetness of G–d is revealed suddenly, happy is the one who merits to it! Prayer is called encounter (pgiya), as when one happens upon something, as a result not only of the nature of the path which the traveler takes but also of the immanent nearness of the one encountered. And so it was for our father Yaakov, peace be upon him, for it is a certainty that his prayer prepared him for the lofty prophetic vision of the ladder and all its particulars (see Bereshit 28:10-17) , and that is why the name encounter is associated with his prayer, “and he encountered the place.” This is befitting the nighttime prayer.

As you already know, this great matter is that an oath-Shevuah-שבועה is the matter of HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Living God-El Chai-א"ל חי, which is the matter of, “That it is Good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, about all the creations in the act of creation-Ma’aseh Bereshit-מעשה בראשית, Torah states, (Genesis 1:12) “and God saw that it is good-VaYar Eloh”im Kee Tov.” The sign for this is the verse, (Proverbs 8:30) “I was with Him as a babe-V’Eheyeh Etzlo Amon-ואהי"ה אצלו אמון.” The matter of V’Eheyeh-ואהי"ה is that the letter Vav-ו-6, which is connected to Eheyeh-אהי"ה, (The letter Vav-ו in Cheshbon Kidmee is inclusive of the letters that precede it (א-1 ב-2 ג-3 ד-4 ה-5 ו-6) the total of which is אהי״ה-21. See Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of Intrinsic Being (Shaar HaHavayah), section on the Name Eheye”h-אהי״ה.) is the matter of the six Sefirot, the last of which is the matter of, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Thus, each creative act that God-Eloh”im-אלהי"ם – that is, HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י – did in the act of creation (Ma’aseh Bereshit), was confirmed by His quality “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב. What is written on the first day? (Genesis 1:4) “And God saw the light, that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” On the second day, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” was not said, being that the second day is the matter of separation and differentiation, as it states, (Genesis 1:6) “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate water from water.” That is, good-Tov-טוב is not found wherever there is separation and differentiation. This is because goodness-Tov-טוב only comes to unify all things and bring about peace-Shalom-שלום.

14. “And God-Elohi”m-אלהי״ם saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:12)

"Let there be" (יהי) is not written [in Genesis 1:11-12]. We read Yod, lower Yod, "And He formed" (וייצר) [Genesis 2:7] upper Yod, lower Yod, (יהי) ("Let there be") upper Yod, lower Yod. He between them. The summa of completeness. Complete, but not in every aspect. This name is uprooted from this place, and it is planted in another [place], it is written "And HaShem (יהוה) God planted" [Genesis 2:8].

"And the earth brought forth young grass" [Bereshit 1:12]. When? When the name had been planted. And so air goes out, and a spark is ready. (First tiqqun of the face) One skull is stretched out to its sides, on her [is] full dew, of two colours.

It is written (Psalms 118:5) "From the oppression I have called Yah". David spoke nine [exclamations], until "all nations have surrounded me" (Psalms 118:10), to surround and protect him [this refers to the nine exclamations from the second half of Psalm 118:5 to the end of Psalm 188:9]. "And the earth brought out young grass, plants producing seed according to its kind, and trees producing fruit with its seed in it according to its kind" [Genesis 1:12]. These nine were uprooted from the complete name and were planted afterwards in the complete name, as it is written: "And HaShem God (יהוה אלהים) [the complete name] planted..." [Genesis 2:8]. The installments of the beard are found in thirteen, which is the upper one, the lower one is seen in nine. Twenty-two are engraved according to their sorts (other book: because of them).

Source of all energy and power! Who could possibly duplicate Your mighty works? You constructed chambers above the cold waters, (See Tehillim 104:3, Bereishis Rabbah 4:1. The construction of the heavens is described by the commentators to Tehillim 104:3, and in Bereishis Rabbah. On the second day of creation, Hashem established the sky within the waters which subsequently separated the upper waters from the lower waters. Above the upper waters, a “ceiling” or “roof” was placed. This is the meaning of the verse. (See Metsudah, Radak, ibid.).) and placed the globe in space. (Job 27:7; the original word, as it appears in Job, is the verb “תּוֹלֶה” meaning “to suspend.”) When the world was filled with total darkness (The three words חשֶׁךְ-צַלְמָוֶת-עֵיפָה are found in Job 10:21—22 and are all expressions for darkness (See Malbim ibid.).) You wrapped yourself in Your garment, (Tehillim 18:29. The creation of light is so described in Bereishis Rabbah 3:4.) radiating with morning light. You divided the impetuous waters with an awesome, crystal-like sky; (Yechezkel 1:22.) and gathered them into the depths so they would not cover the dry land. (Tehillim 104:9.) You uncovered the surface of the earth, (Bereishis 1:11—12. The phraseology is based upon Tehillim 88:13, Shir Hashirim 6:11.) and brought forth vegetation. You planted a garden in the East for those who praise you. (Bereishis 2:8. This refers to the righteous who will occupy Gan Eden in the World to Come.) Great luminaries You placed in the sky (This refers to the sun and the moon. The phraseology is based upon Tehillim 150:1.) along with host of stars and constellations; which You commanded [to illuminate the world]. An abundance of swimming creatures [fish] (Yeshaya 25:11.) and flying creatures [birds etc.] (Devorim 28:49.) You created from the palm of Your hand (Yeshaya 40:12.) ; and the Leviathan which You reserved for the feast of Torah scholars. (This feast will be in the World to Come. The Livyoson is discussed in detail in Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 9.) The congealed ground brought forth insects and animals; the wild-ox dwelling in swamps and reeds You reserved for the meal of the righteous. (Vayikra Rabbah 24:10. The Midrash relates that this wild ox will be served to the righteous in the World to Come.) You prepared food and drink even before there was anyone to feast. (Since Adam was not created until the sixth day, everything in the world was already prepared for him.) You then formed man from clay in the likeness of Your image and breathed into him a pure soul from your “Zevul.” (The Talmud, Maseches Chagigah (12a) describes זְבוּל (Zevul) as being one of the seven heavens.) You caused him to sleep, and from his side You fashioned a helpmate for him. (Bereishis 2:20—22. This refers to the creation of Chavah, Eve, the first woman, who was created from Adam’s side.) You commanded him not to eat from the tree of knowledge. He foolishly violated Your command, because he was enticed by the snake. He was punished that only by the sweat of his brow would he gain his sustenance. Woman [was punished] with painful childbirth and the cunning [snake] would forever eat dirt. You congealed his [Adam's] seed in the womb of she [Eve] who desired him. She became pregnant and gave birth to a farmer and a shepherd. (This refers to Kayin and Hevel, see Bereishis 4:2.) They brought You a sacrifice and a gift. (The verse seems to imply that both Kayin and Hevel brought gifts and sacrifices, but in Bereishis 4:3,4 it is clear that Kayin brought vegetables and Hevel brought sheep as sacrifices.) You were angered with that of the oldest, but pleased with the offering of the youngest. (Bereishis 4:45.) Without mercy, he [Cain] killed Abel (Bereishis 4:8. The phraseology is adapted from Amos 1:11.) He pleaded for Your forgiveness, and You set a saving mark upon him. (Bereishis 4:15. Hashem inscribed a letter from His Name upon Kayin’s forehead. (Rashi)) At the third generation of man, (This refers to the generation of Chanoch. See Bereishis 4:26.) people began to worship You through idols. (See Sifri Devorim 43; the use of the expression “worshipped You through idols” is elaborated upon in detail in the Rambam’s Mishnah Torah at the beginning of the Laws of Idolatry (Avodah Zarah).) The dreaded flood waters, You summoned, and they were drowned and destroyed. An arrogant generation erred and dared tell You to go away. (This refers to the generation of the flood. Midrash Tanchumah (Bereishis 12) says that during this generation there lived a race of giants who worshipped the sun and the moon, and subsequently told Hashem to “go away.”) They were tossed about by the boiling water; they were burned and scalded. (The Talmud, Maseches Rosh Hashanah (12a) says that the generation of the flood was destroyed by a flood of boiling water. The Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 7:6 states that this punishment corresponded to their sin of pride and arrogance.) Noah, who was commanded to build an ark, an ark of gopher-wood, was delivered when You enclosed him within. (Bereishis 6:14, Bereishis 7:16. The Torah says that Hashem closed the door of the ark after Noach entered.) His sons, You made fruitful and they filled the face of the earth. A united people conspired to build a tower unto the heavens. (This refers to the Dor Hahaphlaga the “generation of division” which built the Migdal Bavel, the “Tower of Bavel.” Being of one language, they were united in speech and hence, subsequently, in conspiracy (Bereishis 11:1).) They were entrapped by their evil action, and were scattered about the earth (Bereishis 11:8.) as if by a violent wind. Your loved one [Avraham] (Yeshaya 41:8.) who came “across the river,” (The word עִבְרִי “Ivri” refers to the fact that Avraham came from the other side of the river.) made famous Your Name in the world. (See Bereishis 12:8 and the commentary of Ibn Ezra (ibid).) The son of his old age, [Yitzchak] he offered to You in sacrifice. Like a perfect, unblemished lamb Yaakov was chosen; he who was without blemish. (In Bereishis 25:27, Yaakov is called תָּם “Tam” which Rashi interprets as denoting “equal in tongue and heart.”) He desired to sit in tents (This refers to the period when Yaakov studied in the Yeshivos of Shem and Aver (See Rashi ibid.).) and followed you. Righteous children You brought forth from him, all of whom stayed true to their heritage, none ever deviating. To serve You, You desired Levi, Your pious one. (Devorim 33:8. After the sin of the golden calf, Hashem chose the tribe of Levi to serve inthe Tabernacle because they did not participate in the sin.) From his tribe, You chose one [Aharon] to be Your holiest; (This refers to Aharon and his sons who came from the tribe of Levi and were chosen to become the priests.) to wear the holy mitre and the Urim VeTumim, (Vayikra 8:8—9. These were worn by the High Priest during his service.) and to dwell inside the Tabernacle for seven days. (Before the final consecration of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the priests were confined to the Tabernacle for seven days during which time they offered sacrifices each day to become initiated into the priesthood.) Upholders of the Jewish faith, [The Sanhedrin], a week before the tenth day [of Tishrei], secluded the High Priest as was done in the seven days after the completion of the Mishkan. (Maseches Yoma, Mishnah 1:1; This law is derived from the seven days of consecration of the Mishkan during which time Aharon and his sons stayed inside of the Mishkan, see Talmud 2:9,b. The High Priest was confined to a special chamber called ‘lishkas phalhedrin’ (ibid. 2a).) They sprinkled upon him water mixed with the ashes of red heifers (Maseches Yoma, 4a, 8a. According to the Mishnah (in Para ch. 3:11), from each red heifer which was burnt, from the time of Moshe, one third of its ashes were stored away, and some of the ashes from each were used to sprinkle over the High Priest. The Rambam (1:4) states that the sprinkling took place on the third and seventh day of confinement as a precaution lest the priest had been made impure upon contact with a dead body.) in order to purify him. [Each of the seven days] he sprinkled the blood of the daily sacrifices, burned the incense (Maseches Yoma Mishnah 14a. The incense was burned twice daily, in the morning and in the afternoon. According to the Rambam the order was: sprinkling, cleaning out five wicks, burning the morning incense, then cleaning out the remaining two wicks.) [upon the golden altar in the Sanctuary,] and cleaned away the ashes, [from the wicks of the Menorah], [he did these things] to acquaint himself with the daily service. (This was because the entire service on Yom Kippur was performed exclusively by the High Priest. See Rambam (Ch. 1:2,5).) As it was written in Your Torah: As it was done on this day, Adonoy commanded that it be done to atone for you.

[4] Another explanation: "And you shall see" - once they see the Divine Presence, they rejoice and are happy, and their bodies become great and fruitful, as it says, "And your bones shall flourish like grass" (Isaiah 66:14). Another explanation: "Your bones shall flourish like grass." (Isaiah 66:14) This is as it says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). There is no fatigue before the Holy One, blessed be He, except in the act of speech, for it was by speech that God created this world, and it is through speech that He will renew it in the World to Come. As it is written, "And God said, 'Let the earth sprout forth'...and the earth brought forth vegetation" (Genesis 1:11-12). Immediately the earth brought forth fruit. So too, in the future, God will say a word, and immediately everything will be done. Therefore it says, "Your bones shall flourish like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and He will be angry with His enemies" (Isaiah 66:14). "It is like a parable of harlots who said to wheat, 'We are more beautiful than you because rain falls for us and for you, and the sun shines on both of us.' The wheat replied, 'Not because of what you say, and not because of what we say, but because the one who sows comes and separates us, storing us in the granary, and you for the birds to eat.'(Mishnat Eretz Yisrael on Mishnah Kilayim 1:1:2) So too, the idolaters and Israel are mixed together in the world, as it is said, 'And they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another' (Daniel 2:43), and it says, 'And they shall learn their works' (Psalms 106:35)." And similarly, they say to the Israelites: "We are better off than you because the sun shines on us and on you." The Israelites replied, "Not what you say and not what we say, but the day will come when you will know that the righteous will be brought into Gan Eden and the wicked into Gehinnom, as it is said: 'And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life, and some to shame, to eternal contempt' (Daniel 12:2)." Therefore it is said, "And the hand of the Lord will be known, etc." (Isaiah 66:14). At that moment you will repent and see for yourselves.

“It was on the day that [Moses] concluded” – that is what is written: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin [from the timber of Lebanon]” (Song of Songs 3:9) – this is the world, which is made like a type of palanquin. “King Solomon [Shelomo]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, who instituted peace [shalom] between fire and water, combined one with the other, and crafted the firmament, as it is stated: “God called the firmament heaven [shamayim]” (Genesis 1:8), as it is fire [esh] and water [mayim]. “From the timber of Lebanon” – as it was constructed from the place of the Temple. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: Why is it called the foundation stone? (This is the stone that is located in the inner sanctum in the Temple.) It is because the world was founded upon it. That is what is written: “From Zion, the epitome of beauty, God appeared” (Psalms 50:2). “He crafted its pillars of silver, [its cushioning of gold, its seat of purple wool; its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the firmament, just as it says: “The pillars of the heavens will sag” (Job 26:11). Why does it call them silver [kesef]? It is because it puts the act of Creation to shame [mekhasef]. Likewise it says: “The heavens relate [the glory of God]” (Psalms 19:2). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the earth, which produces the fruit of the land and the fruit of the trees, which are similar to gold. Just as gold, there are different types and different shades, so too the fruits of the land; some of them are green and some of them are red. “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool [argaman]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the sun, which is placed above, rides on a chariot [bemerkava], and illuminates the world, just as it says: “It (The reference is to the sun that is mentioned in the previous verse.) is like a bridegroom leaving his bridal chamber…” (Psalms 19:6). By the power of the sun rain falls, and by the power of the sun the land produces fruit. That is why it calls it argaman, as the Holy One blessed be He created it in order to weave man for the creatures. Man is nothing other than fruit and food, just as it says: “The king allotted [vayman] for them [a daily portion from the king’s food]” (Daniel 1:5). “Its interior is inlaid with love” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as after all the act of Creation, He created Adam and Eve to rule over them all. (The phrase is being interpreted as meaning that the world was inlaid with what God loved, namely, Adam and Eve.) Likewise it says: “She has sent out her young women; she will call” (Proverbs 9:3). (This is expounded as referring to Adam and Eve (see Vayikra Rabba 11:1).) That is, “from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – that all the creations would fear them and be assigned to them, just as it says: “Fear of you and dread of you will be [upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, and upon all that crawls on the ground, and upon all fish of the sea; into your hand they are given]” (Genesis 9:2). Another matter: “Palanquin (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the world. Why is it called “palanquin [apiryon]”? It is because it was created only for procreation [lifriya]. Likewise it says: “He did not create it for emptiness; He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made for himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the Holy One blessed be He created it only so there would be peace [shalom] between the creations, as it is stated: “Who forms the light and creates darkness, makes peace…” (Isaiah 45:7). “From the timber [me’atzei] of Lebanon [halevanon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – as by the counsel [shebaatzat] of the Torah, whose matters are clear [melubenet], God created the world. Likewise it says: “Counsel [etza] and resourcefulness are mine” (Proverbs 8:14). (The word “mine” refers to wisdom.) From where is it derived that the matters of Torah are clear? It is as indeed it is written: “Then He saw and quantified it, prepared it, and also investigated it. He said to man: [Behold, the fear of the Lord, it is wisdom, and turning away from evil is understanding]” (Job 28:27–28). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is a genealogy. Likewise it says: “The righteous one is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25). “Silver” is nothing other than refining the genealogy, just as it says: “He will sit like one refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them [like gold and like silver]” (Malachi 3:3). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Torah, in whose regard it is written: “They are more desirable than gold, than much fine gold” (Psalms 19:11), and the Holy One blessed be He gave it to study it only to one who preserves his genealogy. Likewise, it says: “To the wicked one God said: What have you to do with My book of statutes, and you invoke My covenant” (Psalms 50:16)? Why is it so? “When you see a thief, you run with him; you join in with adulterers” (Psalms 50:18). And it says: “Render to the Lord, you families of the peoples; render to the Lord honor and might” (Psalms 96:7). (The fact that it says “families of peoples” and not just “peoples,” underscores the importance of genealogy.) “Its seat [merkavo] of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “Who rides [rokhev] the heavens to assist you” (Deuteronomy 33:26). And He weaves the world so that all of them will emerge according to their species and they will not intermingle one species with another, just as it says: “Let the earth sprout vegetation” (Genesis 1:11). (In the following verse it says: “Vegetation yielding seed in its kind” (Genesis 1:12).) He rests His Divine Presence only upon those of pure lineage in Israel. Likewise it says: “To be a God for you and for your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:7). When your offspring are identifiable as being after you, the Holy One blessed be He is God to them, but when his offspring are not identifiable as being after him, as they are intermingled with the offspring of their counterparts, He is not God to them. “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yudan says: This is the merit of the Torah, as it is stated in its regard: “A loving doe” (Proverbs 5:19), and the merit of the righteous, as it is stated: “And I loved Jacob” (Malachi 1:2). Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: This is the Divine Presence, just as it says: “You shall love the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Another matter: “Palanquin [apiryon]” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the eternal Temple. Why is it called apiryon? It is because all the golden forms would produce after its kind. (It expounds the word apiryon as producing fruit [peri].) “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – just as it says: “And we will cut timber from Lebanon…[and you will take it up to Jerusalem]” (II Chronicles 2:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “He erected the pillars before the Sanctuary, one to the right [and one to the left]” (II Chronicles 3:17). Was it of silver? Was it not of bronze? (As stated in I Kings 7:15–21.) It was, rather, of refined bronze whose value equaled that of silver. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – it is taught: The entire Temple was overlaid with gold, except for behind the doors (Midot 4:1). Rabbi Aivu said: The mishna is referring to the second Temple; however, in the first Temple it was even behind the doors. There are seven types of gold: Fine gold, pure gold, beaten gold, chased gold, glittering gold, refined gold, parvayim gold. Fine gold, in its plain sense, just as you say: “The gold of that land was fine” (Genesis 2:12). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is fine when he is in the house, and it is fine when it is accompanying him. Pure gold, they place it in the crucible and it lacks nothing. Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Solomon placed one thousand gold talents into the furnace one thousand times until there remained only one talent. Was it not taught: Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Yehuda said: It happened that the candelabrum in the Temple was one Gordian dinar greater than the candelabrum of the wilderness, and he placed it in the furnace eighty times until it diminished? Rather, initially the dross diminished by a large amount; from this point forward it diminished by only a minimal amount. Beaten gold is spun like a thread and drawn like wax. Hadrian had the weight of an egg [of beaten gold]. Diocletian had the weight of a Gordian dinar. (The egg-bulk is significantly larger.) This kingdom (Their Roman successors.) has none of that. Chased gold [sagur] – that would cause all the owners of gold to close [soger]. (The gold was of such high quality that all other gold dealers would close their shops until the chased gold was sold, since everyone would buy the high quality gold.) But is it not written: “And seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses” (I Chronicles 29:4)? Was it silver? Was it not gold, as it is written: “The great Temple he overlaid with juniper wood, which he overlaid with fine gold” (II Chronicles 3:5)? Why do they call it silver [kesef]? It is because it would put to shame [makhsif] all the owners of gold. And all the vessels were crafted from it, the basins, the pots, the shovels, the forks, the spoons, and the firepans, [were of] chased gold. There it is written: “And the potot for the doors of the Temple” (I Kings 7:50). What are potot? Rabbi Yitzḥak of Migdal said: It is the cup under the hinge. (The hinge extended into a hole in the ground. A "cup" was placed in the hole, and the hinge extended into the cup.) Rabbi Simai said: These are the teeth of the keys, to teach you that the Temple was not lacking even insignificant matters. Glittering [mufaz] gold – Rabbi Patriki, brother of Rabbi Derosai, says in the name of Rabbi Aivu Abba: It is like this sulfur enflamed in fire. Rabbi Avin said: It is after the name of its country, Me’ufaz. Refined gold – the school of Reish Lakish says: They would cut it like olives, feed it to ostriches, and it emerges refined. Parvayim gold – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: It is red and similar to the blood of a bull [par]; and some say that it produces fruits [perot]. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: When Menashe placed an idol in the Sanctuary, all those fruits dried. That is what is written: “The flower of Lebanon withers” (Nahum 1:4). However, in the future, everything will be restored, as it is written: “It will blossom and will rejoice…” (Isaiah 35:2). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “he crafted the curtain of sky-blue, purple, and crimson wool, and fine linen” (II Chronicles 3:14). Because the purple wool is the most important of them all, as it is a royal garment, just as it says: “He will don purple wool” (Daniel 5:7), that is why he mentioned it. Similarly, “eaters of the flesh of swine, detestable creatures, and mice” (Isaiah 66:17) – what prohibition is there that is greater regarding swine than the rest of the non-kosher animals, and mice from the other creeping animals? Rather, it mentioned swine, and the same is true regarding all non-kosher animals and beasts, and it mentioned mice, and the same is true of all creeping animals in the world. Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Ark. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rav Ilai said: This is analogous to a king who had a fine, praiseworthy, and appealing daughter. The king said to his servants: Craft a chair for her with a cover. It is preferable that they see the beauty of my daughter from behind the cover. So, the Torah is fine, praiseworthy, and appealing. The Holy One blessed be He said: Craft an Ark for it, so its beauty will be seen from within the Ark. “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – the king that peace [shalom] is His. He rendered the entire Torah that way, as it is stated: “All its ways are peace” (Proverbs 3:17). “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft an Ark of acacia wood” (Exodus 25:10). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – these are the two pillars that stood before it like a type of portico. “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall plate it with pure gold” (Exodus 25:11). “Its seat of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Tanḥuma said: This is the Ark cover, which is similar to purple, and it is written in its regard: “You shall place the Ark cover upon the Ark from above” (Exodus 25:21). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: This is the merit of the Torah, this is the merit of the righteous who engage in its study. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22), etc. (This is a reference to the interpretation given later in this section.) Another matter: “Palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Tabernacle. Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: To what is this matter comparable? It is to a king of flesh and blood who had a daughter and he loved her excessively. As long as his daughter was a minor, he would speak to her in public. When he would see her in the courtyard, he would speak with her. When she grew older and displayed signs of puberty, the king said: It is not in keeping with my daughter’s honor that I will speak to her in public. Instead, craft a partition for her so that when I wish to speak with my daughter, I will speak with her behind the partition. So, when the Holy One blessed be He saw Israel in Egypt, they were lads, as it is stated: “When Israel was a lad, I loved him, and from Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:1). He saw them at the sea, and He would speak to them, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to Me? [Speak to the children of Israel]” (Exodus 14:15). He saw them at Sinai and would speak with them, as it is stated: “Face-to-face the Lord spoke with you” (Deuteronomy 5:4). Once they received the Torah and became a complete nation for Him, they said: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). The Holy One blessed be He said: It is not in keeping with my children’s honor that I will speak to them in public. Rather, craft for Me a Tabernacle, and when I need to speak with them, I will speak with them from the Tabernacle. That is what is written: “When Moses would come into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, [he heard the Voice speaking to him from above the Ark cover that was upon the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubs, and He spoke to him]” (Numbers 7:89). “King Solomon [Shelomo] made himself” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, that peace [shalom] is His, as He makes peace with Israel after the contention that He had with them due to the act of the calf. “From the timber of Lebanon” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall make the boards for the Tabernacle [of acacia wood]” (Exodus 26:15). “He crafted its pillars of silver” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver” (Exodus 27:11). “Its cushioning of gold” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall overlay the boards with gold” (Exodus 26:29). “Its seat is of purple wool” (Song of Songs 3:10) – “you shall craft a curtain of sky-blue, purple, [and crimson wool]” (Exodus 26:31), and it is written: “You shall screen the Ark with the curtain…” (Exodus 40:3). “Its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – Rabbi Azarya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: This is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Yudan said: This is the merit of the Torah, and this is the merit of the righteous. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “Moses was unable to enter [the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle]” (Exodus 40:35). To what is this matter comparable? It is to a cave that is located on the seashore. The sea raged and the cave became filled with water, but the sea lacked nothing. So, the Tent of Meeting was filled with the radiance of the Divine Presence, but the world lacked nothing. That is, “its interior is inlaid with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 3:10) – this is the Divine Presence. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is written: “I will meet with you there…” (Exodus 25:22) – it is to teach you that even what is behind the Ark cover is not unoccupied by the Divine Presence. A certain idolater asked Rabban Gamliel: Why did the Holy One blessed be He appear to Moses from the midst of the bush? He said to him: Had he appeared on a certain carob tree or on a certain fig tree would you have asked me this? To dismiss you with nothing is not possible. It is to teach you that there is no place on earth that is unoccupied by the Divine Presence, as even from the bush He would speak would speak to Moses. Another matter: “Palanquin…” (Song of Songs 3:10) – what is written just before it? “Behold the bed of Solomon: [There are sixty valiant men around it, from the valiant of Israel, all armed with a sword, trained in war; each man, a sword on his thigh, from fear in the nights]” (Song of Songs 3:7–8). This is the Priestly Benediction, as we stated previously. (See Bemidbar Rabba 11:3.) It is to teach you that Solomon came only to explain the Torah and based his statements on the order of the Torah. Just as just before the portion of the Tabernacle, the portion of the Priestly Benediction is written, so too, Solomon did the same: First he mentioned the Priestly Benediction, and then he spoke of the Tabernacle: “[King Solomon] made himself a palanquin” (Song of Songs 3:10). Why did he do so? Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said: To what is the matter comparable? It is to a king who betrothed his daughter. He made an elaborate betrothal celebration, and the evil eye affected them. When the king came to marry off his daughter, what did he do? He gave her an amulet. He said to her: Let this amulet be upon you so the evil eye will not affect you. The Holy One blessed be He did so as well. When He came to give the Torah to Israel, He made an elaborate public celebration, as it is written: “All the people were seeing the thunder” (Exodus 20:15). That was only betrothal [kidushim], as it is written: “Go to the people and sanctify them [vekidashtam] today and tomorrow” (Exodus 19:10), but the evil eye affected them and the tablets were shattered, just as it says: “He shattered them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19). When they came to craft the Tabernacle, He did not do so. The Holy One blessed be He gave them the blessing first, so that the evil eye would not affect them. That is why it is first written: “May the Lord bless you and protect you” (Numbers 6:24) from the evil eye, and then: “It was on the day that [Moses] concluded…”

“The earth and the heavens” – this is analogous to a legion that was the first to crown the king. The king said: Since this legion crowned me first, I am granting it a commendation that it should never depart away from me. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: Since it was the earth that first fulfilled My desire, (By immediately bringing forth vegetation upon His command (Genesis 1:12).) I am granting it a commendation that it will never depart away from Me. That is what is written: “He established the earth on its foundations, never to falter” (Psalms 104:5).

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: “The heavens and the earth…were completed” (Genesis 2:1) – at their designated time. “And their entire host” (Genesis 2:1) – at their designated time. (The heavens and the earth on the one hand, and their hosts on the other hand, were created on separate days.) Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: But is it not written: “These are the outgrowths of the heavens and of the earth when they were created [on the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens]” – which teaches that on the same day they were created they produced their outgrowths? He said to him: But is it not written: “It was evening, it was morning, one day…a second day…a third day…a fourth day…a fifth day…a sixth day”? (With different items created on each day.) Rabbi Neḥemya said: They are like people picking figs; each one of them appears at its time. (All the buds of the figs are present at the beginning of the season, but they ripen gradually, each one in its time. So, too, the outgrowths of the heavens and the earth were present in an incipient form from the beginning, and grew into their final form during the subsequent days.) Rabbi Berekhya said in support of Rabbi Neḥemya’s teaching: “The earth brought forth [vegetation]” (Genesis 1:12) – [“bringing forth” indicating] something that was already stored inside it.

Rabbi Neḥemya of Kefar Siḥon said: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, [the sea]…” (Exodus 20:11). The three items are the essential basis of the creation of the world, and each one waited three days and then produced three products: The earth [was created] on the first day, in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel, (Bereshit Rabba 1:15.) and it waited three days, the first and second and third, and then [on day three] produced three products – trees, vegetation, and the Garden of Eden. The firmament [was created] on the second day, waited three days, the second and third and fourth, and then [on day four] produced three products – the sun, the moon, and the constellations. Water [was created] on the third day, waited three days, the third and fourth and fifth, and then [on day five] produced three products – birds, fish, and Leviathan. Rabbi Azarya did not say thus, but rather, “on the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” – there were [only these] two items that were the essential basis of the creation of the world, and each waited three days and their labor was completed on the fourth. The heavens [were created] on the first day, in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai, (Bereshit Rabba 1:15.) they waited three days, the first and second and third, and then their labor was completed on the fourth day. What was the completion of their labor? The celestial lights. The earth [was created] on the third day: “The earth brought forth [vegetation, etc.]” (Genesis 1:12), [the vegetation] being the essential element of its creation. It waited three days, the third and fourth and fifth, and its labor was completed on the sixth. What was the completion of its labor? It is man, as it is stated: “I made the earth and created man upon it” (Isaiah 45:12).

“God said: Let the earth sprout grass, vegetation yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in their kind, in which there is its seed, upon the earth, and it was so” (Genesis 1:11). “God said: Let the earth sprout grass” – it is taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: There were three who were brought to judgment, but there were four who emerged liable. They are as follows: Adam, Eve, and the serpent were brought to judgment, and the ground was cursed along with them, as it is stated: “Cursed is the ground on your account” (Genesis 3:17) – it will produce for you cursed items, such as gnats, flies, and fleas. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Even these are beneficial. (Even bugs serve a purpose in the world. Thus, the earth’s curse had a silver lining. See Bereshit Rabba 20:8.) Why was it cursed? Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom and Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shalom said: Because it violated its command, as the Holy One blessed be He said to it: “Let the earth sprout grass, [vegetation yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in their kind]” – just as the fruit is edible, so should the tree be edible. But, it [the earth] did not do so, but rather, “The earth produced grass…[and trees bearing fruit]” (Genesis 1:12) – the fruit is edible but the tree is not edible. Rabbi Pinḥas said: [On the contrary,] it did even more than it was commanded, taking the initiative in fulfilling the will of its Creator. “Trees bearing fruit” – even the non-fruit trees produced fruit. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Shimon, all is well, but according to Rabbi Pinḥas, why was it [the earth] cursed? The explanation is that it is like a person who says [when cursing someone]: Cursed be the breasts from which this person nursed. (The earth was the provider of sustenance for mankind, so it was cursed as part of their curse.)

(Fol. 10b) We have been taught that R. Eliezer says: "In the month of Tishri the world was created; in the month of Tishri the Patriarchs [Abraham and Jacob], were born, and in Tishri they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited [with the blessing of children]; on New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison; (Fol. 11) on New Year's Day the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased; in Nissan, however, they were redeemed [from Egypt], and in Tishri we shall again be redeemed." R. Joshua says: "The world was created in Nissan; in the same month the patriarchs were born, and in Nissan they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited with children. On New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison, and the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased on New Year's Day. In Nissan our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt, and in the same month we shall again be redeemed." We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Tishri? It is said (Gen. 1, 11) And God said. Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, etc. In what month does the earth bring forth grass, and the trees at the same time are full of fruit? We must say it was in the month of Tishri; and [again it appears that] it was at the time of autumn, when the rain descended and the fruits flourished, as it is said (Ib. 2, 6) But there went up a mist from the earth," etc. R. Joshua says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Nissan? It is said (Ib. 1, 12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs yielding seed, and trees yielding fruit, etc. In which month does the earth bring forth grass [and, at the same time, in which do] the trees bring forth fruit? We must say it was in the month of Nissan, at which time animals, domestic and wild, as well as birds, mate; as it is said (Ps. 65, 14) The meadows are clothed with flocks," etc. But how are the other Rabbis, who make other inferences, going to explain the following passage (Gen. 1, 12) And herbs yielding seed, etc. [which refers to Nissan]? This is written merely as a blessing for the coming generations. And, how are those that contend that the world was created in Nissan to explain the passage (Ib. ib.) And a tree of fruit [which proves that it was in the month of Tishri]? This refers to what R. Joshua b. Levi said; for R. Joshua b. Levi said: "All the works of creation were brought to being in full-grown stature, by their consent, by their own choice as to their shape, as it is said (Ib. 2, 1) Thus were finished the heavens and the earth and all their host. Do not read Tzeba'am (their host), but read it Tzib'yonam (their taste)." R. Eliezer said further: "Whence do we know that the patriarchs were born in the month of Tishri? It is said (I Kings 8, 2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim (strong; i.e., the month in which (Ethanim), the strong ones of the earth (the patriarchs), were born." How do we know that the expression ethan means strong? It is written (Num. 24, 21) Strong (Ethan) is thy dwelling-place; and it is also written (Micah 6, 2) Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations, (v'ha'ethanim), etc. And it is also said (Songs 2, 8), Leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills [implying that they were] leaping over the mountains for the sake of the patriarchs; skipping over the hills for the sake of our mothers [Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah].

(3) (Fol. 10b) We have been taught that R. Eliezer says: "In the month of Tishri the world was created; in the month of Tishri the Patriarchs [Abraham and Jacob], were born, and in Tishri they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited [with the blessing of children]; on New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison; (Fol. 11) on New Year's Day the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased; in Nissan, however, they were redeemed [from Egypt], and in Tishri we shall again be redeemed." R. Joshua says: "The world was created in Nissan; in the same month the patriarchs were born, and in Nissan they died; Isaac was born on the Passover; on New Year's Day Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited with children. On New Year's Day Joseph was released from prison, and the bondage of our fathers in Egypt ceased on New Year's Day. In Nissan our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt, and in the same month we shall again be redeemed." We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Tishri? It is said (Gen. 1, 11) And God said. Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, etc. In what month does the earth bring forth grass, and the trees at the same time are full of fruit? We must say it was in the month of Tishri; and [again it appears that] it was at the time of autumn, when the rain descended and the fruits flourished, as it is said (Ib. 2, 6) But there went up a mist from the earth," etc. R. Joshua says: "Whence do we learn that the world was created in the month of Nissan? It is said (Ib. 1, 12) And the earth brought forth grass, and herbs yielding seed, and trees yielding fruit, etc. In which month does the earth bring forth grass [and, at the same time, in which do] the trees bring forth fruit? We must say it was in the month of Nissan, at which time animals, domestic and wild, as well as birds, mate; as it is said (Ps. 65, 14) The meadows are clothed with flocks," etc. But how are the other Rabbis, who make other inferences, going to explain the following passage (Gen. 1, 12) And herbs yielding seed, etc. [which refers to Nissan]? This is written merely as a blessing for the coming generations. And, how are those that contend that the world was created in Nissan to explain the passage (Ib. ib.) And a tree of fruit [which proves that it was in the month of Tishri]? This refers to what R. Joshua b. Levi said; for R. Joshua b. Levi said: "All the works of creation were brought to being in full-grown stature, by their consent, by their own choice as to their shape, as it is said (Ib. 2, 1) Thus were finished the heavens and the earth and all their host. Do not read Tzeba'am (their host), but read it Tzib'yonam (their taste)." R. Eliezer said further: "Whence do we know that the patriarchs were born in the month of Tishri? It is said (I Kings 8, 2) And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim (strong; i.e., the month in which (Ethanim), the strong ones of the earth (the patriarchs), were born." How do we know that the expression ethan means strong? It is written (Num. 24, 21) Strong (Ethan) is thy dwelling-place; and it is also written (Micah 6, 2) Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy, and ye strong foundations, (v'ha'ethanim), etc. And it is also said (Songs 2, 8), Leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills [implying that they were] leaping over the mountains for the sake of the patriarchs; skipping over the hills for the sake of our mothers [Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah].

Now that we have seen these verses in context, we need to examine how the midrash employs them to convey its message. At first glance, the petihta appears to be echoing the dibur hamat’hil, i.e., Genesis 1:12. Like Avraham, who is commanded to leave his land, birthplace, and father’s house, the “daughter” of Psalms 45:11 is being told to forget her people and her father’s house. On the basis of this similarity, one might suppose that R. Yitzhak is using the source in Psalms as an allegory for the commandment to Avraham. After reading the mashal section of the midrash, though, the verse from Psalms resonates differently. Rather than an echo of God’s words to Avraham, it now seems to be an allegory for the actions the mashal ascribes to Avraham before God ever speaks to him, namely looking and listening for God. On this reading, Avraham, in his quest for God, has opened his eyes and ears to the possibility of God and abandoned his past, before God ever speaks to him.

(Gen. 6:4, cont.:) THESE WERE THE MIGHTY MEN THAT WERE OF OLD, THE MEN WITH A NAME, < i.e., > men whose names have been specified above (in Gen. 4:18): Mehujael, since the Holy One (i.e., El) blotted (mihah) their names from the world; Methushael (ibid.), since God (El) drove him out (nethasho). THE MEN WITH A NAME, (Tanh. Gen. 1:12.) because they were obstinate and rebellious against the Holy One. Thus it is stated (in Job 21:14): YET THEY SAY TO GOD: DEPART FROM US…. R. Isaac said: Why were they rebellious? Because they would sow one year and it would produce a harvest for forty years. R. Samuel bar Ammi said: Why were they rebellious? Because they were seeing children and children's children; yet they < themselves > were not dying. The Holy One said: From now on (according to Gen. 8:22) WHILE THERE ARE DAYS ON EARTH, < THERE SHALL BE NO CESSATION OF > SOWING AND HARVEST; i.e., they were begetting and burying. (Ibid., cont.:) COLD AND HEAT; i.e., < while > afflictions had not come upon them, from now on they would be afflicted by fire and snow. There is a story about a certain student of R. Aqiva (Tanh., Gen. 1:13; yMSh 4 at the end (55c); see Lam. R. 1:1 (16).) who was told in a dream: You are dying in < the month of > Adar, and you shall not see Nisan. That which you have sown you shall not reap. He came to R. Aqiva. He said to him: You will die in glory (addirut), you shall not come to the hands of temptation (nissayon), and that which you have begotten you shall not bury. The Holy One said: In this world, because the evil drive exists, afflictions < also > exist among the children of Adam; but in the world to come I am rooting them out from you. It is so stated (in Ezek. 36:26): I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM YOUR FLESH. I am also reviving your {ancestors} [wings]; for thus has Isaiah stated (in Is. 40:31): BUT THEY THAT WAIT FOR THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; [THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES].

(Gen. 25:27:) WHEN THE BOYS GREW UP, ESAU BECAME A CUNNING HUNTER, < A MAN OF THE FIELD; BUT JACOB WAS A PERFECT MAN WHO SAT IN THE TENTS >. R. Berekhyah the Priest said: R. Levi said: (See Gen. R. 63:10.) Both of them went to the elementary school, and both of them were equal until the age of fifteen. To what were they comparable? To a myrtle and a thorny plant. (‘TsMWNYT. Gen. R. 63:10 reads ‘TsBWNYT (“wild rose bush”) here.) As long as they are small, no one < can > distinguish one from the other. After they have grown up, the one awakens (in bloom), AND (in the words of Gen. 1:12) IT WAS GOOD; but the other brings forth its thorns. Thus, so long as Esau and Jacob were small no one distinguished between them. After they were grown up, they were distinguishable. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Gen. 25:27): WHEN THE BOYS GREW UP…. JACOB WAS A PERFECT MAN WHO SAT IN THE TENTS (of learning). (See above, 6:1.) < But what about Esau? (According to ibid.:) ESAU BECAME > A CUNNING HUNTER, < A MAN OF THE FIELD (SDH) >. R. Abbahu said: What is the meaning of CUNNING HUNTER? That his hunting was by entrapment (SWDN'). (In accordance with a suggestion from Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol, n.d.), vol. I, appendix, p. 38, n. 1, the text here is slightly emended from SWRN’. So emended the midrash is interpreting FIELD (SDH) of the biblical text as “entrapment” (SWDN‘). For a similar interpretation, see Gen. R. 63:10. See Buber’s note, ad loc.) He hunted at home [and he hunted] in the field. BUT JACOB WAS A PERFECT MAN WHO SAT IN THE TENTS. The Holy One said to him: You are the first to sit in the tents (of learning). By your life, when I return to Jerusalem, I will return through your virtue. Thus it is stated (in Jer. 30:18): THUS SAYS THE LORD: BEHOLD, I AM RESTORING JACOB'S TENTS FROM CAPTIVITY. "Abraham's tents from captivity" is not stated < here >, but JACOB'S TENTS FROM CAPTIVITY.

The Maggid — the angel that used to appear to the Beis Yosef of blessed memory— offered him another useful strategy for avoiding this sin: A man should envision the image of his father standing before him. As proof he cited the example of Yosef HaTzaddik who was on the verge of lying with Potifera’s wife when the image of his father appeared before him. As a result Yosef withheld himself from sinning (Sotah 36a). There is another hint to this strategy in our holy Torah. In Bereishis (1:12) it is written, “a meadow of herbs giving forth seed each to its kind” (Bereishis 1:12). “Meadow,” deshe, is an acronym for “the image of his father,” diukno shel aviv. Thus it is the medicinal “herb” to ensure that a man only gives forth seed “to his kind,” and that none is spilled in vain.

All other creatures on earth would have shared in a "higher" existence; there would not have been any trees that failed to produce edible fruit, for instance. When you look closely at the instruction issued by G–d to the Earth on the third day, you will find that the trees were meant to be edible themselves, i.e. the trunk, not just the fruit (Genesis 1,11). Earth did not comply with G–d's command completely, since it was aware that G–d would have to hide the Original Light due to the eventual emergence of wicked people. This prompted Earth to withhold some of its goodness also. The reason that the tree itself was to taste the same as its fruit is to elevate the קליפה, "peel," exterior, to the level of the essence, i.e. the fruit. When the level of spirituality is such that the קליפה has become insignificant, then the function of the tree of life has been fulfilled, i.e. every tree will be an עץ החיים.

מכשפה לא תחיה. Do not allow a witch to survive!" (22,17). Rabbi Yochanan in Sanhedrin 67, relates the term מכשפה to the fact that witches deny the existence and function of Divine messengers, i.e. פמליא של מעלה. The Chinuch describes the substance of such witches (whether male or female) in the following words: "At the time of creation, G–d assigned certain activities to everything that has been created; such activities are all meant to benefit the universe. This is the meaning of Genesis 1,12, that each variety of herb came into being למינהו, in its individual kind, with its individual function. Each had a spiritual counterpart assigned to it in the "higher" world. This is what Bereshit Rabbah 10,7 means when it says that every herb has its own מזל in Heaven. This מזל instructs the herb to grow.

שדך לא תזרע כלאים...בהמתך לא תרביע כלאים . The reason for this string of forbidden mixtures (19,19) is that the Creator in His wisdom saw fit to separate certain species; the account of their creation repeatedly underlines that they were created למינהו, each according to its kind, even the lowly grass (Genesis 1,12 et al). It is incumbent upon us not to upset G–d's order in the universe. We have explained that every blade of grass has a Mazal which supervises and encourages its development.

This refers to the Midrash, according to which it was originally intended that the earth would produce "the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind" (Genesis 1:11), such that the tree itself should have been edible as fruit, but the earth "willfully" misbehaved, creating trees "yielding fruit" (Genesis 1:12), on which only the fruit was edible, rather than the tree. Thus the earth's sin preceded human's sin, and the earth was punished together with the humans when they were banished from the garden: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake... Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee" (Genesis 3:17 - 18).

Rav Assi in the gemara (Hulin 60) cited by Rashi, resolves the contradiction between this verse and Bereshit 1:12 "And the earth gave forth vegetation" by saying that the vegetation was created on the third day but waited below the surface of the earth until man was created and prayed for rain. He learns from this that God yearns for the prayers of the righteous. The gemara continues with the story of Rabbi Hanina Bar-Papa who planted his garden with all kinds of seeds but nothing grew. Then he prayed for mercy and the rains came and the seeds grew, proving the statement of Rav Assi. According to this gemara, vegetation and fruits appeared on the earth only on the sixth day, after man sinned, was banished from Gan Eden, began to work the land and prayed for rain. Rav Assi's statement, attributing special qualities to the prayers of the righteous for sustenance, seems to be disputed by Medrash Rabbah (Vayikra 31) which says the prayers of all men are accepted by God equally in matters of livelihood and only in other cases of misfortune, God forbid, are the prayers of the righteous more effective. The medrash cites the examples of Sarah, Rivka, and Rachel whom God made barren so that their righteous husbands would pray for them. The answer is that Rav Assi's statement relates to a special case of livelihood, one in which sustenance is provided by a miraculous change in nature. The story of Rabbi Hanina Bar-Papa must be understood to refer to a situation in which all the other gardens grew normally and only Rabbi Hanina's did not, against the laws of nature, until he prayed. Rav Assi applied this lesson to our verse as well, since God Himself created the vegetation so it certainly should have grown. God changed nature so the vegetation would not grow because He yearned to hear the prayers of the righteous. All this is the opinion of Rav Assi, but that is not the plain meaning of the verse. The Ramban writes that all the vegetation appeared on the earth on the third day, but did not begin to produce new plants until man was created and began to pray. One may add also that the vegetation was created on the third day in its full height and beauty, and only after man prayed did it begin to grow gradually larger.

וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ Va’yanunu:“And oppressed us.” One should know that the actions of Pharaoh and the Egyptians were planned with great shrewdness. God’s words to Abraham in the Covenant of the Pieces were not ignored , “And they shall be enslaved and oppressed.” (Gen. 15:13) Therefore they began to fulfill God’s word by placing heavy taxes and tributes upon them so that they would become impoverished. The possessions of the entire nation were reduced, similar to what the sages stated, “Like a lily among thorns…” (Song 2:2) “Just as a lily, when it is situated among the thorns, a north wind blows and tilts it and the thorn pierces it, a south wind blows and tilts it and a thorn pierces it, a west wind blows and tilts it and a thorn pierces it, and so with the four directions…” ( See Vayikra Rabbah 23:4 and Song of Songs 2:2 for two variations on this Midrash. It strikes me, that Rabbi Foa was quoting these texts from memory both here and elsewhere in the commentary and so he changes the actual version of the Midrash) So, it was with the people of Israel; they made their homes subjugated among the nations. These ones said to them, “Give us taxes (פִּיסִּים)!” ([distributions, cmp. Lat. tributum,] taxes, esp. pissim, pissin, name of a Roman tax laid on the community and distributed by the latter according to assessments, Jastrow.) and these ones said to them, “Give us your appointed service (זימון)!” and these ones said to them, “Give us your tribute!” and these ones said, “Give us your head tax.” (גִּלְגּוּלֵ). Thus, they were like a lily among the thorns. Similarly, when they rented them houses they charged them ten times the amount compared to what they would charge gentiles. They did the same with anything they sold them. (Akh) “They neither know nor understand, they go about in darkness,” (Ps. 82:5) God said, first, “They shall enslave them,” and afterwards, “They shall oppress them.” (Gen. 15:13) (Because they did it the other way around - first oppressing and then enslaving) the Egyptians never succeeded. They did just the opposite. (Instead of enslaving and oppressing the Israelites as is stated in Genesis 15:13, first Egyptians oppressed them and then they enslaved them.) The more they oppressed them, “the more the Israelites increased and spread out.” In other words the more they oppressed Israel the more the Egyptians enriched the Israelites.” The word yifrotz יִפְרֹ֑ץ comes from the verse, “the man grew exceedingly prosperous פְרֹ֥ץ הָאִ֖ישׁ,” (Gen. 30:43) which is said about Jacob. The Egyptians then saw that their decrees did not have an effect and their actions turned against Egypt. The wealth that they took from the Israelites actually destroyed the wealth of the Egyptians, as is written, “the more they increased and spread out,” (Gen. 1:12) this is to be interpreted, “The more the Israelites’s wealth increased and the more the possessions of the Egyptians were lost,” based on the verse,פָּרַ֖צְתָּ עָלֶ֣יךָ פָּ֑רֶץ “What a breach you have made for yourself!” (Gen. 38:29) This was especially true for Pharaoh who had the intention of building a treasury, and it turned into garrison cities עָרֵ֤י מִסְכְּנוֹת֙ (Some translate the expression as store cities. Here Rabbi Foa plays on the connection between miskenot, מִסְכְּנוֹת֙ and sakanah, which means danger.) which became a danger to the Egyptians. As a result, “the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites,” (Ex. 1:12) that is, the loss of their wealth caused the Egyptians pain that was like thorns in one’s flesh. Therefore, the Egyptians took counsel and decided to leave their wealth and only to enslave them. As it is written, “The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed slavery upon the Israelites and they made their lives bitter with hard labor…” (Ex. 1:13-14) From this point forward, the Egyptians only imposed hard labor and slavery are mentioned. It also says, “The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out… their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God.” (Ex.2:23) And if you say, “, “I have marked well the oppression עֳנִ֥י of My people in Egypt…” (Ex. 3:7), ( He just said that “Oppression” wasn’t mentioned once they enslaved him and yet here we do find mention of the oppression brought upon the Israelites.) I have already answered this question in Goren Arnon: two explanations of the word עֳנִ֥י are offered. One is imposed upon them. עֳנִ֥י is an allusion to exile besides the exile experienced in Egypt, as God said, “I will be what I will be,” (Ex. 3:14) which the sages explained as, “I will be with them in this exile and I will be with them in other exiles.” See what I wrote there at length. And even if it was their intention to do this evil to Israel by oppressing them, they were not able to, “oppressed us,” since the Holy One combines thought with action…and even more so when the thoughts involve action. (I am uncertain about the last section of this passage. Possibly, Rabbi Foa is saying that thoughts of oppression are the same as actual oppression because they lead to action, and therefore the Egyptians were punished for their “thoughts.”)

It is a well known fact that the spoken word possesses the power to achieve either positive or negative results. Speech is to man what fruit is to a tree. If we were not able to verbalize our thoughts we would not be human anymore than a tree which does not bear fruit does truly perform the function for which trees have been created. [Compare Rashi on the earth failing to fully respond to G’d’s command to produce trees which had both edible trunks and edible fruit Genesis 1,12. Ed.] When the Torah wrote (Genesis 2,1) “man became a living creature,” it meant to inform us that the essential part of man was its נפש חיה, its life-force, i.e. its ability to communicate its thoughts by means of speech. This is why Onkelos translates this expression as לרוח ממללא, “a talking spirit.” We have examples of speech being considered as “a fruit, i.e. as a product “ in Isaiah 57,19: בורא ניב שפתים “who creates the fruit of the lips.” Speech is the product of one’s lips. If Isaiah attributed the fruit of the lips to something G’d had “created,” this is due to the fact that speech is derived, distilled, from the abstract power of the human brain. Man’s נפש life-force, is different from that of the animals which do not possess this power of speech. This advantage man possesses over the animals is expressed in Job 35,11 in these words: “who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, makes us wiser than the birds of the sky.”

ונסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד, “and a drink-offering of one quarter hin wine for the one sheep.” Rabbeinu Chananel writes that as soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation the deputy High Priest would wave the flag-like cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. A the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the assembled people would bow down and after every section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the burnt-offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid 7,3). The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1 as that psalm dealt with aspects of the creation of the universe, recalling that everything had been void and empty before. The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד to commemorate the directive “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse 4 of that psalm the separation between different levels of holiness is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the Azarah, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah speaks of separation between upper and lower waters (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse 4 of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible (Genesis 1,9). This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they sat in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah (G’d) also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day i.e. psalm 94, which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to the people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81 which amongst other matters deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea-monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21). On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendor. It was the day that man, the most perfect of the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even nature, i.e. was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on the different days of the week. Thus far Rabbeinu Chananel.

נסך רביעית ההין יין לכבש האחד. As soon as the priest had bowed down in order to offer the libation, the deputy High Priest would wave the flag cloth to signal to the Levites to begin to chant their hymns. At the time of the Mishnah, a certain ben Arza would then strike the cymbal as a further signal and the Levites would commence reciting their hymns. All the people assembled would bow down, and after each section the tekiah blast of the shofar would be blown and the trumpets would be blown until the end of the offering of the olah, the burnt offering. At the end of that procedure the King and all those present with him would prostrate themselves (Chronicles II 29,28-40; compare also Tamid, 7,3.) The Levites would follow this procedure every day, varying the hymn they would sing. On Sundays they would recite Psalm 24,1, seeing that this psalm deals with aspects of the creation of the universe. It recalls that everything had been void and empty before that “day.” The psalm concludes with the words ויבא מלך הכבוד, to commemorate the directive: “let there be light.” The attribute כבוד also known as Shechinah, is a great light. On Mondays the Levites chanted psalm 48. In verse four of that psalm the separation between different levels of sanctity is alluded to. In the Holy Temple there were different levels of sanctity such as the עזרה, vestibule, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. On the second day of creation the Torah describes the separation between the “upper” and “lower” waters. (Genesis 1,6). These various levels of sanctity are referred to in verse four of our psalm by the word ארמנותיה, “its various citadels, palaces.” On Tuesdays the Levites would chant psalm 82 which features a verse (3) speaking about judging the poor, etc. This corresponds to the directive that all the waters in the terrestrial world were to concentrate in one area so that the dry land could become visible. (Genesis 1,9) This was an allusion for the judges to congregate when they would sit in judgment and to pronounce judgment for each individual supplicant. On that day the Torah also directed that the earth should produce trees, etc., each according to its own kind (Genesis 1,12), an allusion to the individuality, which is to be preserved on earth. When we read in that psalm that alas, man had to die, unlike the angels, the reference is to the sin committed in that garden in which all these beautiful trees had grown. This is why the psalm recited by the Levites on the fourth day, i.e. psalm 94 which commences with the reminder that G’d does take revenge on those who hate Him, is appropriate for Wednesday, the day the sun and the moon were placed in orbit. The psalmist refers to people worshipping sun and moon. On Thursdays the Levites used to chant psalm 81, which, amongst other matters, deals with the Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh was compared to a sea monster, תנין, and on that day the great sea-monsters had been created (Genesis 1,21) ; On Fridays the Levites chanted psalm 93 describing how even G’d robed Himself in splendour. It was the day that man, the most accomplished of all the creatures was created, a creature combining within himself some divine attributes (created in the image of G’d). He had been assigned dominion over the animals and even over nature, i.e. he was liable to similarly regard himself as sovereign in his domain on earth. Chanting that psalm then was in keeping with the significance of the day. On the Sabbath the Levites chanted psalm 92, a hymn in which the righteous are described as firmly planted in the House of the Lord, a reference to the Holy Temple. It is entirely possible that there are still more allusions in these various psalms chanted by the Levites on different days of the week.

And zenim. This means: and minim (varieties): the Targum renders le-minehu (=of its kind; Gen 1:12)—li-znohi.

AND G-D SAID: ‘LET THE EARTH PUT FORTH GRASS.’ He decreed that there be among the products of the earth a force which grows and bears seed so that the species should exist forever. It is possible that the name “earth” mentioned in the first verse already contains a hint that a force which causes things to grow should spring up from the earth, and it was from this force that the foundations of all vegetations according to their kinds emanated. From them sprang the grass and trees in the garden of Eden, and from them came those in the world. This is what the Rabbis have said: (The source is not definite. See Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 3.) “On the third day He created three creations: trees, grass, and the garden of Eden.” They have also said: (Bereshith Rabbah 10:7.) “There is not a single blade of grass below [that does not have] a constellation in heaven that smites it and says to it, ‘Grow.’ It is this which Scripture says, Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish ‘mishtaro’ (the dominion thereof) in the earth? (Job 38:33.) — [mishtaro being derived from the root] shoter (executive officer).” And He said that all this vegetation should be after its kind. This is the basis of the prohibition of sowing mixed kinds of seeds, (Leviticus 19:19.) since he who sows them works contrary to the power of the work of creation. I will yet explain this (Leviticus 19:19.) with the help of G-d. Now Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] wrote: “Deshe essev (grass, herb). Deshe does not mean the same as esev and esev does not mean the same as deshe, for by deshe is meant that which forms the covering of the ground when it is filled with vegetation, and it is not linguistically correct to say ‘this or that deshe.’ Each by itself is called this or that esev.” This interpretation of Rashi is not correct. For if it were so, the word deshe (Chullin 60a.) could have no plural, and yet we find the Sages saying, “If a person grafted together two kinds of deshaim, what should the law be?” (Chullin 60a.) And the Rabbi himself (Rashi. The title Harav (the Rabbi, the Master) without specification of the name is used by Ramban only with reference to Rashi or Rambam. It is the highest mark of respect. Precedent for it is found in the Talmud where just the title Rabbi meant Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, redactor of the Mishnah, and the title Rav was a reference to Abba Arucha, founder of the Babylonian Academy of Sura.) mentions deshaim. (That is, when Rashi writes, “For the species of deshaim are different; each by itself called this or that esev.”) Rather, deshe is the young growing plant, and esev is the mature product which produces seeds. This is why Scripture says, ‘tadshei ha’aretz’ (let the earth put forth) ‘deshe’ (young plants), and it would not be correct usage to say ta’asiv [for the word esev applies to mature products which produce seeds]. And every young thing that grows from the earth is called deshe, even trees. Therefore tadshei ha’aretz in the verse extends also to the expression etz pri (the fruit-tree). [This interpretation is necessary] since He did not say, “Let the earth put forth deshe esev and let it bring forth the fruit-tree.” The word deshe thus has the same meaning as tz’michah (growing). Similarly we find: For the pasture of the wilderness ‘dash’u’ (do spring), for the tree beareth its fruit. (Joel 2:22.) I wonder why Scripture did not mention the creation of fruitless trees, and how is it that He commanded only concerning fruit-trees? Perhaps this is what induced our Rabbis to say, (Bereshith Rabbah 5:9.) “Even the presently barren trees at first bore fruit.” If so, we must say that since the imprecation [which was visited upon Adam for his sin] — Cursed be the ground for thy sake (Genesis 3:17.) — barren trees came into existence. But it is possible that the explanation of the verse before us is as follows: “Let the earth bring forth growing things, and herbs which yield seed and trees which bear fruit.” Thus He decreed at first the creation of barren herbs and barren trees in general, and then He specified herbs which yield seed and trees which bear fruit. From what He said later on — bearing fruit… wherein is the seed thereof — we may derive that all trees were to grow from their seed although it is the custom with some trees to be propagated by planting a branch.

§ Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord rejoice in His works” (Psalms 104:31). This verse was stated by the minister of the world, i.e., the angel charged with overseeing the world. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind” (Genesis 1:11), the grasses drew an a fortiori inference with regard to themselves.

Immediately, every kind of grass emerged after its kind, as it is stated: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind” (Genesis 1:12). The minister of the world began to speak and said: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord rejoice in His works,” who do His will even when not explicitly instructed.

§ Rav Asi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “And the earth brought forth grass” (Genesis 1:12), on the third day of the week of Creation. And it is also written: “No shrub of the field was yet in the earth” (Genesis 2:5), on Shabbat eve, the sixth day of Creation, immediately before Adam was created. Rav Asi explains: This teaches that the grasses emerged on the third day and stood at the opening of the ground, but they did not grow until Adam, the first man, came and prayed for mercy upon them, and rain came, and they sprouted. And this is meant to teach you that the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous.

Rebbi Jeremiah said, Cahana asked R. Simeon ben Laqish (The abbreviation ריש לקיש is Babylonian. The entire paragraph has a parallel in Gen.rabba 7(6); it is mentioned in Babli Baba Qama 55a.) : What is the rule for someone who mates sea animals (In this version, one speaks about aquatic mammals who do copulate.) ? He said to him, it is written about them (Gen. 1:21): “By their kinds (As explained in the next version, “by their kinds” is written to forbid cross-mating.) .” Rebbi Aḥa did not say so, but Rebbi Aḥa used to say in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish, wherever “by their kinds” is written, kilaim applies to it. Rebbi Cahana objected, it is written about the animals of the sea (In Gen.rabba, one reads “fish.” The verse speaks of all sea creatures, including fish, sea reptiles, and sea mammals. It is difficult to see how copulation could apply to fish.) “by their kinds;” kilaim should apply to them! Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, here did Cahana spread his net over Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish and caught him (Since R. Simeon had no answer to his objection.) . Rebbi Jonah said, I can explain it, because of one who leads (Mishnah Kilaim 8:2 states that any two kinds of animals that are kilaim with one another may not be driven or led when harnessed together and may not be used for plowing together.) . He brings a string and binds it to the gills of a white fish (Greek λεῦκος, name of a fish; cf. also λευκός “white”.) and a green fish; they rub one another and spawn (Hence, while copulation is a notion not applicable to fish, any actions to induce cross-breeding are still forbidden. (The Babli, Baba Qama55a, does not consider the crossing of fish species, only that of marine mammals.)) .

It was stated in the name of Rebbi Eleazar (Tosephta Avodah Zarah 8:8.) : “The Gentile may sow and wear kilaim, but he may not mate his animals as kilaim or graft his tree kilaim.” Why? Because about these, it is written “by their kinds.” But is it not also written for grasses “by their kinds? (Why may one graft grasses; they are never mentioned in the Mishnah.) ” It is not written for the commandment, only at the realization. If this is so, why was Earth cursed (From here on, an expanded version is in Gen.rabba 5(9).) ? Rebbi Judan bar Shalom said, because it transgressed the orders of the Holy One, praise to Him! (Gen. 1:11) “The earth should produce lawns, grasses producing seed,” but it produced only (Gen. 1:12) “lawns, grasses producing seed by their kinds. (As explained in Gen.rabba, the difference is about trees, for which Earth was commanded to produce “fruit trees” but bore “trees producing fruit.” In the opinion of R. Yudan bar Shalom, this is disobedience since the entire tree should have been edible, not only the fruit. In the opinion of R. Phineas, Earth produced more than it was commanded, since all trees, even those which today do not grow edible fruit, did produce edible fruit before Adam’s sin. In all cases, only the first words of the verse are quoted, as is customary in both Talmudim. The inference is from the other parts of the verses.) ” Rebbi Phineas said, it enjoyed the commandment and added shade trees. In the opinion of Rebbi Yudan bar Shalom, Earth was justly cursed. In the opinion of Rebbi Phineas, why was Earth cursed? Like a man who said: The breastnipples should be cursed that this one (A criminal; in that case, Adam.) suckled from. This follows Rebbi Nathan: Three stood in judgment and four went out cursed, (Gen. 3:17) “Earth is cursed because of you.”

Rabbi Yehoshua says: From where is it derived that the world was created in the month of Nisan? As it is stated: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree yielding fruit” (Genesis 1:12). Which is the month in which the earth is full of grass and the trees begin to bring forth fruit? You must say that this is Nisan. And further proof that the world was created in Nisan is that when the world was first created, the animals had to breed in order to fill the world, and the period beginning with Nisan is a time when cattle, and beasts, and birds mate with one another, as it is stated: “The flocks are clothed in the meadows, and the valleys are wrapped in grain; they shout for joy, they also sing” (Psalms 65:14).

When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth,

The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed of its kind, and trees bearing fruit which has in it seeds of its kind; and Elohim saw that it was good.

And the Earth produced vegetation and grasses that contain grain according to their species, and trees that produce fruit from what was planted according to their species; and Allah also knew that this was good.

And the earth produced grasses (and) herbage whose seed seedeth, and the tree making fruit after its kind. And the Lord saw that it was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. During these three days, evening and morning were mentioned, but there were no lights that would obligate the evening and morning. Because the setting of the sun is the evening and its rising is the morning, however, in these three days, evening and morning were mentioned not with regard to the light, but with regard to the celestial sphere, which turns and revolves, because every part of the firmament, when it rises, is its morning, and when it sets, it is its evening. But from the fourth day and onwards, when the luminaries were created, evening and morning were mentioned with regard to the light.

It was evening and it was morning, a third day.

Perhaps the most widely cited source with regard to Sabbath observance at the North Pole is a note authored by the nineteenth-century authority R. Israel Lipschutz and published in his classic commentary on the Mishnah, Tiferet Yisra'el, as an addendum to his commentary on the first chapter of Berakhot. Tiferet Yisra'el carefully distinguishes between places such as his own city of Danzig, as well as Copenhagen and Stockholm, in which there is always at least a brief period of dusk, and places further north in which "there is no night at all but only daylight during the months of June and July." He also expresses concern with regard to people who sail close to the North Pole in order to catch "whalefish" because in that locale there are a number of months during the summer in which there is only daylight. Tiferet Yisra'el does not cite Mor u-Kezi'ah but adopts a position that is remarkably similar to that of R. Jacob Emden in one salient aspect. As did his predecessor, Tiferet Yisra'el rules that each twenty-four hour period constitutes a day. In support of that conclusion he draws upon the fact that the sun can be observed as completing a full circle above the horizon each twenty-four hour period. However, his position is fundamentally different from that of Mor u-Kezi'ah in that Tiferet Yisra'el maintains that the day is determined objectively rather than individually by each traveler. Thus throughout the year Shabbat occurs at the North Pole the same day as it does on the rest of the globe and is objectively determined by the "revolutions" of the sun in the sky. In the polar regions the sun is observed as moving in a circular pattern and completes a full circuit in the overhead sky every twenty-four hours. Each of those twenty-four hour circuits, maintains Tiferet Yisra'el, represents a single day. (R. Kalman Kahana, Ha-Ish ve-Ḥazono (Tel Aviv, 5724), p. 100, quotes an unpublished section of the manuscript of Ḥazon Ish’s “Kuntres Yod-Ḥet Sha’ot” in which Ḥazon Ish similarly declares that, in the polar regions, the sun’s completion of a twenty-four hour circuit represents a full day and the seventh circuit is the Sabbath day. A similar opinion is also espoused by R. Yechiel Michal Tucatzinsky, Bein ha-Shemashot, p. 55, who cites that view as earlier expressed by R. Jehoseph Schwartz, Teshuvot Divrei Yosef (Jerusalem, 5621), no. 8. [See also Teshuvot Even Yekarah, no. 11, who also addresses the problem of the biblical reference to “days” prior to the creation of the sun and comments that the biblical “day” is to be defined as the length of time required for the earth to make a complete revolution on the axis, i.e., twenty-four hours.] However, neither Rabbi Tucatzinsky nor Ḥazon Ish offer a clue with regard to the point in the sky which, when traversed by the sun, marks the beginning and the end of Shabbat. See infra, note 13. R. David Spira, Teshuvot Bnei Ẓion, III, Kuntres Midat ha-Yom, sec. 21, states that, during the polar winter, days are demarcated by the circuit of the stars in the overhead sky. Teshuvot Divrei Yaẓiv, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, no. 108, sec. 11, suggests that the day’s beginning and end should be regarded as congruent with the beginning and end of the day in the Land of Israel. Cf., infra, note 15. R. Yechiel Michal Gold, Me’asef le-Khol ha-Maḥanot, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 18:25, finds what he terms “clear evidence” for the underlying assumption that the “day” may be defined in terms of the revolution of celestial bodies rather than by the appearance of the sun in the comments of Rabbenu Baḥya, Genesis 1:13. Rabbenu Baḥya questions the cogency of the verse that declares “and it was evening, and it was morning” with reference to the first three days of creation, i.e., before the creation of the sun. Rabbenu Baḥya explains that the reference is not to “the light” but to “the sphere in which it revolves for, with regard to every portion of the sky, when it ascends that is its morning and when it sinks [below the horizon] that is its evening.” See also Ramban, Commentary on the Bible, Genesis 1:5. However, although Rabbenu Baḥya’s comments may provide support for the notion that demarcation of successive days may be determined on the basis of the rising and setting of celestial bodies other than the sun, those comments have no bearing upon the question of whether completion of a 360 degree rotation in the overhead sky has a similar import. See, however, R. Eliezer Ashkenazi, Ma‘asei ha-Shem (Venice, 5343), Genesis 1:5, who asserts that the first day of creation was determined by circuitous movement of the heavens whose return to the point of creation marked the completion of a day. Ma‘asei ha-Shem expressly applies that concept to the polar area in declaring, “There is no doubt that even one [for whom] the pole is above his head is obligated to observe Shabbat on the seventh circuit even though there was no darkness there at all.”) However, Tiferet Yisra'el fails to identify a phenomenon that might serve to demarcate successive days during the polar night when the sun is entirely concealed. (In a note appended to Mo‘adim u-Zemanim, II, no. 155, R. Moshe Sternbuch opines that “the day changes at precisely the moment that the sun reaches its most distant point and begins to draw closer.” The “most distant point” to which Mo‘adim u-Zemanim refers is presumably the point most distant in the sky from the point at which the sun makes its first appearance at the beginning of the polar spring. Mo‘adim u-Zemanim declares that “night” in such areas is no more than a split second in duration. See also Teshuvot ve-Hanhagot, I, no. 315. See as well Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 18:25, s.v. ve-hineh mah she-katav mori, who also states that the Sabbath must be observed only for the amount of time that it takes the sun to complete a single circuit. It may be noted that at the North Pole the sun neither rises nor declines in the course of its daily circuit. Rather, the sun is observed as circling the horizon once each day in a constant orbit that is a bit higher over the horizon each day until it reaches a height of approximately 23.5° at the time of the summer solstice. However, as one proceeds some distance south of the Pole, the sun, although it does not descend below the horizon during that period, may nevertheless be observed during the course of its daily circuitous movement above the horizon. In those areas—and only in those areas—it might be contended that day and night begin and end when the sun is at its lowest point above the horizon. See R. Eliyahu Baruch Kepetsch, Koveẓ Bet Aharon ve-Yisra’el, Tishri-Ḥeshvan, 5757, p. 150 and cf., R. David Heber, “When Does One Pray When There Is No Day?” Kashrus Kurrents, Autumn, 2002, pp. 17f. Adopting a somewhat different position, R. Jehoseph Schwartz, Teshuvot Divrei Yosef (Jerusalem, 5622), no. 8 and idem, Divrei Yosef, Tevu’ot Shemesh (Jerusalem, 5603), Derekh Mevo ha-Shemesh, p. 61b, states that the point in the sky occupied by the sun at its first appearance in the polar region in the spring represents the beginning of each “day” and the point at which the sun is last seen before it sets in the fall represents the beginning of each “night.” Accordingly, “day” and “night” commence when the sun reaches those points in the sky during the course of each twenty-four hour circuit. Divrei Yosef, p. 62a, asserts that during the winter months a similar determination is made on the basis of the position of the “two stars of the Little Bear, [which are in the] vicinity of the star of the Pole (the North Star),” i.e., the position of their first sighting in the fall marks the beginning of the “night,” and “day” begins when those stars have moved 180 degrees across the sky. Divrei Yosef’s description of the astronomical phenomena during the polar winter is both imprecise and inadequate as a basis for resolution of the problem. Pherkad, a third magnitude star, and Kochab, a second magnitude star, are known as the “Guardians of the Pole” because they circle Polaris (the North Star). All three stars are part of Ursa Minor (the Little Bear). The first two stars of Ursa Minor to become visible are Kochab and Polaris (the North Star). Both are second magnitude stars. However, the first celestial bodies to become visible are the planets Venus and Jupiter. Those planets do not become clearly visible until close to the end of civil twilight, i.e., when the sun drops six degrees below the horizon. At the North Pole civil twilight does not end until October 8. The first star to become visible north of the celestial equator is the zero magnitude star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes and is followed closely by the slightly smaller star Vega in Lyra and then by Capella in Auriga. However, even the largest star is not visible to the naked eye until the sun has declined approximately nine degrees below the horizon. At the North Pole, the sun disappears a little after the time of the autumn equinox but does not reach a declension of nine degrees until October 16, a little more than three weeks later. During that intervening period neither the sun nor any star is visible. The same is true during the period immediately prior to the spring equinox when the sun is not visible but is less than nine degrees below the horizon. Thus, for more than six weeks each year neither the sun nor any star is visible. During those periods, days cannot be demarcated by means of the circular rotation of stars in the overhead sky. Even if Venus and Jupiter are used for this purpose, there are four weeks in the year during the polar twilight in which those planets are not visible. I am indebted to Mr. Joe Rao of the Hayden Planetarium for making this information available to me.)

Tiferet Yisra'el cites no evidence in support of his view. The phenomenon of the sun's circular movement over the horizon each day is certainly not a demonstration that each twenty-four hour period in which such a revolution takes place constitutes a halakhic day. Quite to the contrary, Scripture records "and it was evening, and it was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Read literally, the day is defined in terms of alternating periods of light and darkness, not in terms of a revolution of the earth upon its axis or of the circuitous movement of the overhead sun. How this might have occurred prior to the creation of the sun on the third day is a matter that has engaged the attention of numerous biblical commentators, most particularly, Rambam and Seforno, Genesis 1:5; Rabbenu Baḥya, Genesis 1:13; Rashbam, Genesis 1:4 and 1:14; R. Isaac Arama, Akeidat Yizḥak, sha'ar shlishi; and Malbim, Genesis 1:5.

Coming back to the opening statement of our chapter, we now have a better understanding of the argument of the sun and the moon. We do not merely regard this as a parable, but just like our sages, we conceive of the celestial bodies as equipped with intelligence of their own, since they are described as inhabiting the sphere called zevul. They did not tell G'd that they would refuse to function, but that if ben Amram is not vindicated the institution of prophecy would be undermined, i.e. a fundamental pillar of Torah would be missing. If there will be no Torah, the raison d'etre of the entire universe will disappear, the world would revert to tohu, to the anarchy that had preceded the six days of creation. (see details about the Torah/universe relationship in chapter twelve) G'd flinging arrows at the sun and moon, expresses His rejection of their argument that the action of a few fools like Korach and his assembly would be allowed to bring about the undoing of G'ds entire handiwork. Since sun and moon must have been well aware of the fact that the world had not come to an end in spite of millions of people having worshipped them, (instead of G'd) why would they suddenly be concerned about the consequences of the actions of a Korach! It had not seemed to bother them that by having become objects of worship without their withdrawing their services, they themselves had in fact undermined the Honour and Glory of their Master! The reason the universe had been kept going then was for the sake of the true believers. There may have been an additional reason for this dialogue reported by Rava. The sun and moon were indignant about the challenge to the prophecy of Moses and Joshua respectively. The sun, possessing light of its own, was jealous of the honour of Moses, since the latter's kind of prophecy was similarly perceived as an emanation. (His face emitted rays of light) The moon, being merely the source of reflected light, was jealous on behalf of Joshua, who likewise seemed to reflect the inspirations he had received. G'd was angry since He perceived that both sun and moon had failed to understand that in challenging the authority of Moses, Korach had in fact challenged the authority of G'd Himself. Since G'd did comply with the request of the sun and the moon, why was He so angry? The answer may be that G'd did not use celestial bodies to orchestrate the punishment of Korach, but He used the earth. This showed the sun and moon that they had been guilty of a serious error. The insurrection of Korach would normally have elicited visible protests both from below and from above. Due, however, to the attitude displayed by the celestial bodies, the latter were not fit to become the instruments of Korach's punishment, seeing they were not free from guilt themselves. Although we are still plagued with Korach "types," the reason no supernatural events occur to punish those types, is the one quoted by Rava, namely that G'd decreed for the sun and the moon to carry on business as usual. All the foregoing underlines how right our sages were when they taught in Avot 5,2, that G'ds patience is so great, that He waited for ten long generations before bringing on the deluge in retribution for man's corruption.

The story of Creation teaches that belief in fatalism is wrong. Since the Creator was free to create at that time, He will forever remain free to change His world and its laws whenever it pleases Him. (compare chapter 1 and chapter 15) Fear then is predicated on the assumption that what is dreaded need not necessarily happen, or need not necessarily fail to happen, since the ultimate decision is within the province of G'ds will and Power. We are therefore asked by the Torah not to relate to anything from a fatalistic point of view. We are asked to fear Him, just because He is able to either halt or precipitate the very events which we dread. Fear is the opposite of resignation then. If one were to assume that misconduct by man would inevitably result in retribution by G'd, then fear, which is the catalyst of repentance, would be replaced by resignation, and repentance would become almost impossible. (Chagigah 15, telling about the apostate Elisha ben Avuyah is a prime example of this approach). The latter had heard that the gates of repentance would be closed to him, and had therefore lost his incentive to do penitence, and to re-acquire the yir-ah expected of us. In his prayer, during the inauguration ceremonies of the temple, king Solomon used this very argument, lema-an yira-ucha, in order that they may fear You as long as they live on this earth." (Kings I 8.37-40) Concerning this "fear,"- which is identical with faith,- Rabbi Chaninah proclaims that whereas all is within the power of Heaven, imbuing someone with this faith is not within the power of Heaven, but is solely up to the believer himself. For this reason, Abraham was given credit for having believed in the promise that he would sire children. "He believed G'd, and He considered it an act of righteousness on Abraham's part." (Genesis 15,6) This faith could not have been supplied by G'd, but had to be an act of willpower on the part of Abraham himself. He was the first philosopher who found his way to this yir-ah/emunah, as is recorded of him after the akeydah, the binding of Isaac. (Genesis 22,12) "For now I know that you are G'd fearing." After all, this is the goal of all our striving, as Solomon proclaims at the end of his book Kohelet: "In conlusison, after all is said and done, fear the Lord, observe His commandments because this is the sum total of being a human being " There is a third variety of fear that is composed of an intelligent awareness of the fact that if one does not take adequate precautions against known dangers, disastrous consequences may result. This fear, while recognising the dangers of inaction or lack of preparedness, is nevertheless not due to a fatalistic outlook. It is therefore fear, not resignation. The intelligence involved stems from the recognition of a free G'd as the ultimate cause of events, events which He can control, but that man can influence directly. If a king threatens a subject with jail unless said subject carries out certain orders, such conduct is autocratic and deprives the subject of any meaningful choice. If, on the other hand, the king points out that strike action by the subject would result in his losing income, his family going hungry etc., this would not really be called putting the subject under duress. A person doing the right thing under such circumstances falls into the category of "who is clever? he who can foresee the consequences." (Tamid 32) The fear experienced by such individuals is based on an intelligent appraisal of the options open to them in the long run. When Moses realised that his killing of the Egyptian had been witnessed, (Exodus 2,14) he became afraid, not resigned, and took action to escape the consequences. When our sages in Avot 3,21, say "where there is no wisdom, there is no fear, and where there is no fear, there cannot be any wisdom," this is what they had in mind. He who is intellectually unaware of what the future may hold, cannot relate to it with fear. On the other hand, he who is insensitive to what the future may hold, is obviously devoid of wisdom. Fear of the type described, is fear of becoming the architect of one's own misfortune, seeing that the Torah tells us that we will be punished for our sins. Since no one is completely free from sin, no one should be completely free from this fear. Just as an invalid whose doctor prescribes abstention from certain foods to avoid harming his condition, will not consider himself under compulsion, so a Jew whose Torah forbids matters which would endanger his physical and spiritual survival cannot consider himself as observing Torah under duress. In this way we understand Moses' address to the people at the time of matan Torah, the giving of the Torah, (Exodus chapter twenty) when he said "do not be afraid; in order to test you did the Lord come; and in order that the fear of Him shall be upon you so that you will not sin." (verse 17). Although, at first glance these lines seem self contradictory, the fact is that they are exhortations not to relate to G'd with the wrong kind of fear. The result of the revelation was that Israel realised that it was possible to witness the glory of G'd and yet to remain physically alive. We were elevated from the purely instinctive, animalistic dread. Our concepts were raised to a level that afforded us an inkling of His grandeur, not like the beasts around us. This kind of fear fills one with a degree of joy, as David expresses it in Psalm 2,11, "serve the Lord in fear, rejoice even while trembling." With this thought one can also resolve the contradiction in Psalm 76,9 "from the Heavens you have heard judgment, the earth was afraid and calm." How can calmness be a product of fear or vice versa? As long as the earth had not heard that Israel had accepted the Torah, she had been concerned about her own future. Once she heard that Israel had spoken the words "We shall do and we shall listen," the earth became calm, knowing her own future was assured. In other words, joy is the product of the right kind of fear at the right place at the right time. Going back to our opening Midrash, we can appreciate now how the attainment for the kind of fear we have described was truly a minor accomplishment for Moses. The Torah has taught us this concept meanwhile in so many ways, that we can no longer claim that the attainment of such "fear" as Moses achieved without the help of the Torah, is really such an unattainable goal for the Jewish masses who enjoy the benefit of Torah and its teachings.

• Gen. 1:9-13

Torah (Genesis 1:9-13)

Another interpretation, “it was in the days of Amrafel” – Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The following exposition was brought with us in our hands when we came up from the Diaspora: (When the exiles of Israel returned to the land of Israel with Ezra from Babylon.) Wherever it is stated: “It was [vayhi] in the days,” it indicates trouble. (Vayhi is seen as a combination of the words vay and hi, both expressions of woe and misfortune.) “It was in the days of Amrafel” – what was the trouble there? “They waged war” (Genesis 14:2). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: There are five such instances. (For the other four instances, see: Isaiah 7:1; Jeremiah 1:3; Ruth 1:1; Esther 1:1.) This is analogous to a friend of a king who lived in a certain province, and for his sake the king took an interest in that province. Once some barbarians came to attack him, and they said: ‘Woe unto us, as the king will not show favor to the province as was his wont if they kill his friend.’ That is what is written: “They turned back, and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7) – Rabbi Aḥa said: They came only to fight against the eyeball [ein] of the world; (Abraham is called the eyeball of the world, because it was only for his sake that God took an interest in and looked out for the benefit of the people of the world.) they sought to blind the eye [ayin] that overcame the attribute of justice [mishpat] in the world. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rav Aḥa said: Hu is written. It is he [hu] who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace. When the barbarians came to attack him, everyone began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel.” “It was in the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). (Israel was under attack from all sides.) This is analogous to a king’s son, whose caretaker resolved to kill him. He said: ‘If I kill him, I will be liable to execution by the king. Instead, I will take away his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own.’ So, too, Aḥaz said: ‘If there are no kids, there will be no goats, and if there are no goats there will be no flock, and if there is no flock there will be no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there will be no world.’ (That is, the world will not be able to function in its conventional manner.) That is what Aḥaz thought to himself: ‘If there are no children [in school], there will be no students, if there are no students there will be no scholars, if there are no scholars there will be no elders, if there are no elders there will be no prophets, if there are no prophets the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence upon them [Israel]. (Consequently, he closed all the schools.) That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rabbi Ḥonya bar Rabbi Elazar said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he locked up [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: Isaiah said: ‘“I will hope for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no moment that was as grim as that time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But at that very time, I [Isaiah] hoped for Him, as it is written [immediately afterwards]: “For it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). (When God said that He would hide His face from Israel, He continued, that nevertheless the Torah would never be forgotten by them.) Of what use was it to him [Ahaz]? (Despite his best efforts, the Torah continued to be taught, as the Midrash goes on to explain.) [Of no use, as Isaiah declared:] “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord gave me, are to become signs and wonders in Israel”’ (Isaiah 8:18). Were they (The young men Isaiah was referring to.) his children? Were they not actually his students? However, we learn from here that they [his students] were as beloved to him as sons. When he [Aḥaz] locked up the synagogues and study halls, people began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥaz.” “It was in the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? [It was as Jeremiah prophesied:] “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to a king who sent a proclamation throughout the province. What did the residents of one province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. Thus it is stated: “It happened that as Yehudi would read three or four sections…” (Jeremiah 36:23) (It was the Book of Lamentations that was being read.) – this means three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse, “Its besiegers have become dominant” (Lamentations 1:5) – “He cut it up with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When everyone saw this, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay]’ – “it was [vayhi] in the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was in the days that the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) (A more literal translation would be, “in the days of the judging of the judges.”) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tax to the king. The prince sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do to him? They took him and beat him. They then said: ‘Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these events; what he sought to do to us, (Subdue us.) we did to him.’ So, too, in the days of the judging of the judges – when a person of Israel would engage in idol worship, and the judge sought to implement against him the attribute of strict justice, (And decree for him corporal punishment.) he would come and flog the judge. He said: ‘What he sought to do to me, I did to him.’ (“The judging of the judges” is interpreted to mean that the people committed acts of judgment and punishment against their judges.) They said: ‘Woe [vay] to the generation that judges its judges.’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). “It was in the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [Haman’s decree:] “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews]” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a certain vineyard, and three enemies rose up against it. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began cutting off the clusters, and the third began uprooting the vines. So too, Pharaoh [said]: “Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar [exiled] “the ḥarash and the masger, (These are two classes of Torah scholars (Gittin 88a).) one thousand” (Jeremiah 29:2) – Rabbi Berekhya said: One thousand ḥarash and one thousand masger; the Rabbis said: They were one thousand altogether. Haman sought to uproot the entire vineyard, as it is stated: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews…” (Esther 3:13). When everyone saw that it was so, they began crying out: ‘Woe [vay].’ That is what is written: “It was [vayhi] in the days of Aḥashverosh.” Rabbi Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers either to trouble or to joy; if the context is one of trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is one of joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and made a distinction: Everywhere that vayhi is stated, (Even when it is not connected with “in the days of.”) it alludes to trouble, and vehaya [alludes to] joy. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “And there was [vayhi] light”? (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as the world was not privileged to use that light. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He foresaw the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, He hid it away for the righteous in the future. That is what is written: “But the path of the righteous is like a dawning light, growing brighter until the day is established” (Proverbs 4:18). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day”? (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wear away, as it is stated: “For the heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth will wear away like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), “…a third day” (Genesis 1:13), “a fourth day” (Genesis 1:19), “a fifth day” (Genesis 1:23), “a sixth day”? (Genesis 1:31). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete [joy], as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires some act [to perfect it], e.g., mustard requires sweetening, wheat requires grinding, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph”? (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as that bear (Potifar’s wife.) then accosted him. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned”? (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not complete joy, as Nadav and Avihu died [that day]. They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle”? (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it was hidden away with the building of the Temple. (Moses’ Tabernacle was stored away forever when the permanent Temple was built.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua”? (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That was nevertheless not [complete] joy, as it became necessary for him to rend his garments. (Joshua 7:6.) They raised an objection to him: But is it not written: “It was [vayhi] when the king (David.) resided in his house, and the Lord had given him respite…”? (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: It was nevertheless not complete joy, as Natan then came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House…for My name” (I Kings 8:19). They said to him: We have said our [arguments], now you say yours. He said to them, (To prove his contention that vehaya always alludes to a joyous event.) is it not written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge…” (Zechariah 14:8). It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man will keep a calf of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be on that day that the Lord will continue…[to acquire the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, a great shofar will be sounded…” (Isaiah 27:13). They raised an objection to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That was nevertheless joyous, as on that day, Israel gained atonement for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel gained great atonement for their iniquities on the day that the Temple was destroyed, as it is stated: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, He will not continue to exile you again” (Lamentations 4:22).

“It was evening and it was morning, a third day” (Genesis 1:13). “It was evening and it was morning, a third [shelishi] day” – it was the day on which warriors were created, (The groundwork was laid for warriors to wage war. The earth was created on this day, and that includes iron.) as it says: “Warriors [shalishim] and nobles, all of them riding horses” (Ezekiel 23:23). When iron was created, the trees began trembling. But it said to them: ‘Why are you trembling? If no wood of yours enters me none of you will be harmed.’ (Without a wooden handle, the axe is useless against trees.)

(Gen. 6:4, cont.:) THESE WERE THE MIGHTY MEN THAT WERE OF OLD, THE MEN WITH A NAME, < i.e., > men whose names have been specified above (in Gen. 4:18): Mehujael, since the Holy One (i.e., El) blotted (mihah) their names from the world; Methushael (ibid.), since God (El) drove him out (nethasho). THE MEN WITH A NAME, (Tanh. Gen. 1:12.) because they were obstinate and rebellious against the Holy One. Thus it is stated (in Job 21:14): YET THEY SAY TO GOD: DEPART FROM US…. R. Isaac said: Why were they rebellious? Because they would sow one year and it would produce a harvest for forty years. R. Samuel bar Ammi said: Why were they rebellious? Because they were seeing children and children's children; yet they < themselves > were not dying. The Holy One said: From now on (according to Gen. 8:22) WHILE THERE ARE DAYS ON EARTH, < THERE SHALL BE NO CESSATION OF > SOWING AND HARVEST; i.e., they were begetting and burying. (Ibid., cont.:) COLD AND HEAT; i.e., < while > afflictions had not come upon them, from now on they would be afflicted by fire and snow. There is a story about a certain student of R. Aqiva (Tanh., Gen. 1:13; yMSh 4 at the end (55c); see Lam. R. 1:1 (16).) who was told in a dream: You are dying in < the month of > Adar, and you shall not see Nisan. That which you have sown you shall not reap. He came to R. Aqiva. He said to him: You will die in glory (addirut), you shall not come to the hands of temptation (nissayon), and that which you have begotten you shall not bury. The Holy One said: In this world, because the evil drive exists, afflictions < also > exist among the children of Adam; but in the world to come I am rooting them out from you. It is so stated (in Ezek. 36:26): I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM YOUR FLESH. I am also reviving your {ancestors} [wings]; for thus has Isaiah stated (in Is. 40:31): BUT THEY THAT WAIT FOR THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; [THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS AS EAGLES].

Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Ḥiyya say, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i: This midrash came up from the Diaspora in our possession. Wherever it is stated, “it was in the days,” it is nothing other than trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: They are five. “It was in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war, etc.” (Genesis 14:2). This is analogous to the friend of a king who entered a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. Barbarians came and confronted him. When they came and confronted him, everyone said: ‘Woe unto us, for the king will not attend to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the entire world. The Chaldeans came and confronted him. [People] said: ‘Woe unto us that the Holy One blessed be He will not attend to His world the way that He once did.’ That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: They sought to confront only the eyeball [galgal eino] of the world. (Abraham was as precious to the world as the eyeball is to a person. ) They sought to blind the eye [ayin] that confronted the attribute of justice in the world. (The name Ein Mishpat is interpreted as a reference to eye [ayin] and justice [mishpat]. ) “Which [hi] is Kadesh,” Rabbi Aḥa says: Hu (The word “which” is pronounced hi, but written hey-vav-aleph, such that it can be read hu, which literally means “he.” is written, [indicating that] it was he who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He, and descended into the fiery furnace. When the kings came to confront him, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai]; “it was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel the king of [Shinar].” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1). What trouble was there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west; [they devour Israel with an open mouth]” (Isaiah 9:11). This is analogous to a king who entrusted his son to a steward, but the steward hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will become liable to be executed by the king. Rather, I will withhold his wet nurse from him and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats, there is no flock, and if there is no flock, there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there is no world. So said Aḥaz: If there are no children, there are no students,17If there are no children at the beginning stages of their studies there will be no students at the intermediate level. and if there are no students, there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there is no Torah, if there is no Torah, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was his name called Aḥaz? Because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: You may derive it from this [verse]: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim as this time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). From that moment “I sought Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me [are to become signs and wonders in Israel]” (Isaiah 8:18).18This is stated by the prophet Isaiah. Despite the attempts of Aḥaz, Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. But were they his children? Were they not merely his students? Rather, it is derived from here that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not]” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to letters of a king that entered a province. In each and every province that his letters would reach, the residents of the province would stand on their feet, bare their heads, and read them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. But when they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, when Yehudi read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they saw this, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a vineyard and three enemies confronted him. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Every son who is born [you shall cast him into the Nile]” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “And the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:16).19This is a reference to the social elites, who were exiled in the exile of Yehoyakhin, eleven years before the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbi, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda says: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths, and the Rabbis say: Both together were one thousand. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: These are Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are the benefactors. The Rabbis say: These are the counselors. The wicked Haman began uprooting the vines. That is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel. He sought to purchase every foundation.20A literal translation of the Hebrew is: “He sought to purchase every egg,” meaning to control and extinguish all future potential before it could be developed. When everyone saw that Aḥashverosh was selling and Haman purchasing, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tribute to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did residents of the province do? They arose and hung him and appropriated it from him. They [then] said: ‘Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters, that we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us.’ So too, when one of the people of Israel would do something improper, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You demean your judges; as you live, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to withstand.’ What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Shimon bar Rav Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Wherever [the term] vayhi is stated, it refers to trouble or joy; if trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if joy, unparalleled joy. Rabbi Yishmael came and suggested a different distinction: Wherever vayhi is stated there is no joy; wherever vehaya is stated, there is no trouble. They raised an objection: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: With the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day a person could observe and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh and the actions of the generation of the Flood were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “The light is withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening [and it was morning, one day]” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to come to an end. That is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth [will be tattered like a garment]” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), [and] third, fourth, fifth, the sixth.21The same phrasing is used in the descriptions of the creation of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth days. See Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation require completion; wheat requires grinding, mustard requires sweetening, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, for as a result, that wicked woman confronted him. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day [Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [erecting the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on the day of the Temple’s construction, it was sequestered.22The Tabernacle was not permanent, and was hidden when the Temple was completed. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as Ya’ir, who was equivalent [in stature] to the majority of the Sanhedrin, was killed. That is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, approximately thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather approximately, or like, thirty-six; that is Ya’ir ben Menashe, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin. They raised an objection: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written there: “Saul was hostile to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him respite” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who will build [Me] a house” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.23We have stated our objections; now you state the proofs to your position. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep alive a calf of the herd [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water” (Psalms 1:3). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, [in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the flocks of sheep]” (Micah 5:7). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That, too, is not trouble, as on that day, Israel received retribution for its sins, as Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Naḥman said: Israel received great retribution on the day that the Temple was destroyed.24Israel was punished for its sins through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Were it not for that, the entire populace would have been killed as a result of their sins (Etz Yosef). That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, and He will not continue to exile you” (Lamentations 4:22).)

And the members of the non-priestly watch, who represented the entire community that week, would fast four days a week, from Monday until Thursday. And they would not fast on Shabbat eve, in deference to Shabbat, as they did not wish to start Shabbat while fasting. And they did not fast on Sunday, so as not to go from rest and delight immediately to exertion and fasting, and run the risk that they might die as a result of the abrupt change. Which portions of the Torah would the members of the non-priestly watch read on each day? On Sunday they would read the portions starting with: “In the beginning” and “Let there be a firmament” (Genesis 1:1–8). On Monday they would read: “Let there be a firmament” and “Let the waters be gathered” (Genesis 1:9–13). On Tuesday they would read: “Let the waters be gathered” and “Let there be lights” (Genesis 1:14–19). On Wednesday: “Let there be lights” and “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20–23). On Thursday: “Let the waters swarm” and “Let the earth bring forth” (Genesis 1:24–31). On Friday: “Let the earth bring forth” and “And the heaven and the earth were finished” (Genesis 2:1–3). A long passage, consisting of six verses or more, is read by two people, and a short passage is read by one, as one cannot read fewer than three verses from the Torah together. They read from the Torah in the morning prayer and in the additional prayer. In the afternoon prayer the members of the non-priestly watch enter the synagogue and read the daily portion by heart, just as one recites Shema every day. On Shabbat eve at the afternoon prayer, they would not enter the synagogue for the communal Torah readings, in deference to Shabbat.

AS YOU WERE CREATED FOR THIS PURPOSE. For the sake of this you came into the world, as per the verse “and there was evening, and there was morning, on the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31), which the Talmud expounds (Shabbat 88a): this teaches that G-d stipulated with Creation that should Israel not accept the Torah, the world will return to chaos. So it turns out that he has a tremendous responsibility and is not doing this as a favor—Rashi.

R. Huna said: For three readings in the Torah (i.e. when only three persons are called up to the reading of a section, viz. on a Monday or Thursday or at a Sabbath afternoon service.) not less than ten verses must be allotted. (Three verses for each of the first two and four for the third.) Hezekiah (A Rabbi of that name.) explained [the reason: (Why ten verses are required.) The number] corresponds to the Ten Commandments. But have we not learned in a Mishnah: (Ta‘an. IV, 3 (Sonc. ed., p. 137).) ‘On Sunday [the men of the ma‘amad read] In the beginning (Gen. 1, 1-4.) and Let there be a firmament’ (ibid. 5-8.) although they contain not more than eight verses? (How then could R. Huna rule that a minimum of ten verses was required?) R. Iddi said: Kahana and Ashë differ [on the method of procedure], (As how to make ten verses out of eight.) one holding that [the reader] goes back, and the other maintaining that he cuts. (This is explained in the continuation.) According to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he repeats two verses; (The second person repeats the last two of the three verses which the first had read. The two, together with the eight, make up the minimum of ten verses.) and according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, And there was evening and there was morning (The second part of each of verses 4 and 8 of Gen. 1.) is a verse on its own. (So that verses 4 and 8 represent two verses each, bringing the number to ten.) But have we not learned in [the same] Mishnah: ‘On Monday [the reading of the ma‘amad was] Let there be a firmament (Gen. 1, 6-8, three verses.) and Let the waters … be gathered together’? (ibid. 9-13, five verses.) Now, according to him who holds that ‘[the reader] goes back’, he goes back over two verses, but according to him who maintains that ‘he cuts’, even if he does so, there are not ten (Added by GRA, omitted by V, M and H.) verses! (There would only be nine, since And there was evening, etc., forms the whole of verse 13 and cannot be reckoned as two verses as in the case of verses 5 and 8.) R. Polippa b. R. Pariṭ raised an objection before R. Jonah, (To R. Huna’s ruling.) ‘Behold the section of Amalek!’ (Ex. 17, 8-16, read on Purim, which consists only of nine verses.) ‘This is different’, he replied, ‘since (So GRA, M and H. V reads: ‘he said, No, it is taught, it’.) it is the prescribed portion for the day’. (This reply could also have been given to the preceding objection, since in Gen. 1, 6-13, if only verse 8 is divided into two, there would be nine verses, as in the section of Amalek.) R. Eliezer b. R. Maḳom raised an objection: (To R. Huna’s ruling.) [It has been taught,] ‘He who reads the hafṭarah from the Prophet shall read not less than twenty-one verses’, (Meg. 23a (Sonc. ed., p. 140). From ‘but [if R. Huna’s ruling … to the last one]’ is added by GRA. V omits it but inserts in brackets: ‘It is permitted to skip in a Prophet but not in the Torah, because if [a reader] skipped even one verse by not reading it, and restored the scroll [to the ark] and recited ḳaddish, he must unroll it again, say the benedictions, and read that verse and the two verses which follow it’. This is a repetition of XI, 2, 6.) but [if R. Huna’s ruling] is valid, twenty-three verses should be required, ten for the first three, (In accordance with R. Huna’s ruling above that ‘for three readings … no less than ten verses must be allotted’.) ten for the second three, and three for the last one! (Since a minimum of three verses must be read for each person who is called up. No reply is given to the objection, but it is possible to provide the following explanation: Only when no more than three persons are called up is it necessary to allot ten verses, but when the number of persons is more than three, as, e.g., on the Sabbath when not less than seven persons must be called to the Torah, three verses for each person or twenty-one in all are sufficient.)

It became evening and it became morning, the third day.

And then it went from the nighttime to daylight. Day three.

And it was evening, and it was morning, the Third Day.

This is because “meorot (lights)” (Genesis 1:14) is missing a vav, which is the life-force of all things. Similarly, “Moshe kalot (finished)” (Numbers 7:1) is also missing a vav.

7. And through this right side he raises those who succumb to evil loves and fears. He raises them up to holy loves and fears, as in “Every soul will praise YaH (God)” (Psalms 150:6). This is because his right side removes the darkness from their eyes, and then their eyes see wonders, as in “Uncover my eyes, that I might see wonders” (Psalms 119:18). These wonders are the concept of Pesach, which is the right side, the concept of “I will show you wonders, like at the time you went out from Egypt” (Micah 7:15). And Pesach is Peh SaCh (a mouth that speaks), the concept of “The Torah of truth was in his mouth” (Malachi 2:6). It is considered as if he created the world, for it is written there “Let there be luminaries” (Genesis 1:14), and the darkness, which covered the deep, disappeared.

יהי מאורות, “let there be luminaries;” it is the style of the Holy Scriptures to refer even to phenomena that exist in multiples as if they existed as individuals, by using the singular mode [יהי instead of יהיו, Ed.] Examples are: ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים “there were men who were ritually unclean,” [where we would have expected the Torah to have written: ויהיו אנשים.] (Numbers 9,6) We should therefore understand the word יהי as referring to a creative act about to occur, and what follows as referring to the details, i.e. the answer to the question: “what was there to develop?” The answer is: “luminaries.” The term מאורות, reminds the reader that these luminaries were derivatives of the אור, light, created already on the first day. These derivatives were now divided into two separate light giving bodies, one larger than the other. They were named “sun,” and” moon,” respectively. As to the Torah adding: ואת הכוכבים, “and the stars,” this applies only to the execution of G-d’s directive, not to the directive itself. It is to teach us that these “stars” came into existence without a specific directive from the Creator, but as a result of fragments, sparks, resulting when G-d split the original luminary into sun and moon respectively.

מארת, the word is spelled defectively, the letter ו of the plural ending being absent. The reason it is spelled defective is that the stars were not meant to dispense light but were meant to guide us navigationally merely by being visible, and to help us tell time as they appeared at regular intervals.

ברקיע השמים, “in the part of the horizon that spans the atmosphere.” [like an umbrella. Ed.] It is positioned below the upper layers of heaven.

להבדיל בין היום ובין הלילה “to form a visible partition between day and night.” The sun separates day from the preceding night, whereas the moon separates what follows after the day that preceded it.

והיו לאותות, “they will serve as (backgrounds to) miracles; such as when their orbits were arrested temporarily at the command of Joshua (Joshua 24,17) when he reminded the people of that. On an individual basis, G-d performed such a miracle for King Chizkiyahu to confirm that he had been granted an additional 15 years of life. (Kings II 20,911) A different way of understanding these words: the constellation of the stars will serve astrologers as indications when foretelling certain events in the future.

ולמועדים, and to determine certain calendar events which are tied to specific dates by the Torah, such as observance of the new moon, the fifteenth of Nissan as the day when the first day of Passover is to be observes, the sixth of Sivan for the observance of the festival commemorating the revelation and the giving of the Torah, etc. David confirmed this as one of the meanings of this term when he said in Psalms 104,19: עשה ירח למועדים שמש ידע מבואו, “He made the moon to mark the seasons, the sun knows when to set.”

To separate: According to their movement, a separation was made between the day and the night. And there is also the dawn and the dusk, which are what separates the two ends [of the day.] And this is [what is meant by] 'between, and between.' (And see the adjacent verse, Genesis 1:17.)

And they will be for signs: We explained, in the Book of Exodus 7:9 and in several places, that its meaning is that it [allows one to] time a natural [process]. And this is impossible without luminaries.

And for appointed times: The change of seasons; cold and heat and so forth, all of which occurs through the luminaries.

And for days and years: To know the change from one day to another, and so [too] with years; all of which is only through the movement of the luminaries.

AND GOD SAID. Yehi (let there be) is short for yiheyeh. Due to the frequency with which this term is used, it is employed before both the singular and the plural. (Luminaries is a plural, so Scripture should have used the plural yiheyu, rather than the singular yehi.) It is also employed in Scripture with the feminine as in, If there be a damsel (yiheyeh) that is a virgin (Deut. 22:23). (Since damsel is a feminine, the verb tiheyeh, rather than yiheyeh (which is masculine), should have been used. I.E. points out that there is a tendency toward uniformity when a word is employed frequently.)

FOR SIGNS AND FOR SEASONS. For signs, i.e., for minutes, and for seasons, i.e., for hours. For signs may also be interpreted as referring to the eclipse of the moon and the sun and also to shooting stars. The last-mentioned phenomena are to be included among the signs produced by the lights of the firmament because they are caused by the stars. This meaning of signs is like signs in And be not dismayed at the signs (omens) of heaven (Jer. 10:2). Anyone who explains the lamed of le-otot (for signs) as superfluous is mistaken. (I.E.’s point is that the lamed is a preposition.)

AND LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS. A prominent Spanish sage (Ibn Janah (Krinsky).) stated that the firmament is divided into eight parts, seven for the seven spheres of the seven stars and one for the constellations. (The eighth sphere is a sphere of the constellations. The seven “planets” are the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Each “planet” has its own sphere (Krinsky). Hence the firmament consists of eight parts. Heaven consists of the seven planets and the constellations. Thus according to the Spanish sage the firmament and heaven are identical.) However, this cannot be so because we know there is no body above the sphere of the constellations. Behold, Scripture explicitly states, And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, which clearly indicates that there is a heaven above the firmament. The heaven of heavens (Nehemiah 9:6) and To Him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old (kedem) (Ps. 68:34) are similar. (The term heaven of heavens refers to the heaven above the firmament. It is I.E.’s belief that the planets and constellations are above the firmament (see note 40).) Note that the word kedem in the verse quoted above does not mean east but ancient. (Kedem may also mean east, but not here. If the verse alluded to the eastern sky it could not refer to the heaven above the firmament (the ancient heaven) which is invisible.) Indeed, Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, may the righteous be remembered for a blessing, was afraid to comment on this verse. (The word kedem means old. It implies that they are older than the earth and may even be eternal. Hence Saadiah refrains from commenting on this verse. See Krinsky.) It appears to me that the sun, the moon and other luminaries are called lights in the firmament because they are visible there. (According to I.E. the luminaries are not in the firmament. They are above it. Nevertheless, Scripture states that God placed them in the firmament because they shine through the firmament and thus appear to be there.)

Luminaries (meorot): is [written in its] incomplete spelling [meaning that it lacks the letter vav], since only the sun was created to give light. And the moon was only created so that [people] would not worship the sun, [which might have been the case] had it been alone.

"Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens:" Luminaries (meorot) is written in [its] incomplete spelling [meaning that it lacks the letter vav]. Rashi explains that [hence] this [can be read also] as the word, curses (ma'arot), etc. I say that the following is the reason a word that indicates curse is mentioned specifically with the luminaries: since the luminaries are the cause of time and all things that come under time involve pain. As the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Megillah 10b), "Every place where it is stated, 'and it was' is nothing but a place of pain" and [the Talmud] concludes that it is only in a place where it is stated "and it was in the days of" that it is an expression of pain; and the reason for this matter is because any thing that is dependent on days - meaning, on time - involves pain, but all of the higher existences that are above time, and time does not rule over them, they do not involve any pain. Therefore, it is stated, "Let there be luminaries," in [its] incomplete spelling, because all things that are under the sun involve curses and pain, since time wears everything out. And that which variants of the word, luminary (me'ohr), appear in this section five time and, so [too] in the first section, five variants of the word, light (ohr), agrees with the words of the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5), which says, "'And the Lord said, "let there be light,"' these are the actions of the righteous, etc.," and wants to explain the five times [that] light [is mentioned] corresponds to the five books of the Torah, [the study and practice of] which are the actions of the righteous.

And God said, "let there be luminaries:" The reason for it saying, "let there be," in the singular form, about two [luminaries] is to hint with this that [only] one of them would shine during the day, and for this reason it did not use the plural form. And through God speaking in this way, it allowed for the thing that happened to result in the moon getting reduced - as they, of blessed memory, stated (Chullin 60b) - since if God had said at the beginning of His words, "let [them] be," the matter would have stood like that [with their size being equal] perforce, because the word of Our God stands forever.

It also appears, in its making a point of stating, "to separate between the day and between the night," [to be saying that] if the luminaries were equal and one of them serves during the day and one serves during the night, in what way could night be distinguishable from day, since night 'shines like the day?'

Indeed, the verse [also] wants [to teach] that - given that He preceded on the first day to create the light and you will find that it states [the word] light five times in the first section; and the Rabbis, of blessed memory, hinted (Bereishit Rabbah 3:6) that five lights were created and God separated them for His inheritance in the future, for the righteous ones, and then - now on the fourth day, He emanated from the lights a portion sufficient for the world and suspended it in the firmament of the skies; and that is [why] it states, let there be luminaries (meohrot, which can also be understood as 'from the lights'), the explanation of which is that it be one portion from the lights that were created on the first day. And He embedded that they should not be fixed but should rotate, such that through their rotation, night and day be distinguishable, and this He did as a sign for the recognition of the holy days, as it states it, "for signs and for appointed times etc. And when the luminary was emanated, two [different] parts were emanated and both of them were created to serve the purposes of day. And this is why you will find (Chullin 60b) that the moon claimed that it it impossible for two kings to use one crown, the explanation [of the 'one crown'] is at one time, and this is how it is brought in the words of our Rabbis; because if the boundary of the moon had been the night and that of the sun, the day, there is not [here] one crown for both of them, but [rather] each one has a boundary of its own. And so you will find that it states, "and they will be for luminaries in the firmament of the skies to shine on the earth," without [mention] of the setting of a time.

...... light do we see light.” Anyone who does not deserve to continue his physical life in that world and deserves to receive his retribution in the physical world of the bodies will resume physical life at the time of the resurrection, a life which is due to the domain we call אור החיים. To teach us that this is so we have been told in Daniel 12,2 ורבים מישיני אדמת-עפר יקיצו, אלה לחיי עולם ואלה לחרפות לדראון עולם; “many who have been asleep in the dust will awaken, some to eternal life others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence.” Daniel speaks about “many” who will awaken; they will not all awake. Those who deserve a life in the spiritual regions will not undergo the metamorphosis of thousands of years in a grave but their souls will be transferred to eternal life immediately. Another name of this עולם החיים is נצח. This is what is meant by Psalms 16,11 תודיעני אורח חיים שובע שמחות את פניך נעימות בימינך נצח, “You will teach me the path of life. In Your presence is perfect joy; delights are ever in Your right hand.” You have learned that the hidden life of pre-universe times and the lofty regions which G’d built when He created the luminaries are the pleasures of the souls who experience the teachings of the Torah. In due course, they will again merit to enjoy these pleasures with which they had been familiar [prior to sharing life on earth inside, a body. Ed.] The former period is described as ימים, the latter as שנים. This is hinted at in our verse here (Genesis 1,14) when the Torah speaks of לימים ושנים. It is an allusion to the gradual ascent from one spiritual region to an even higher spiritual region. This whole subject becomes even clearer when the Torah described how these commandments were translated into reality. We read (1,16) ויעש אלוקים את שני המאורות הגדולים,”G’d made the two large luminaries;” this is a reference to the spiritual luminaries. When the verse continues with את המאור הגדול “the great luminary;” and when it continues further ואת המאור הקטן, “and the small luminary,” this is a reference to the physical luminaries i.e. the sun and the moon.

Looking at the plain meaning of our verses: The reason why one of the two luminaries is described as (relatively ) small is because whenever there are two phenomena both described as “great or large,” it is usual that one of the two is larger than the other. If you will examine the text of our paragraph in the Torah carefully, you will find that it explains four separate matters. 1) These luminaries are always found in the same positions which have been assigned to them initially, i.e. they are stationary and do not move. [Here too the astronomy of our author is based on outdated concepts. The luminaries are deemed captive on the periphery of the planet and are assumed to move with it automatically. The only part of this chapter which is relevant to our times is that the moon does not have light of its own and that only the sun has been assigned by G’d to emit light. I see no point in translating discarded concepts even if the author thought he could use scripture to support the theories current in his time. Ed.]

ויאמר אלוקים יהי מארות ברקיע השמים, we do not find many occasions when the verb היה occurs within strictly defined grammatical parameters in accordance with the rules applying to differentiating between singular and plural, or the rules applying to distinguishing between masculine and feminine subjects. As a result, the Torah here writes יהי in the singular mode, although G’d gave a directive involving a whole multitude of new phenomena that were to appear in the sky. Compare also Deut 22,23 כי יהיה נערה בתולה, where the Torah employs the masculine pronoun when referring to a young girl, still a virgin. These luminaries were created during the first “day” together with the planets (fixed stars) as we explained on verse 3; however, their light was not transmitted to earth seeing there had not been an atmosphere at yet. [our astronauts only discovered that there is utter darkness beyond the stratosphere when they took the first space flight beyond these regions. Ed.] Besides, the earth was not yet sufficiently dry. Once it had dried sufficiently, in accordance with G’d’s will, it commenced complying with G’d’s directive on the morning of the third “day” to produce herbs, etc. By the fourth “day” it had become much stronger, firmer, so that when G’d gave a directive to the luminaries, these were able to respond in accordance with G’d’s directive. As a result the plants produced by the earth would contain seeds, the trees would bear fruit, etc. This is the meaning of the statement by our sages in Rosh Hashanah 11 that the entire work of creation was created in their full potential, fully mature, i.e. on the fourth day the vegetation, including herbs and trees had attained its full growth. All the creatures created subsequently also were created in their full size, maturity, as appropriate to each separate species. When the Talmud there adds the words בדעתן בצביונן נבראו, this means that the creatures equipped with intelligence possessed it from the moment they were created, whereas those not meant to possess intelligence would not develop it at a later stage either. Man was able to recognise the nature and essence of each creature as well as its function in the universe. This is what Solomon had in mind when he said in Kohelet 3,11 את הכל עשה יפה בעתו, “He brought everything to pass precisely at its time.” The reason the herbs, etc. attained their ultimate size, etc. on the fourth “day,” was because they required the input of the celestial bodies for this, something that had not been present on the third “day.” This is what the sages (Chagigah 12) referred to when they said הן הן המאורות שנבראו ביום ראשון אלא שלא תלאן עד יום רביעי, “these (the ones mentioned on the fourth ‘day’) are the ones which had been created on the first ‘day,’ but He had not placed them in orbit until the fourth ‘day.’” The word תלה means to hang something from the top down. ברקיע השמים, the atmosphere; this is also the meaning of the word when we read על פני רקיע השמים. (verse 20) This region is called רקיע, because, as we explained on verse 8, it is something stretched taut over a large expanse of space. G’d attached it to the heaven, i.e. to the various planets, seeing that it is secondary in importance to them, receiving its light from them.

להבדיל בין היום ובין הלילה, to create a separation between the day and the night. Up until this point there was either complete light (day) or complete darkness (night). From now on there would be some light at night. The large luminary, the sun, would provide its light for the day, whereas the smaller luminary, the moon, would provide some light at night. We know from Deut. 33,14 that the influence of the moon on certain crops is beneficial, i.e. that light provided during the night promotes the growth of crops sensitive to such light.

והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ושנים. The word לאותות refers to hours; the word ולמועדים refers to the seasons of the year and the festivals to be observed during these seasons. For, just as the year is divided into four seasons, a hot season, a cold season, spring and fall, so day and night are divided into 24 hours. The word ולימים refers to the number of days in a month, i.e. 29 and a half days plus 2/3rds of an hour and 73 parts [of the 1080 parts an hour is divided into halachically. Ed.] The word ולשנים refers to years, i.e. solar years of 365 and a quarter days [as opposed to lunar “years,” i.e. 12 x a lunar month. Ed.] This is implied by the very meaning of the word שנה, which refers to something which occurs again and again, such as the completion of the sun’s orbit around the earth after the four seasons. [the assumption of the astronomers in the author’s time. Ed.] According to Targum Yerushalmi the appropriate translation of the word שנים is לאתין וסימנן, as visible reminders למקדש רישי ירחין ושנין when to sanctify the new moon and the New Year.

LET THERE BE LIGHTS. Now the light was created on the first day, illuminating the elements, but when on the second day the firmament was made, it intercepted the light and prevented it from illuminating the lower elements. Thus, when the earth was created on the third day there was darkness on it and not light. And now on the fourth day the Holy One, blessed be He, desired that there be in the firmament luminaries, the light of which would reach the earth. This is the meaning of the words, in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, (Verse 17.) for there already was light above the firmament which did not illuminate the earth. The meaning of the words, Let there be lights, is as follows: He decreed on the first day that from the substance of the heavens there should come forth a light for the period of the day, and now He decreed that it become corporeal and that a luminous body come forth from it which would give light during the day with a great illumination, and that another body of lesser light [should come into existence] to illumine at night, and He suspended both in the firmament of the heavens in order that they illumine below as well. It is possible that just as He endowed the earth with the power of growth in certain places thereof, so He placed in the firmament certain areas that are prepared and ready to receive the light, and these bodies which receive the light reflect it, just as window-panes and onyx stones. This is why He called them me’oroth and not orim. [Orim would imply that they have their own light; me’oroth on the other hand implies that they reflect the light which they receive], even though they are called orim, in the Psalm. (Psalms 136:7. To Him that made great ‘orim’ (lights).)

TO DIVIDE THE DAY FROM THE NIGHT. Rashi wrote: “This took place after the primeval light was concealed for the righteous, but during the six (In our text of Rashi: “seven.” See my note to Berliner’s edition of Rashi (p. 436) that both texts can be explained as correct.) days of creation the [primeval] light and darkness functioned, one by day and one by night.” (In our text of Rashi: “functioned together both by day and by night.” However, during the seven days of creation it was the primeval light that functioned, its concealment taking place on the eve following the Sabbath (so clearly explained in Maharal’s commentary on Rashi — Gur Aryeh).) Now I do not see that this is the opinion of our Rabbis who mention concealment in connection with the primeval light. In their opinion, rather, the primeval light functioned for three days, and on the fourth an emanation took place from which was formed these two luminaries, just as the Rabbis have said, (Bereshith Rabbah 17:7.) “The sphere of the sun is an offshoot of the upper light.” For since this world was not deserving of being served by this primeval light without an intermediary, He concealed it for the righteous in the World to Come, and He made use of this offshoot of the upper light from the fourth day on. Thus the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah: (3:6.) “It was taught: The light which was created during the six days of creation could not give light at daytime because it would then dim the sphere of the sun; at night it could not give light, since it was created to light only at daytime. So where is it? It was concealed. And where is it? It is prepared for the righteous in the hereafter, as it is said, And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and as the light of the seven days. (Isaiah 30:26.) ‘Seven?’ I wonder! Were they not three? (For since the present light was created on the fourth day, the primeval light functioned only for the first three days during Creation.) It is like a man who says thus: ‘I am keeping this for the seven days of my wedding feast.’” That is to say, it is common parlance that one say: “I am keeping and guarding this meat for the seven days of my wedding festivity.” It is not that this would suffice him for all seven days, only that he will use it during that time. In the same way the Rabbis explained the expression seven days, meaning as the light which functioned during some of those days. There in Bereshith Rabbah the Rabbis also said: (3:7.) “And He separated the light. (Verse 4.) Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon said, ‘He separated it for Himself.’ (Just as the verse says, And the light dwelleth with Him. (Daniel 2:22).) And the Rabbis say, ‘He separated it for the righteous in the hereafter.’” Now if you could know the intent of the Rabbis in their saying in the Blessing of the Moon, (Sanhedrin 42a.) “A crown of glory to those borne by Him from the birth,” you would know the secret of the primeval light, the conserving thereof, and the matter of separation mentioned [in the words of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon] — i.e., “He separated it for Himself” — as well as the secret of “the two kings making use of one crown,” (Chullin 60 b, and mentioned in Rashi here, Verse 16: “The sun and the moon were created of equal size. When the moon complained, ‘It is impossible for two kings to make use of one crown,’ G-d said to it, ‘Go and diminish thyself.’”) as will indeed be the case at the end when the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun after the light of the sun shall be sevenfold. (Isaiah 30:26.)

AND THEY SHALL BE FOR SIGNS. These are the changes which they will bring forth, making signs and wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (Joel 3:3.) This is similar in meaning to the expression, And be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. (Jeremiah 10:2.)

AND FOR SEASONS. This means seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter. (Genesis 8:22.)

AND FOR DAYS. This means the length of day and the length of night.

AND YEARS. The luminaries are to complete their orbit and then traverse again the same course they followed, thus making the solar year consist of 365 days and the lunar year consist of [lunar cycles, each approximately] 30 days.

יהי מארות, “let there be luminaries;” it is common for the Torah to apply a singular mode to nouns described in the plural, such as in Numbers 9,6 ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים, “there was (singular) men who were ritually impure, etc." The meaning of our verse here is: “let a certain process occur as a result of which luminaries will materialise in the sky of the heavens.”

ברקיע השמים, in the firmament which spans the heavens.

ברקיע, seeing that the word ברקיע is in the construct mode, linked to the word following it, i.e. “the sky of the heaven, the ra-kia, the vowel under the letter ר is a brief one, chataf, such as the difference between katzir, harvest, and k’tzir chittim, “wheat harvest,” where the word k’tzir is in the construct mode, belonging to the word chittim, wheat. (Ruth 2,23) להבדיל בין היום ובין הלילה, the Torah had already mentioned earlier (verse 4) that G’d had made a separation between light and dark, so what need was there for the luminaries in order to accomplish this? The fact is that up until this point the precise point when night or day commences and ends had not yet been defined. This came about only when the sunrise and sunset became visible observable phenomena on earth. Similarly, the advent of visible stars in the sky now signaled that dusk had come to an end. להבדיל בין (תחלת) היום ובין (תחלת) הלילה, to separate night from the beginning of the day and day from the beginning of the night.

והיו לאותות ולמועדים, an oblique reference to Kings II 20,8-9 where King Chizkiyah had asked G’d for a sign in the sky that Isaiah’s promise that the decree of his death had been cancelled and that G’d had added another 15 years to his life was definitive. We have other verses (Yoel 3,3) as well as Jeremiah 10,2 in which these phenomena in the sky are described as clear signals by G’d to man of things to come.

ולמועדים, the orbit of the moon which renews its path every 29 and a half days serves as a legal instrument used in determining dates which appear in documents used by the Jewish people. Compare what David wrote about this in Psalms 104,19

ולימים, and as days. Upon investigation it will be seen that certain stars orbit at intervals of exactly 24 hours.

ושנים, and as years, a reference to the four seasons of the year, which together comprise an entire year.

יהי מארת BE THERE LUMINARIES — They had been created on the first day, but on the fourth He commanded them to be suspended in the firmament (Chagigah 12a). Indeed, all the productions of heaven and earth were created on the first day, but each of them was put in its place on that day when it was so commanded. In reference to this it is written את השמים (v. 1) In the beginning God created that which was את with the heavens etc., in order to include all the productions of heaven, ואת הארץ to include all its (the earth’s) productions (Genesis Rabbah 12:4).